About the Role
The Director, Brand Licensing is responsible for the full lifecycle of the Ariat licensing business. This new position owns developing the licensing strategy, identifying potential brand-right opportunities, and bringing these partnerships to life. The successful candidate for this position is an entrepreneur who is passionate about building internal and external relationships and partnering across functions to drive the licensing business.
You'll Make a Difference By
- Identifying, qualifying, and quantifying product partnership opportunities to meet revenue targets and increase brand visibility
- Driving licensing strategy for key product categories independently - developing business cases and creating innovative proposals that deliver mutual value
- Building and maintaining a pipeline of brand-right opportunities while analyzing and prioritizing them based on scalability and potential
- Managing all aspects of licensing, including business planning, contract negotiation, go-to-market (GTM) execution, relationship development, and quarterly business reviews
- Owning and effectively communicating business results and requirements to both internal and external stakeholders
- Developing strong relationships across all organizational levels and leading cross-functional discussions and negotiations with partners
- Collaborating cross-functionally with product, design, marketing, legal, and strategy teams to develop and onboard partners
- Leading, developing, and motivating direct reports to ensure high performance
- Partnering closely with the executive team to support and advance strategic licensing initiatives
- Other duties as assigned
About You
- Deep knowledge of licensing best practices; strong merchandising "eye".
- Passionate about the customer with a strong interest in understanding and driving user behavior.
- 7+ years' licensing or related experience in consumer products; experience in an omni-channel brand preferred. Experience with Outdoor, Athletic, or Western markets a plus.
- Demonstrated ability to lead and developing direct report(s) and motivate a team to reach goals.
- Excellent communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively in a cross-functional team environment while being able to achieve individual goals and projects.
- Effective relationship-building skills; professional savvy and organizational agility to leverage partnerships across the organization to get work done.
- Excellent business acumen and analysis skills - ability to utilize data to read and drive the business.
- Proactive problem-solving skills: ability to anticipate obstacles and quickly generate alternate solutions/ideas.
- Composure and ability to present to internal and external senior leadership level.
- Exceptional organizational skills; detail oriented.
- Strong time management skills: ability to juggle scope, priorities and multiple projects.
- Employs a strategic approach to process; ability to organize and divvy up work effectively.
- Can-do positive attitude and a roll-up-your-sleeves approach; personable and flexible with demands and changes in business.
- Bachelor's degree in a related field preferred.
About Ariat
Ariat is an innovative, outdoor global brand with roots in equestrian performance. We develop high-quality footwear and apparel for people who ride, work, and play outdoors, and care about performance, quality, comfort, and style.
The salary range for this position is $158,000 - $178,000 per year.
The salary is determined by the education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities of the applicant, internal equity, and alignment with market data for geographic locations. Ariat in good faith believes that this posted compensation range is accurate for this role at this location at the time of this posting. This range may be modified in the future.
Ariat's holistic benefits package for full-time team members includes (but is not limited to):
- Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance options
- Expanded wellness and mental health benefits
- Paid time off (PTO), paid holidays, and paid volunteer days
- 401(k) with company match
- Bonus incentive plans
- Team member discount on Ariat merchandise
Note: Availability of benefits may be subject to location & employment type and may have certain eligibility requirements. Ariat reserves the right to alter these benefits in whole or in part at any time without advance notice.
Ariat will consider qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with state and local laws. Ariat is an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetics or any other basis protected under federal, state, or local law. Ariat is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to candidates with disabilities. If you need an accommodation during the application process, email .
Please see our Employment Candidate Privacy Policy at to learn more about how we collect, use, retain and disclose Personal Information.
Please note that Ariat does not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiters or employment agencies. In the absence of a signed Agreement, Ariat will not consider or agree to payment of any referral compensation or recruiter/agency placement fee. In the event a recruiter or agency submits a resume or candidate without a previously signed Agreement, Ariat explicitly reserves the right to pursue and hire those candidate(s) without any financial obligation to the recruiter or agency. Any unsolicited resumes, including those submitted directly to hiring managers, are deemed to be the property of Ariat.