Research & Development Lead (12m FTC)

We’re Pentland Brands: a global family business behind some of the world’s most iconic active and lifestyle brands. We bring integrity, energy and ambition to our work, setting high standards and striving to deliver great outcomes without ego.

Shape the work behind some of the world’s most loved sport, outdoor and lifestyle brands.

At Pentland Brands, every role helps move our brands forward. Whether you’re supporting our people, improving our systems, growing our commercial performance, strengthening operations or shaping better ways of working, your impact reaches across a portfolio of iconic brands used by consumers around the world.

The R&D Lead is the organisation’s senior expert in human and scientific research, responsible for shaping and leading the research strategy that powers Pentland’s innovation pipeline. This role ensures that world-class research drives meaningful, consumer-first, evidence-based innovation — from early exploration to the validation of market-ready concepts.

Working closely with the Head of NPI, brand leaders, product teams and cross-functional stakeholders, the Research Lead brings scientific rigour, strategic foresight and influential communication to accelerate breakthrough opportunities and strengthen Pentland’s innovation capability.

What you’ll be doing:

• Lead the end-to-end research strategy across Innovation, NPI and Flywheel projects, ensuring human and scientific research informs opportunity identification, concept development and market-ready innovation.

• Shape and prioritise the research agenda , balancing consumer needs, scientific opportunity and commercial priorities while ensuring the right level of rigour is applied at each stage.

• Provide expert guidance to project teams, senior leaders and the Insights team , translating complex research into clear, actionable insights and helping teams turn early signals and hypotheses into evidence-based decisions.

• Build and evolve Pentland’s research ecosystem , leading specialist testing facilities, academic partnerships and relationships with research institutes, labs and industry experts.

• Champion research-led innovation and capability building , embedding curiosity, experimentation and evidence-based thinking while developing research standards, tools and skills across Innovation and R&D.

• Develop strategic research opportunities that can inform long-term brand and innovation strategy, identifying areas where research could unlock meaningful consumer and commercial opportunities.

What you’ll bring:

• Experience leading scientific and/or human research programmes , ideally within an innovation environment.

• A solid understanding of research methodologies, testing and evidence generation .

• The ability to turn complex research and science into clear, engaging and actionable insights for non-technical audiences.

• A strategic and curious approach to problem-solving and decision-making, particularly in ambiguous environments.

• Experience collaborating with and influencing senior stakeholders and cross-functional teams.

• Experience managing research facilities, specialist testing environments or technical platforms .

• Experience developing relationships with universities, research institutes, labs and external experts .

• A curious, proactive and commercially aware mindset , with an appetite for experimentation and continuous learning.

• Comfortable adapting research approaches to the question at hand — from quick, directional testing through to robust, claims-grade validation .

• A consultative and collaborative approach , helping teams ask the right questions and choose the most appropriate research methods.

• An open and intellectually curious mindset , seeing early ideas and hypotheses as opportunities to explore, test and learn.

Why Pentland Brands?

Pentland Brands is the name behind some of the world’s best-known sport, outdoor and lifestyle brands, including Speedo, Berghaus, Canterbury, Endura, Ellesse, Kickers and Mitre.

We are a global family business with a clear purpose: pioneering brands that make life better. Across our teams, functions and locations, we work together to create products, experiences and partnerships that help people live more active, confident and positive lives.

Joining Pentland Brands means becoming part of a business where your work can have real reach, across multiple brands, markets, teams and disciplines. It is a place for people who want to contribute, collaborate, improve how things are done and help build the future of brands with heritage, ambition and global impact.

Perks & Benefits

We offer a competitive salary, discretionary bonus, hybrid working, flexible start and finish times, generous holiday allowance, product discounts, sample sales, enhanced family-friendly policies, healthcare support, gym and fitness discounts, cycle to work scheme and electric car scheme.

You can find full details of our benefits and perks on our UK Benefits page .

The Interview Process

We want our interview process to feel clear, straightforward, and supportive. If your experience and expectations look like a strong match for the role, here’s what you can expect next:

1. Talent Team Intro Call - A 30-minute video call with our Talent Team to get to know each other, talk through the role and your experience, and answer any questions you have.

2. Experience Interview - A more in-depth interview (usually online) with the hiring manager to explore your skills, experience and approach, and how these align with the role, our principles, and our ways of working.

3. Final Interview - A final in-person interview at our office, focused on deeper discussion and practical application, giving you the chance to meet more of the team and see Pentland Brands in action.