Licensing Sales Manager - Sportswear

About The Role & Team

Join Disney as a Licensing Sales Manager and be a catalyst for our strategic growth. You'll plan and execute long-term and fiscal year strategies, ensuring the commercial management of our existing accounts. You'll evaluate our licensee base and implement a rationalisation plan to support effective business management and strategic planning, fostering growth across various categories. Your mission will be to identify, pitch, and secure new licensees that significantly enhance category growth.

Building strong relationships is essential. You'll actively manage and cultivate engagement, partnerships, and joint business planning with each account, both new and existing. Your negotiation skills will be crucial in securing regional contracts and driving strategic growth in licensing sales for the EMEA business.

Bring your creativity and commercial expertise to the table! You'll apply your knowledge in relevant category product development, leveraging digital, social, and bricks-and-mortar marketing. Stay ahead of key trends and consumer insights to develop and drive effective strategies across the company and departments. Your agility will enable you to seize new opportunities and collaborate with diverse partners.

This role is based out of our London office in Hammersmith, 4 days a week.

What You Will You Do

• Collaborate with the Senior Licensing Sales Manager/Licensing Sales Director to implement long-term strategies for specific departments, working closely with relevant stakeholders.
• Leverage key trends, commercial insights, and consumer feedback to develop and drive effective strategies across the company and departments, staying agile to seize new opportunities and target partners.
• Manage the annual operating plan and quarterly forecasting process, setting objectives and strategies for suppliers (licensees). Work with diverse teams including markets, consumer demographics, category teams, franchise, marketing, product development, and finance to drive growth.
• Foster and nurture relationships with each EMEA account, both new and existing, through active engagement, partnership, and joint business planning.
• Conduct contract negotiations for specific accounts and ensure all key stakeholders (global, EMEA, and local) are appropriately informed.
• Collaborate closely with creative teams, and when necessary, Global Interactive Experiences, on product development. Support marketing teams to promote products as required by licensees/retailers.
• Communicate the International Labour Standards (ILS) process and act as a liaison between suppliers and The Walt Disney Company (TWDC) ILS team as directed.
• Lead new business development pitches and research projects, focusing on identifying scalable opportunities.
• Coordinate and actively contribute to market meetings.
• Build strong relationships with Disney market teams, providing regular strategy and franchise updates. Understand and address local market needs and differences, sharing best practices.
• Develop relationships with international DCP teams to exchange knowledge and best practices.

Required Qualifications & Skills

• Background in fashion buying, product development, merchandising, or commercial fashion sales
• Manager-level experience in a commercial function within the sports sector desired, or experience/interest in the sports and sportswear industry.
• Manager-level experience in a commercial function within the FMCG sector with direct P&L responsibility essential
• Manager-level experience in a commercial function within the sports and/or consumer technology sector essential
• Degree-level education in a related field or equivalent work experience.
• Experience within the consumer products business.
• Proven experience in building effective relationships, leading and managing change, and collaborating across departments to achieve financial targets and joint goals.
• Proven experience in developing team performance.

The Perks

• 25 days annual leave
• Private medical insurance & dental care
• Free Park Entry: the opportunity to enter any of our parks with your family and friends for free
• Disney Discounts: entitled to discounts on designated Disney products, resort F&B and ticketing
• Excellent parental and guardian leave
• Employee Resource Groups – WOMEN @ Disney, Disney DIVERSITY, Disney PRIDE, our new disability & neurodiversity focused group - ENABLED, and our Mental Health & Wellbeing Group, TRUST.

The Walt Disney Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We strive to be a diverse workforce that is representative of our audiences, and where all can thrive and belong. Disney is committed to forming a team that includes and respects a variety of voices, identities, backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.