Research & Concept Lead

Role:
Research & Concept Lead
Contract Type:  Permanet
Work model:  Hybrid

Location:

Milan, Italia

Tutte le competenze, le qualifiche e l'esperienza necessarie per un candidato di successo sono elencate nella seguente descrizione.

About the role
At Sanoma Learning, we are shaping the future of education across Europe.
We’re looking for a  Research & Concept Lead  to drive early-stage discovery and turn complex user insights into  scalable, high-impact product concepts .

This role sits at the intersection of  research, product strategy, and innovation , helping define what problems are worth solving — before solutions exist.

You will work across countries (with a strong focus on Italy), connecting local insights with a broader system view to shape the next generation of learning products.

What you’ll do
Drive discovery & concept development
Lead early-stage discovery by combining  user research, future thinking, and systems thinking
Translate insights, signals, and trends into  clear, actionable product concepts
Shape opportunity spaces before solutions are defined

Lead research in the Italian market
Plan and execute  qualitative and quantitative research in Italy
Ensure local user, pedagogical, and market perspectives are deeply understood
Connect local insights with cross-country learnings to inform scalable solutions

Balance desirability, feasibility & viability
Evaluate concepts across  user value, technical feasibility, and business impact
Partner with product, tech, and business stakeholders to guide decisions and trade-offs

Influence product strategy
Bring  evidence-based thinking  into product strategy, roadmaps, and investments
Help define  future vision and opportunity areas

Lead complex, cross-country initiatives
Align multidisciplinary teams across markets
Create shared understanding and direction in  ambiguous, early-stage environments

Enable collaboration & clarity
Facilitate alignment across research, design, product, and engineering
Make insights, assumptions, and decisions  visible and actionable

Elevate discovery practices
Improve how ideas move from  insight → concept → validated direction
Contribute to evolving discovery and concepting practices across the organization

What we’re looking for
Must have
5+ years of experience  in research, product discovery, or related roles
Proven experience leading  research and early-stage product discovery  in complex environments
Strong ability to connect  user insights with product strategy and business impact
Experience shaping  product concepts (not just features)
Excellent  facilitation, storytelling, and stakeholder alignment  skills
Experience working with the  Italian market
Fluent in English and Italian native

Nice to have
Experience in  education or learning products
Background in  innovation, concept strategy, or design strategy
Experience scaling discovery practices across teams or organizations
Familiarity with  accessibility, inclusion, and ethical research

How you work
You’re comfortable operating in  ambiguity and shaping direction from scratch
You combine  analytical thinking with creativity
You are  collaborative, proactive, and quality-driven
You think in  systems, not silos

Why this role matters
You will play a key role in defining the future of learning products across multiple countries — ensuring that what we build is not only innovative, but  meaningful, scalable, and grounded in real user needs .

About Sanoma Learning
Sanoma Learning is a leading European K12 education company dedicated to helping teachers prepare students for the future, spark their curiosity, and support their personal growth. Its mission is to develop high-quality solutions that empower educators to help every student reach their full potential. The company operates in 12 countries and employs over 3,000 people, impacting more than 25 million students across Europe.

Sanoma Learning provides a wide range of products and services, including printed and digital educational content, as well as digital learning and teaching platforms for primary, secondary, and vocational education. Through these offerings, it aims to strengthen its positive impact on learning and contribute to shaping the future of education.

The company emphasizes that its success is closely tied to the growth and development of its employees, inviting individuals to join its mission-driven journey. xpavfwm Additionally, Sanoma Learning is committed to being an equal opportunity employer, promoting diversity, inclusion, and fairness by ensuring equal opportunities regardless of personal characteristics such as race, gender, religion, or disability.