Licensing Sales Manager - Softlines (Fixed-term contract)

About The Role & Team

Are you ready to bring Disney magic to life through strategic partnerships and innovative licensing? As a Licensing Sales Manager, you'll shape the future of our beloved brands across the EMEA region.

You'll plan and execute long-term strategies, manage existing accounts, and streamline our licensee base for strategic growth. Your role will involve identifying and securing new licensees to enhance category growth.

Building and nurturing relationships is key. You'll manage engagement and joint business planning with accounts, negotiate regional contracts, and drive licensing sales growth.

Your creativity and commercial acumen will shine as you develop impactful strategies using digital, social, and traditional marketing insights. You'll stay agile, seizing new opportunities to keep Disney at the forefront of the industry.

This role is a full-time, fixed-term contract, covering parental leave, working from the London office in Hammersmith, four out of five days a week.

What You Will You Do

• Collaborate with the Senior Licensing Sales Manager/Licensing Sales Director to implement long-term strategies, working closely with relevant stakeholders.
• Utilize key trends, commercial insights, and consumer insights to develop and drive effective strategies across the company and departments, remaining agile to capitalize on new opportunities and target partners.
• Manage the annual operating plan and quarterly forecasting process, developing objectives and strategies for licensees. Work with markets, consumer demographic groups, category teams, franchise, marketing, product development, and finance to drive growth.
• Actively manage and nurture relationships, partnerships, and joint business planning with each EMEA account, both new and existing, within the Girls & Dress Up domain.
• Execute contract negotiations for certain accounts and keep all key stakeholders (global, EMEA, and local) informed.
• Collaborate closely with creative teams and, when necessary, Global Interactive Experiences on product development. Work with marketing teams to support product sales 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.
• Execute new business development pitches and develop research projects focused on identifying scalable opportunities in the Girls & Dress Up category.
• Coordinate and actively contribute to market meetings.
• Collaborate and build strong relationships with Disney market teams, providing regular strategy and franchise updates, and understanding and addressing local market needs and differences. Share best practices through these relationships.
• Build relationships with international DCP teams to share knowledge and best practices.

Required Qualifications & Skills

• Experience in fashion buying, product development, merchandising, or commercial fashion sales, specifically in girls' dress-up and softlines.
• Degree in a related field or equivalent work experience, with experience in the consumer products industry.
• Proven ability to build effective relationships, lead and manage change, and collaborate across departments to achieve financial targets and joint goals, along with experience in developing team performance.
• Financial acumen to translate numbers into actionable plans, and the ability to analyze data, draw practical conclusions, and implement recommendations to achieve business targets.
• Agility to capitalize on opportunities and identify new partners, with resilience and adaptability in a constantly changing environment.
• Proficiency in MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Keynote, with proficiency in written and spoken English for business use; other European languages are beneficial.
• Strong understanding of digital, social, and brick-and-mortar marketing, with excellent commercial and strategic problem-solving and innovation skills.
• Exceptional planning and organizational skills, with strong influencing skills to gain buy-in at all levels.
• Forward-thinking with the ability to translate industry trends into growth opportunities for TWDC, and cultural sensitivity with an understanding of local markets across EMEA.

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.