Licensing Manager
Maxima Apparel • Long Island, NY
A product-first licensing compliance role. This manager is the operational owner of how every licensed SKU moves through licensor approval — not a contracts or royalties role.
Position Overview
The Manager, Licensed Product Compliance & Approvals is the operational owner of Maxima Apparel's licensed-product approval process. This role ensures every licensed SKU moves through required licensor approval gates — concept through final — and keeps Design, Merchandising, Product Development, and Production aligned on guidelines, submission deadlines, and licensor feedback. The Manager is the connective tissue between the creative teams and the licensing function: protecting brand integrity, keeping the production calendar on track, and maintaining audit-ready records across every licensed program.
This is a product-first role for an operator who's lived inside licensor approval portals, knows style guides cold, and can push back on Design when needed without breaking the relationship.
Reports to: Director of Licensing
Department: Licensing
Location: Long Island, NY — Full-time onsite
Travel: Minimal
Key Responsibilities
Approval Workflow Management
- Shepherd every licensed product through each approval stage: concept, artwork, pre-production sample, pre-pack / packaging, and final.
- Maintain the master approvals tracker; flag at-risk items against production calendar milestones.
- Drive daily follow-up on open submissions to keep the pipeline moving.
- Own approval turnaround SLAs and report weekly on pipeline health.
Style Guide & Guideline Enforcement
- Audit designs, graphics, trims, and packaging against licensor style guides before any submission.
- Build and maintain internal cheat sheets that translate licensor guidelines into actionable rules for each team.
- Conduct pre-submission reviews with Design and PD to reduce rejection rates.
Cross-Functional Coordination
- Design: artwork placement, logo usage, color accuracy, character/property rules.
- Merchandising: assortment against contract-approved categories, channels, and territories.
- Product Development: construction, materials, trims, and sample accuracy.
- Production: labeling, country-of-origin, hangtags, care labels, and packaging execution.
Submission & Portal Management
- Manage submissions through licensor portals (Brand Comply, MediaBox, Flywheel, and licensor-specific systems).
- Route licensor comments and revisions back to the appropriate internal team and track to closure.
- Maintain organized digital records of submissions, approvals, and rejection history for each SKU.
Contract Scope Compliance
- Ensure royalty-bearing categories, distribution channels, and territories stay within contract scope.
- Partner with the Director of Licensing on any contract gray areas or scope questions before product goes to market.
Hologram Compliance & Factory Authorizations
- Manage licensor-required hologram sticker and security tag programs for customs clearance and anti-counterfeiting across all licensed product.
- Coordinate with licensors and authorized hologram vendors on quantities, specifications, and delivery timing to factories.
- Ensure every shipment has the required hologram application before it leaves the factory and clears customs on import.
- Maintain factory authorization records for every licensor — submit new factories for approval, track expirations, and manage renewals before they lapse.
- Ensure licensed production only occurs at licensor-authorized factories; flag any production risk at unauthorized facilities.
- Partner with Sourcing and Production on factory onboarding, authorization packets, and compliance verification.
- Maintain the master list of authorized factories by licensor and communicate changes promptly to Sourcing, Production, and PD.
Training & Education
- Lead onboarding and refresher sessions so Design, PD, and Merch internalize each licensor's rules.
- Communicate style guide updates, new licensor policies, and common rejection reasons across teams.
Documentation & Audit Readiness
- Own approval records, rejection logs, and audit-ready files for each licensed program.
- Support licensor audits with organized documentation and SKU-level traceability, in partnership with Finance and the Director of Licensing.
Qualifications
Required
- 5–7+ years in licensed-product approvals, product development, or product compliance within apparel or softlines.
- Hands-on experience with licensor approval portals (Brand Comply, MediaBox, Flywheel, or equivalent).
- Proven experience enforcing licensor style guides and managing submission workflows for major IP (sports leagues, collegiate, entertainment, or character).
- Strong cross-functional project management skills — comfortable pushing back on creative teams when needed.
- Detail-obsessed, organized, and calm under calendar pressure.
- Excellent written and verbal communication; able to translate licensor feedback into clear action items for internal teams.
- Bachelor's degree in Fashion Merchandising, Apparel Production, Business, or a related field.
Preferred
- Direct experience with pro sports league or collegiate / NIL licensor approvals.
- Hands-on experience managing hologram / security tag programs and customs-related licensing requirements.
- Prior experience with factory authorization processes — submissions, renewals, and licensor audits of approved factories.
- Experience with PLM systems (Centric, Bamboo Rose, FlexPLM, or similar).
- Prior experience at a sports-licensed apparel company (e.g., '47 Brand, New Era, Fanatics, Mitchell & Ness, Outerstuff, FOCO, G-III, or similar).
Success Measures (First 12 Months)
- Master approvals tracker live, accurate, and trusted across Design, Merch, PD, and Production.
- Measurable reduction in licensor rejection rates and rework cycles.
- Clear, documented pre-submission review process adopted by Design and PD.
- All licensed programs audit-ready with complete approval documentation.
- Every internal team has a current, easy-to-use cheat sheet for the licensors they work with most.
