Manager, Licensed Product Development
About The Position
The ambition of the Global Licensing & Merchandising Team is to strengthen Ford's position as a lifestyle brand by delivering engaging, quality, and relevant products & experiences our customers love. As our business grows, we are seeking talented, passionate individuals who wish to accelerate brand impact through licensed products. The Licensed Product Development Manager plays an instrumental role in maintaining the integrity, quality, and consistency of Ford-branded merchandise globally across categories. With thousands of product submissions annually from best-in-class licensed partners, this position will manage the ever-growing volume and complexity of product reviews to ensure Ford's sustained growth in consumer goods is maintained. The role will manage two Product Development Specialists, focusing on optimizing product development workflows, ensuring stringent compliance with Ford's Trademark usage, design execution, and quality standards, and coordinating efforts to strategically apply Ford IP across our vast array of consumer product categories. This position is key to continuing to elevate Ford's position as a leading lifestyle brand and a preferred licensor partner, while expanding our scope and scale of authentic licensed products in market. You may not meet every requirement, but if you are a highly motivated, positive leader with a passion for Ford IP and its power to surprise and delight people through awesome brand moments, we'd love to talk to you. We are the movers of the world and the makers of the future. We get up every day, roll up our sleeves and build a better world -- together. At Ford, we're all a part of something bigger than ourselves. Are you ready to change the way the world moves?
Responsibilities
- Product Approval & Compliance Management: Oversee the comprehensive review and approval process for all global licensed product submissions, ensuring strict adherence to Ford's brand guidelines, trademark usage, design execution, and quality standards across diverse categories (e.g., die-cast, apparel, interactive & gaming, experiential).
- Process Optimization & Digital Tool Management: Drive the strategic optimization of product development workflows, systems, and tools to enhance efficiency, maintain low turnaround times, and effectively manage the high volume of annual submissions, thereby scaling our operations for future growth. This includes managing relationships with software vendors (e.g., BrandComply), overseeing partner access to collaboration tools, and improving asset library organization and licensee compliance.
- Internal Stakeholder Collaboration: Collaborate extensively with internal Ford teams, including Enthusiast Brands, Ford Racing, Truck, Global Brand, Legal, and Design, to ensure seamless integration of brand and design elements into licensed products. Support proactive management of key stakeholder relationships.
- External Partner Management: Lead the coordination of business reviews with external licensee partners to ensure impactful brand representation and product quality. Assess new potential partners for strategic alignment, cultivate strong working relationships, and manage regular review processes with agencies and Product Development Specialists, including preparing briefs for trade conferences and conventions.
- Brand Integrity & Risk Mitigation: Develop and implement proactive strategies to address potential brand integrity risks, ensuring all licensed products consistently meet Ford's high standards for consumer appeal, safety, and brand reputation.
- Category Strategy & Guidelines: Define, develop, and maintain strategic category guidelines, product roadmaps, and a comprehensive list of Ford IP to guide licensees in product innovation and execution for high-impact categories such as gaming and outdoor.
- Data & Trend Analysis: Conduct thorough review and monitoring of category trends, competitive landscapes, and directional business performance of key licensees to inform product/category strategy, identify growth opportunities, and ensure market relevance.
- Future Planning & Content Support: Maintain an easily accessible visual calendar of key product drops across "Build, Thrill, Adventure" brand pillars (e.g., 6 quarters rolling). Support content development for internal forums when socializing licensed product plans to brand, marketing, and communications teams.
- Asset Development Coordination: Coordinate and ensure the timely delivery of core updates to style guides and asset packs to support product development initiatives, working with agencies, product specialists, and internal partners for key brand assets.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Manager
Industry
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
Education Level
No Education Listed
Number of Employees
5,001-10,000 employees
