Director of Licensing, Emerging Growth Categories

Levi Strauss•San Francisco, CA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director of Licensing, Emerging Growth Categories is responsible for accelerating the growth of Levi's licensing portfolio by developing new category opportunities, strengthening emerging businesses, and building scalable growth strategies and capabilities. This role involves identifying, evaluating, negotiating, and launching new licensing partnerships while creating category growth strategies that expand the Levi's brand into new consumer spaces. The Director will serve as the primary business owner for emerging categories and collaborate closely with Marketing, Design, Merchandising, Legal, Finance, and commercial teams to ensure new opportunities align with Levi's strategic priorities and brand standards.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in licensing or brand licensing, consumer products, merchandising, category management, or related commercial leadership roles.
Experience identifying, launching, and scaling new product categories, partnerships, or growth initiatives.
Track record sourcing, negotiating, and managing strategic partnerships and licensing relationships.
Experience developing licensing strategies, category roadmaps, and commercial growth plans.
Experience with licensing agreements, royalty structures, partner economics, and contract negotiations.
Experience influencing and leading cross-functional teams across product, merchandising, marketing, legal, finance, and commercial organizations.
Evaluate market trends, consumer opportunities, competitive dynamics, and category white-space opportunities.
Strong financial and commercial acumen, including business case development, forecasting, and investment analysis.
Executive-level communication skills with the ability to represent a brand internally and externally.
Experience within apparel, accessories, footwear, lifestyle, beauty, home, consumer products, entertainment licensing, or related industries.

Responsibilities

Lead the strategy and growth roadmap for Levi's emerging licensed categories and future category expansion opportunities.
Identify, evaluate, and prioritize new licensing opportunities that expand Levi's consumer reach, enhance brand relevance, and drive profitable growth.
Build category business cases, growth strategies, and commercialization plans to support investment decisions.
Lead end-to-end partner sourcing processes, including market mapping, prospecting, RFP development, partner evaluation, negotiation, and onboarding.
Own strategic relationships with licensees and drive performance against product, distribution, sales, royalty, and financial objectives.
Develop and execute category growth plans, including product strategy, channel expansion, geographic opportunities, and long-range planning.
Partner with Design, Merchandising, Marketing, Finance, Legal, Product Development, and Commercial teams to bring licensed products from concept through commercialization.
Negotiate and manage licensing agreements, royalty structures, contract renewals, and key commercial terms.
Monitor category performance, identify risks and opportunities, and drive actions that improve business results.
Lead and develop a high-performing team while helping build the capabilities, processes, and operating model required to scale Levi's global licensing business.