Licensing careers · Creative and brand assurance
Head of Product Development
A head of product development sets the creative standards for everything a brand licenses. They own the style guides and the approval process, and they lead the design and brand assurance teams. Their job is to make every licensed product feel true to the brand, wherever it is sold.
The best ones also build the system around the work: the asset library, the approval workflow and the tools that let the team handle more partners without slowing down.
- Track
- Creative and brand assurance
- Level
- Head
- Typical experience
- 15+ years in design, product development or consumer products
- Also called
- Creative Director, Consumer Products; Head of Creative and Product Development; Creative Director, Licensing & Consumer Products, Senior Art Director, Global Licensing Design
- Reports to
- Head of Licensing, VP of Consumer Products or the franchise or brand lead
- Next step
- VP of Creative, Head of Licensing, Franchise Creative Director
Key responsibilities
What does a head of product development do?
- Set the creative direction and standards for licensed products, collaborations and promotions
- Own style guides, packaging systems and product concepts
- Lead the design and brand assurance teams, and the agencies they use
- Design approval workflows for speed, consistency and quality
- Own the asset library and the tools licensees use
- Guide agents, licensees and agencies on the brand
- Work with the franchise, studio or brand teams on what comes next
- Agree go to market milestones with commercial and marketing
- Sign off a new seasonal style guide
- Review approval turnaround and the queue with brand assurance
- Give creative direction on a flagship collaboration
- Meet the franchise team on next year's content and launches
- Decide on a new tool, agency or process change
In smaller teams
When the team is small, the role stretches.
In smaller teams the creative head also produces style guides, gives final approvals and runs the asset library.
- Style guide production
- Final approvals
- Asset library
- Retail presentations
Where the role sits
The head of product development owns it across the program.
They also shape program strategy with the head of licensing: which categories the brand can stretch into, and how.
The brand and franchise plan, and the licensing strategy.
Style guides, the approval process and the teams that run them.
THIS ROLEStyle guides, creative standards and the approval process.
Approval data that stops at the creative team. If turnaround, rework and quality never reach commercial and leadership, slow approvals look like late partners, and the real fix never gets funded.
How success is measured
Six KPIs for a head of product development.
Few job ads define success for this role. Those that do mention programs delivered on time and guides that work across categories and markets. These are the measures Flowhaven recommends.
| KPI | How to calculate it |
|---|---|
| On time launch rate | Share of licensed products approved and launched on schedule |
| Approval turnaround time | Average days from submission to final approval, across the program |
| First time approval rate | Share of submissions approved with no revisions |
| Style guide coverage | Target categories and seasons with a current style guide |
| Partner satisfaction | Licensee feedback on guidelines, feedback and speed |
| Team capacity | Submissions handled per reviewer, especially at seasonal peaks |
Best practices
What great heads of product development do.
Make the guide do the work
Clear guides prevent revisions before they happen.
Build approvals for peak season
Back to school and the holidays bring far more submissions than an average week, so staff for those.
Connect creative and commercial
So approvals match deal terms and launch dates.
Measure how approvals run
Track turnaround time and how often work comes back.
Keep one source of truth
For assets, versions and approval history.
Celebrate great launches
With partners, to build trust for the next one.
AI and this role
Where AI changes the work.
Fewer than 1 in 25 licensing job ads mention AI yet. These are the tasks where it already helps this role most.
Rebrand sweep
Open submissions still using retired artwork or logos, flagged with a confidence note.
Style guide answers
Licensee questions answered from your own guidelines and granted rights.
AI assisted concepting
Faster early concepts and mockups, with designers making the final call.
Works through an integration with AI tools such as Claude, connected to your licensing records. A person confirms every change. See how Flowhaven works with AI.
Skills and tools
What the role asks for.
- Creative direction and brand stewardship
- Style guide and packaging systems
- Leading designers, brand assurance teams and agencies
- Approval process and workflow design
- Adobe Creative Suite
Flowhaven and Salesforce experience is a strong plus.
Flowhaven is built on Salesforce, which IDC has ranked the number one CRM for 13 years in a row, with a 20% share of the CRM market in 2025. Licensing platform skills carry across the whole team.
Career path
Where people come from, and where they go.
- Design Manager
- Senior Manager Product Development
- Brand Assurance Manager
- VP of Creative
- Franchise Creative Director
- Head of Licensing
Hiring?
Head of Product Development job description template.
Copy it, fill in the brackets and post it.
Head of Product Development
We are looking for a Head of Product Development to lead the look, quality and approval of every licensed product for [brand / franchise].
What you will do
- Set creative direction and standards for licensed products and collaborations
- Own style guides, packaging systems and the asset library
- Lead our design and brand assurance teams and creative agencies
- Design approval workflows that still work when the partner list doubles
- Work with franchise, commercial and marketing teams on launches
What you will bring
- [15+] years in design, product development or consumer products
- A portfolio of licensed or branded product work
- Experience leading creative and approval teams
- Experience with Flowhaven or Salesforce is a plus
How success is measured
On time launch rate, approval turnaround, first time approval rate and style guide coverage.
FAQ
Questions people ask about the head of product development role
Still have a question? Talk to our team, or see Flowhaven on your own program in a 30 minute demo.
They set the creative standards for licensed products and lead the teams that design style guides and approve products.
Often the same role. Some licensors split it: a creative director for design and a head of product development for approvals and operations.
Free playbook: faster, more consistent product approvals
Four approval stages, turnaround targets, review checklists and the six metrics that show your process is working.
Give your creative team its time back.
See how creative and brand assurance teams work in Flowhaven, in a personalized walkthrough.
