Senior Director, Retail Business Development (12 month maternity cover) in London

London, England

Who We Are

Authentic is a unified platform that integrates M&A, brand strategy, creativity and digital innovation to unlock the power of its global Lifestyle and Entertainment portfolio. As the world’s largest sports and entertainment licensing company, Authentic connects strong brands with best-in-class partners to optimize long-term value in the marketplace. Its brands generate more than $38 billion in global annual retail sales and have an expansive retail footprint in more than 150 countries, including 13,000-plus freestanding stores and shop‑in‑shops and 400,000 points of sale. Authentic transforms brands by delivering powerful storytelling, compelling content, innovative business models and immersive experiences. It creates original marketing strategies to drive the success of its brands across all consumer touchpoints, platforms and emerging media.

Why Authentic

You’ll be able to access the resources and scale, while leveraging innovative technology and a nimble environment. What we’re saying is, this isn’t your average day job. If you’re hungry to drive ideas into action and own your career, let’s chat. Our team is rapidly innovating to evolve and define the future of our brands. With the help of some of the brightest minds in retail, marketing, licensing, legal and more, we are building the intersection of digital and experiential marketing to help achieve that mission. We reimagine, evolve and transform brands! At Authentic, we foster an inclusive workplace where diversity of thought and expertise drive competitive advantage. Our global teams are built by go-getters who contribute unique perspectives and push the boundaries of creativity and innovation. Headquartered in New York City, Authentic has offices in major metropolitan cities including Los Angeles and Miami, as well as Toronto, Mexico City, London, and Shanghai.

This is a 12‑month maternity cover.

What You’ll Do

The Senior Director, Retail Business Development will act as a business development and relationship manager with retailers in the EMEA region, focusing predominantly on UK and Ireland, and Western Europe. You will be responsible for developing and maintaining business initiatives with key retailers on behalf of our licensing partners; working closely with our Brand Management team to ensure retail development efforts align to the overall strategy of each brand. You will support the day‑to‑day needs of existing licensee partnerships, onboard new retailer partners, manage relationships and create business opportunities, including DTR or Direct‑to‑Retail licensing opportunities. You will work closely with the Business Development and Brand teams along with our Marketing, Finance and Legal teams to create innovative strategies that support our rapid growth.

What you’ll be working on

• Establish retail relationships to assist our wholesale licensee partners to facilitate the growth, introduction, development and advancement of Authentic’s brand portfolio.
• Directly engage with retailers to develop and negotiate DTR licensing opportunities to expand our brand, category and territory growth including organic growth initiatives.
• Increase growth across all relevant retail functional areas (customer experience, loyalty, product, merchandising, etc.).
• Partner with licensees to unlock new retail opportunities, ensuring expansion of existing distribution avenues and retail portfolio.
• Compile, analyse, and present data to assigned retailers.
• Monthly and quarterly sales performance reviews including retail analytics (sell‑through, on‑order position, best‑sellers, advertising, etc.).
• Partner with the Marketplaces team to align and create retail and marketplace development strategy across brands.

Must have Skills & Experience

• Experience in business development in an innovative, fast‑growth organisation.
• Proven wholesale experience in the fashion and/or sports industry.
• Proven relationship with key retail accounts (such as, but not limited to, Sports Direct, TK Max, John Lewis, Amazon, etc.).
• Extensive background working independently with decision‑makers to close complex deals of significance.
• Proven track record of managing complex negotiations with potential business partners.
• High attention to detail, accuracy, and organization.
• Passionate about consumer‑focused thinking and imagination; skilled at developing creative business ideas.
• Action and results‑oriented.
• Ability to target expected performance metrics, personal results.
• Ability to clearly and concisely outline protocols for sales cycle management, tactics for handling objections, and approach to finding qualified partners.
• Experience negotiating, structuring, and closing complex multi‑year partnership agreements.
• Demonstrated success in delivering against sales or business development goals.
• Ability to ideate detailed business development strategy, maintain own workflow and meet deadlines.