License Brand Manager

Location:

Leicester

Type:
Permanent

Industry: Licensed Products

Job

To fully service the company's licensed brands, maximise commercial opportunities and deliver the strongest possible return for the company, licensors and wider partners.

• Brand & Licensor Management
  • Act as the company's primary day-to-day contact for a portfolio of established evergreen licensed brands, including Universal, Mattel, Hasbro, Warner Bros. and Paramount.
  • Build and maintain strong, proactive relationships with all licensors.
  • Attend regular licensor franchise updates and ensure the latest franchise, sales, creative and commercial priorities are communicated internally.
  • Provide monthly updates to each licensor and actively manage expectations, opportunities and issues.
  • Attend quarterly in-person licensor meetings and maintain strong senior-level relationships.
• Financial Ownership & Forecasting
  • Take full ownership of the financial forecast and Minimum Guarantee (MG) for each brand.
  • Work closely with the FP&A team to ensure forecasts are accurate, up-to-date and commercially achievable.
  • Provide monthly financial updates and identify risks, opportunities and actions required to deliver against targets.
  • Ensure sales teams remain accountable for their numbers and deliver against agreed brand targets.
• Sales Leadership & Commercial Growth
  • Work closely with the company's 30 EMEA Sales teams to drive sales performance across the licensed portfolio.
  • Hold monthly meetings with Sales teams to review performance, priorities, pipeline and opportunities.
  • Work closely with Senior Sales leadership to drive strategic priorities and maximise opportunities across the region.
  • Support Sales teams with all day-to-day brand requirements, from initial development and pitching through to delivery.
  • Act as the key escalation point for brand-related issues and ensure they are resolved quickly and effectively.
  • Ensure every Sales team is fully focused on delivering the maximum potential from each brand.
• Creative & Product Development
  • Partner closely with the Head of Creative to develop weekly mood boards and creative direction for priority franchises.
  • Ensure Sales teams have the right creative assets, product direction and franchise information to maximise commercial opportunities.
  • Work closely with Approval Teams to support Sales on day-to-day approvals and ensure projects progress efficiently.
  • Coordinate with Sales, Creative, Approval and other internal teams to ensure brand requirements are delivered from development through to final delivery.
• QBRs & Business Reviews
  • Attend all Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) and take ownership of the agenda.
  • Ensure QBRs provide a clear and commercially focused review of:
    • Financial performance and forecast
    • Sales performance and pipeline
    • Creative and product development
    • Retail opportunities
    • Key issues and risks
    • Actions and priorities
• New Business & Opportunities
  • Own the end-to-end process for all new licensing opportunities.
  • Lead pitches, commercial forecasting, contract negotiations and execution of new opportunities.
  • Identify new opportunities across the portfolio and ensure they are progressed effectively from initial concept through to commercial delivery.
  • Work with internal stakeholders and licensors to ensure new opportunities are commercially viable and aligned with brand strategy.
• Key Working Relationships
  • CEO
  • FP&A
  • Head of Creative
  • Senior Sales Leadership
  • EMEA Sales Teams
  • Approval Teams
  • Trading Team
  • Licensors and their franchise teams
• Reporting
  • Reports to:
    
    CEO
  • Weekly:
    • Provide a weekly written update by email to the Trading Team, covering key sales activity, financial performance, opportunities, risks and actions.
  • Monthly:
    • Attend the monthly in-person Trading Team meeting.
    • Provide monthly financial and brand updates across the licensed portfolio.
• Core Success Measures
  • Delivery of financial forecasts and MG commitments.
  • Growth and performance of the licensed brand portfolio.
  • Sales team accountability and achievement against targets.
  • Strength and effectiveness of licensor relationships.
  • Speed and quality of issue resolution.
  • Successful execution of new licensing opportunities.
  • Quality and consistency of communication across Sales, Creative, FP&A and licensors.
  • Maximising the commercial return from every licensed brand.