Licensing careers · Commercial
Licensing Manager
A licensing manager signs and grows the partnerships that turn a brand into licensed products. They own a book of licensees or a product category, negotiate the deals, keep partners on track against their contracts and forecasts, and look for the next category or territory to open.
They are the person licensees call first, and the person leadership asks when they want to know how a category is performing.
- Track
- Commercial
- Level
- Manager
- Typical experience
- 3 to 6 years in licensing, consumer products or retail
- Also called
- Category Manager, Brand Development Manager, Licensing & Partnerships Manager
- Reports to
- Director of Licensing, Head of Licensing or Head of Consumer Products
- Next step
- Senior Licensing Manager, Category Director, Head of Licensing
Key responsibilities
What does a licensing manager do?
- Find, pitch and negotiate new licensing deals that fit the brand strategy
- Own a category or licensee portfolio and its revenue against budget
- Track contract deliverables: royalty reports, minimum guarantees, launch dates and marketing commitments
- Run regular business reviews with licensees on sales, sell through and plans
- Build quarterly forecasts and the annual budget for the category
- Work with creative on product approvals so launches stay on schedule
- Brief legal on deal terms and work with finance on royalties and invoicing
- Manage licensing agents in territories the team does not cover directly
- Represent the brand at trade shows such as Licensing Expo and Brand Licensing Europe
- Follow up on proposals and negotiations with prospective licensees
- Answer licensee questions on terms, approvals and timelines
- Chase late royalty reports or approval responses before they delay a launch
- Update the pipeline and renewal calendar
- Prepare a business review deck or a quarterly forecast
- Check retail listings and sell through for key licensees
Where the role sits
The licensing manager owns sales management.
Sales management is one of the nine lanes of the licensing workflow: finding, qualifying and signing the right licensees without creating conflicts. The role also works in program strategy, contract administration and renewals.
The licensing strategy and target partner profile.
Prospecting, qualifying, negotiating and signing licensees, then growing them through renewals.
THIS ROLEThe signed deal memo and rights grid to legal and finance, and the executed agreement to creative so assets and approvals can start.
Checking for rights conflicts before a deal is agreed. If it depends on one person’s memory, double licensing becomes possible.
How success is measured
Six KPIs for a licensing manager.
Few job ads define success for this role. These are the measures Flowhaven recommends.
| KPI | How to calculate it |
|---|---|
| Revenue against budget | Royalties and guarantees earned per category or licensee, against the annual plan |
| Pipeline velocity | Average days from first contact to signed agreement |
| Renewal and expansion rate | Share of expiring licensees who renew or add categories or territories |
| Forecast accuracy | Gap between forecast and actual royalties each quarter |
| Partner compliance | Share of licensees reporting on time and meeting contract commitments |
| Category and territory coverage | Open categories or markets filled against the strategy |
Best practices
What great licensing managers do.
Prioritize open categories
Focus on the high value categories and territories where demand, value and brand fit are strongest.
Check partners properly
Look at brand fit, retail reach, manufacturing quality and financial stability.
Share brand plans early
Partners plan their launches around your marketing, so give them the calendar first.
Structure smart deals
Use consistent terms and clear minimum guarantees that protect and grow revenue.
Onboard with clarity
Guidelines, timelines and approval steps from day one.
Plan renewals with data
Royalty trends show which partners to grow and which to replace, well before the term ends.
Skills and tools
What the role asks for.
- Negotiation and deal structuring
- Royalty rates and minimum guarantees
- Forecasting in Excel
- Relationship management
- Presenting to partners and leadership
- Licensing contracts and approvals
- A second language for regional roles
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 commercial team.
Career path
Where people come from, and where they go.
- Licensing Coordinator
- Licensing Executive
- Retail buying or brand marketing
Hiring?
Licensing Manager job description template.
Copy it, fill in the brackets and post it.
Licensing Manager
We are looking for a Licensing Manager to grow our licensing program in [category / territory]. You will own a portfolio of licensees, sign new partners and make sure every licensed product reflects our brand.
What you will do
- Identify, pitch and negotiate new licensing agreements in line with our brand strategy
- Manage a portfolio of licensees and their performance against revenue targets
- Track contract deliverables, including royalty reports, minimum guarantees and launch dates
- Run regular business reviews with licensees
- Build quarterly forecasts and the annual category budget
- Work closely with creative, legal and finance teams
What you will bring
- [3+] years in licensing, consumer products or retail
- Strong negotiation and commercial skills
- Confident with forecasting and data
- Experience with Flowhaven or Salesforce is a plus
How success is measured
Revenue against budget, pipeline velocity, renewal rate, forecast accuracy and partner compliance.
FAQ
Questions people ask about the licensing manager role
They sign and manage the licensees that make products under a brand, and are accountable for the revenue those partners generate.
A coordinator runs the admin: tracking submissions, entering deal terms and collecting forecasts. A manager owns the partner relationships, the negotiations and the revenue target.
Not always. In the UK and Asia, Licensing Executive is often a junior to mid level role below manager. In the US, executive usually means leadership.
Mostly on revenue against budget, plus pipeline speed, renewals, forecast accuracy and partner compliance.
Free checklist: 64 terms every licensing agreement record should capture
Use it when drafting a new deal or entering a signed one. The terms teams miss most often are flagged.
Pipeline, partners and royalties in one place.
See how licensing managers work in Flowhaven, in a personalized walkthrough.
