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About the Role
The VP Product Management leads Canterbury's global product strategy and seasonal product creation process, ensuring the brand delivers a focused, commercial, and consumer-led range across on-field, licensed, training, and off-field categories.
Responsibilities
- Define the long-term global product vision and seasonal range direction for Canterbury.
- Lead range architecture, product lifecycle planning, and portfolio priorities across key product areas.
- Translate rugby performance, teamwear, training, and lifestyle opportunities into clear product briefs and commercial choices.
- Partner with Design, Development, Brand Marketing, and GTM to align product stories, launch moments, and sell-in priorities.
- Lead and coach the Product Management team, setting clear priorities, accountabilities, and ways of working.
- Use consumer insight, athlete feedback, market data, and commercial performance to shape product decisions.
- Identify growth opportunities, innovation platforms, and simplification opportunities across the range.
- Improve product creation processes, tools, and decision forums for pace and clarity.
- Maintain a clear view of range architecture, lifecycle choices, and product priorities for seasonal updates.
- Bring together consumer insight, commercial feedback, and development feasibility for ambitious and deliverable product decisions.
- Own the product management calendar, ensuring timely decisions on range strategy, pricing, margin, lifecycle, and launch.
- Create clear product briefs connecting consumer insight, commercial opportunity, design direction, and development feasibility.
- Lead cross-functional range reviews, trade-off decisions, and prioritization across categories and pods.
- Use performance data, consumer insight, and market intelligence to improve future range architecture.
- Build capability within the Product Management team and establish consistent ways of working.
- Partner closely with regional teams to ensure globally led but commercially relevant product direction.
Requirements
- Significant product management experience in performance sport, team sport, apparel, or consumer goods.
- Proven ability to set product strategy across multi-category, multi-market ranges.
- Strong commercial judgment and confidence balancing brand, consumer, cost, and margin needs.
- Experience partnering closely with Design, Development, Brand, Commercial, and regional teams.
- Leadership experience with the ability to coach product teams and influence senior stakeholders.
- Strong storytelling and communication skills, able to translate strategy into clear product direction.
- A practical, delivery-focused approach with high attention to range clarity, timelines, and execution.
- Confidence working through ambiguity, making trade-offs between consumer need, commercial opportunity, cost, timing, and operational complexity.
- Significant product management or merchandising leadership experience in sport, apparel, footwear, or consumer goods.
Skills
- Product Management
- Product Strategy
- Range Architecture
- Product Lifecycle Planning
- Commercial Judgement
- Consumer Insight
- Athlete Feedback
- Market Data Analysis
- Brand Marketing
- Go-to-Market Strategy
- Team Leadership
- Coaching
- Stakeholder Influence
- Storytelling
- Communication
- Process Improvement
- Data Analysis
- Market Intelligence
Location
- Office (for final interview)
Work Type
- Hybrid Working
- Flexible start and finish times
Experience Level
- VP Level
- Leadership Experience
- Significant Product Management Experience
Salary/Compensations
- Competitive salary
- Discretionary bonus
Benefits
- 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
- Electric car scheme
About the Company
- Pentland Brands is a global family business behind iconic active and lifestyle brands.
- Canterbury is the world’s original rugby brand, built on more than a century of sporting heritage, technical product knowledge, and deep connection to the game.
- Founded in New Zealand in 1904, Canterbury creates performance kit, training apparel, casualwear, and fan product for players, teams, and supporters.
- The brand is shaped by strength, durability, and belonging, supporting people on and off the pitch.
- Joining Canterbury means becoming part of a team that cares deeply about rugby product and the people who wear it.
Equal Opportunity
- Final appointment will depend upon the outcome of consultation processes and affected employees will have priority for consideration.