WHO YOU’LL WORK WITH
Nike Global Product Licensing is a fast-growing, entrepreneurial team responsible for shaping and executing Nike’s long-term trademark licensing strategy across footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessories. We work closely with internal partners and external licensees to deliver brand-right, innovative products to consumers worldwide.
You will lead and drive alignment across Product, Design, Merchandising, Brand, Legal, Finance, and Geo/Territory teams, along with our external licensees, to accelerate strategic growth and deliver best‑in‑class licensed product.
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR
We’re seeking a strategic, consumer-obsessed Product Licensing Manager skilled in product creation leadership, cross-functional alignment, and managing complex external partnerships. You bring strong product and process knowledge, uphold brand standards, and thrive in a fast-moving, matrixed environment.
- Bachelor's degree in business management, product management, merchandising, or related field. Will accept any suitable combination of education, experience and training.
- 8+ years of relevant experience
- Deep expertise in product creation, merchandising, franchise management, and consumer insights, applied to set strategic direction and drive enterprise‑level growth.
- Proven ability to lead, influence, and align cross‑functional leadership teams, driving outcomes through vision, clarity, and accountability rather than direct authority.
- Executive‑level communication skills, with the ability to clearly articulate strategy, synthesize complexity, and influence decision‑making through written, verbal, and presentation forums.
- Demonstrated success navigating ambiguity and complexity, managing competing priorities and leading effectively within a highly matrixed, global organization.
- Strong strategic rigor and operational discipline, paired with exceptional organizational skills and the ability to influence outcomes at scale.
- Track record of building trusted relationships and driving alignment across diverse teams, functions, and senior stakeholders to accelerate execution.
- Highly developed product vision and style sensibility, ensuring brand‑right, consumer‑relevant, and commercially impactful outcomes.
- Ability to travel up to 25%
WHAT YOU’LL WORK ON
Enterprise Product & Partner Leadership
• Own and set product strategy direction for licensee partners at an enterprise level, ensuring assortments are consumer‑right, brand‑aligned, and commercially scalable across categories and geographies.
• Exercise decision rights over seasonal product strategies, that balance brand vision, innovation, speed, and financial outcomes.
• Provide executive leadership and governance across partner product creation, briefing, line planning, and gate processes, ensuring consistent application of Nike brand standards.
• Serve as an enterprise product authority, leveraging deep category and franchise expertise to guide senior‑level decisions and long‑term growth opportunities.
Strategic Category & Marketplace Alignment
• Align senior cross-functional leadership and Licensee leadership around consumer targets, brand positioning, assortment architecture, and distribution strategy at scale.
• Sponsor and lead high‑visibility initiatives tied to major brand moments, innovation platforms, and strategic collaborations, with accountability for outcomes and impact.
Cross‑Functional Enterprise Influence
• Leverage Consumer & Marketplace insights to guide and drive alignment across Senior cross-functional leadership on product, design, materials, innovation, storytelling, and packaging.
• Ensure enterprise compliance and brand integrity by partnering with Product Safety, Tech Development, Materials, Packaging, Brand Marketing, Legal, and Athlete Representation.
Operating Model & Governance
• Own governance of the end‑to‑end product approval ecosystem, ensuring Nike standards are upheld while enabling speed, scalability, and partner accountability.
• Lead enterprise communication of strategy and decisions, aligning GPL, sourcing, finance, legal, systems, and operations teams.
• Drive operating excellence and continuous improvement, establishing scalable processes, best practices, and ways of working across GPL, licensees, and categories.
• Maintain executive oversight of seasonal readiness, including approvals, assortment integrity, and sample governance.
We offer a number of accommodations to complete our interview process including screen readers, sign language interpreters, accessible and single location for in-person interviews, closed captioning, and other reasonable modifications as needed. If you discover, as you navigate our application process, that you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please complete the Candidate Accommodation Request Form.
Skills Required
- Bachelor’s degree in business management, product management, merchandising, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education, experience, and training.
- 8+ years of relevant experience.
- Deep expertise in product creation, merchandising, franchise management, and consumer insights.
- Experience setting strategic direction and driving enterprise-level growth.
- Proven ability to lead, influence, and align cross-functional leadership teams without direct authority.
- Executive-level written, verbal, and presentation communication skills.
- Ability to navigate ambiguity and complexity in a highly matrixed, global organization.
- Strong strategic rigor, operational discipline, organizational skills, and ability to influence outcomes at scale.
- Track record of building trusted relationships and aligning diverse teams and senior stakeholders.
- Highly developed product vision and style sensibility.
- Ability to travel up to 25%.
Nike Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Nike and has not been reviewed or approved by Nike.
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Retirement Support — A 401(k) with a company match is complemented by options such as a Mega Backdoor Roth and deferred compensation for eligible earners. Financial coaching and structured savings programs support long-term financial security.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — An Employee Stock Purchase Plan with a stock discount sits alongside broad-based equity vehicles like RSUs and non-qualified stock options. These avenues expand wealth-building opportunities beyond base pay.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave includes maternity and paternity time, recently expanded in the U.S. to 16 weeks and extended to part-time retail teammates. Additional supports include childcare assistance at select locations and family-building benefits such as fertility, surrogacy, and adoption.
Nike Insights
What We Do
At NIKE, Inc., we innovate to serve athletes*. Every teammate - from coder to creator - plays a role in making these athletes’ dreams real. Our tech, data, and digital teams push limits every day, building the future of sport and the tools that drive it. Here, curiosity is fuel. Innovation is the game plan. Different perspectives keep us on the offense. You’ll solve challenges worth tackling, grow fast and belong to a team that backs you to do the right thing. Bring your drive. Bring your bold. Let’s move the world, together. Take your first step at nike.com/careers * If you have a body, you’re an athlete.
Why Work With Us
At NIKE, Inc., your dedication fuels the future of sport. There is a sense of pride that comes from representing an iconic brand and shaping its future. Here, we treat every day as a new opportunity to push boundaries, ask tough questions and share whole-hearted convictions. We are a team – united by the belief that anything is possible.
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