Licensing Manager - Sweaty Betty in London

We burst onto the scene as the OGs of female-first activewear back in 1998. Since then, we’ve been on a global mission to empower women through fitness and beyond. By uniting a global community of women – our sisterhood – together we encourage one another to embrace our bodies and everything we can do with them. Our sisterhood treats every day like it’s made for moving, and we’re always pushing to do better too. This is an exciting opportunity to join us as a Licensing Manager as we continue our mission to empower women through fitness and beyond.

Our Values: WE REALLY CARE ∙ FIRST, BEST, BRAVEST ∙ OUR STRENGTH IS IN EACH OTHER ∙ STAND UP, SPEAK UP, SHOUT OUT.

The Licensing Manager is responsible for the end to end management of Sweaty Betty’s global licensing partnerships, ensuring licensed product is brand right, commercially strong and operationally robust, while also shaping and delivering future licensing opportunities that introduce Sweaty Betty to new consumers, categories and occasions. This role is both hands on and strategic: owning the day to day running of the licensing function (including all product approvals, end to end system management and partner governance), while proactively identifying, pitching and landing new licensing partnerships that drive incremental revenue and brand elevation.

Key Responsibilities:

• Own the end‑to‑end operational management of all existing licensing partnerships, acting as the central point of contact internally and externally.
• Lead all product approvals across licensed categories, ensuring product, materials, branding, fit, quality and storytelling meet Sweaty Betty’s brand, design and performance standards.
• Partner cross‑functionally with Product, Design, Brand, Legal, Supply Chain and Commercial teams to guide the licensed product lifecycle from concept through to market.
• Ensure all licensees operate in line with brand guidelines, seasonal direction, sustainability standards, and commercial terms.
• Manage timelines, range plans, end to end system management, critical paths and sign‑off processes to ensure on‑time, right‑first‑time delivery.
• Support contract adherence and renewals in partnership with Legal and Finance, ensuring clarity on royalties, reporting, compliance and performance against plan.

Product & Brand Stewardship:

• Act as a guardian of the Sweaty Betty brand within all licensed categories, ensuring products feel purposeful, elevated and true to the brand’s female‑first, performance‑led ethos.
• Review and approve all licensed product visuals, packaging, marketing assets and brand usage prior to go‑to‑market.
• Ensure licensed ranges complement (not dilute or compete with) the core Sweaty Betty assortment.
• Bring a critical eye to product quality, pricing architecture and consumer relevance across licensed categories.

Licensing Strategy & Growth:

• Define and evolve a clear licensing strategy: identifying the right categories, regions, partners and consumer entry points for Sweaty Betty.
• Proactively identify new licensing opportunities (e.g. new categories, demographics or international markets) that:
• Reach new or adjacent consumers
• Drive incremental, profitable revenue
• Strengthen brand perception and brand stretch
• Build compelling business cases and partner propositions, including brand rationale, commercial forecasts and risk assessment.
• Lead early‑stage conversations with prospective partners and manage evaluation through to approval and contract stage.
• Stay close to market, consumer and competitor trends to ensure licensing opportunities feel modern, differentiated and future‑fit.

Stakeholder Management & Influence:

• Confidently influence senior stakeholders across Brand, Product and Commercial functions without direct authority.
• Present licensing plans, opportunities and performance updates clearly and credibly to leadership teams.
• Act as a collaborative partner to licensees, balancing commercial ambition with brand discipline.

Must Haves:

• Proven experience in licensing, partnerships, category expansion or brand management within fashion, lifestyle, activewear or premium consumer brands.
• Strong understanding of product development processes, ideally across apparel, accessories or adjacent categories.
• Experience managing external partners and complex, multi‑stakeholder relationships.
• Commercially astute, with the ability to assess opportunity size, risk and long‑term brand impact.
• Highly organised, detail‑driven and comfortable owning timelines, approvals and governance.
• Strong brand sensibility with confidence to say “no” when something isn’t right for the brand.
• Comfortable operating as a senior individual contributor with autonomy and accountability.
• Strategic thinker with a hands‑on mindset.
• Brand‑obsessed but commercially grounded.
• Calm, confident influencer with strong judgement.
• Curious, market‑aware and opportunity‑driven.
• Resilient and comfortable navigating ambiguity and change.

Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE: WWW) is a global footwear and apparel company driven by a vision to Make. Every Day. Better. Founded in 1883, the Company builds and grows iconic brands including Merrell®, Saucony®, Wolverine®, Sweaty Betty®, Chaco®, Hush Puppies®, Stride Rite®, HYTEST®, and Bates®, along with footwear licenses for Cat® and Harley-Davidson®. Headquartered in Rockford, Michigan, the Company’s products are sold in approximately 170 countries and territories worldwide.

Our DEI Commitment: We are working to create a culture and team that represents our mission of empowerment. We want to celebrate our diversity, embody inclusion and create an equitable business. This means doing more and working harder to make the long-lasting changes necessary. We care about our people, our community and world. We want to stand up for what we believe in and give our people a platform to use their voice. To actively listen and learn from what they have to say. This involves focusing on learning, development, and progression across the business. Being clear on the responsibilities we hold each other and to our community. It also means being committed to equal employment opportunities. Ensuring we consider ALL applicants for jobs and working harder to make our job advertising more inclusive.

Our DEI mission is "to embed diversity, equity and inclusion at the heart of our business. To create a culture of belonging that empowers everyone to be their best authentic self. We commit to celebrating different perspectives and to continuously learning, developing and challenging ourselves and our partners." We know we're on a journey. And far from perfect. But we want to be a part of the solution to the problem. It might not be comfortable or straightforward. But if we weren't up for doing the hard work and breaking the mould, we wouldn't be Sweaty Betty. We are committed to working across our business and with our DEI committee & DEI Collective to be champions, allies and inclusive, always. Because when we say all, we mean it.