Brands & Licensing Sourcing Manager – 12 Month FTC

Superdry careers; Cheltenham; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Birthday day off

Pension scheme

Life Assurance

Staff discount 50%

Cycle To Work

Flexible working hours

Onsite parking

Learning & development

Volunteer time off

Job summary

Superdry seeks an experienced Brands & Licensing Sourcing Manager to lead onboarding of licensed brands, assess supplier capability, and drive negotiations for optimal margins. The role oversees packaging and trims, coordinates with merchandising and demand planning, and ensures timely production across global partners.

You are a senior sourcing professional with fashion industry expertise, strong critical-path and calendar management skills, and comfortable navigating complex licensing

Qualifications

• Educated to degree level or equivalent.
• Experienced Sourcing Manager or Senior Manager in fashion.
• Strong knowledge of product construction, critical path, costing and calendar management.

Responsibilities

• Lead onboarding of newly licensed brands from supplier assessment to first production.
• Assess supply base capability, capacity and allocation across regions.
• Negotiate cost prices to achieve target margins for licensed products.
• Collaborate with Retail Merchandising and Demand Planning on delivery phasing.
• Set up and manage trading critical path for each brand.
• Coordinate stock positioning and store location decisions.
• Support licensing strategy with Commercial Director.

Skills

Sourcing management

Brand licensing knowledge

Negotiation skills

Stakeholder management

Project management

Advanced Excel

Passion for fashion

Education

Degree level or equivalent

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Word

Job description

The Role

Working within the Sourcing & Planning function as a Brands & Licensing Sourcing Manager, you will be a key stakeholder in bringing newly licensed brands into our portfolio, acting as the sourcing lead from initial onboarding through to first production. You will hold responsibility for procuring packaging and trim components across our global range, with licensing adding an extra layer of complexity given the detailed, brand-specific guidelines each new partner brings.

You Will

• Brands & Licensing:
  1. Lead the onboarding of newly licensed brands, acting as the key point of contact within the Sourcing function from initial supplier and factory assessment through to first production
  2. Assess whether we have the right supply base to support each new brand, including supplier capability, capacity and allocation across categories and regions
  3. Take responsibility for cost price negotiations on licensed brand product, securing cost efficiencies through effective negotiation and by accurately analysing benchmark and open costings with existing and potential suppliers, to achieve target margin
  4. Partner with Retail Merchandising and Demand Planning on delivery phasing and planning for licensed brands
  5. Set up and own the trading business critical path for each brand, engaging cross-functional teams to ensure alignment to key dates
  6. Work with Retail Merchandising on stock positioning, identifying the most suitable stores and locations to stock each brand's product
  7. Work closely with our Commercial Director, supporting the wider brand and licensing strategy as new deals are agreed
• Packaging & Trims:
  1. Collaborate with design and suppliers on ways to reduce lead times, such as reviewing available fabrics & trims
  2. Take ownership for ensuring cost efficiencies for trims have been secured through effective negotiation with suppliers, leveraging scale and accurately analysing benchmark costings with existing and potential suppliers
  3. Share forecasts with label & packaging suppliers on a seasonal basis
  4. Monitor label production throughout the season, ensuring lead times are adhered to and addressing any capacity concerns that could impact bulk production delivery timelines
  5. Manage the label supplier rebate process, ensuring accurate invoices are raised and paid in a timely manner

You Are

• Educated to degree level or equivalent
• A highly experienced Sourcing Manager or Senior Manager with a strong background in the fashion industry, and extensive knowledge of product sourcing
• Equipped with advanced knowledge of product construction, the critical path, costing, manufacturing and calendar management
• Knowledgeable about trends in market conditions, pricing and future markets
• A strong negotiator with the ability to find pragmatic solutions that work for all parties, comfortable operating at an extremely high level of price negotiation
• Able to think through the details and contingencies of plans and make sound business decisions, comfortable operating with ambiguity given the developing nature of our licensing model
• A strong written and verbal communicator with the ability to influence and establish credible relationships with suppliers, brand and licensing partners, and senior stakeholders including our Commercial Director
• An excellent organiser, with project management and planning skills as well as the proven ability to prioritise multiple projects while maintaining attention to detail and accurate work in a fast paced and changing environment
• Self-motivated with a positive attitude, able to work at pace to deliver to agreed timelines
• Equipped with good computer skills including proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint & Word
• Experience of working with licensed brands or a multi-brand portfolio is advantageous, though not essential
• Based within easy commuting distance of Cheltenham, or willing to relocate

Working for Superdry has never been so rewarding...

• 25 days annual leave, plus bank holidays, we also offer a holiday buying scheme
• An additional day off to celebrate your Birthday
• Family is massively important to us, so we have a broad range of family-friendly working policies in place, including enhanced maternity, paternity, and adoption leave
• Company Pension scheme
• All employees are covered by our Life Assurance policy whilst working at Superdry. We feel it’s important to offer protection for your family and loved ones in such a situation and to support this we offer life assurance cover which pays a lump sum equivalent either twice or four times your annual salary
• A big staff discount - naturally. Because we know that you love to wear Superdry, you'll benefit from a 50% discount in store and online
• Our Head Office is home to our very own store for staff only where you can treat yourself to heavily discounted sample stock
• A health cash plan is open to all employees.
• Flexible working and core working hours between 10am - 4pm to help you achieve that all-important work-life balance
• Access to onsite parking and as part of our sustainable development goals, we have a selection of electrical car parking points freely available to staff.
• A range of learning and development materials to help you in your career and grow with us
• We like to give back, so we allow our employees time off for volunteering work
• A global employee assistance plan in place that you can access anytime you want - it's free and confidential
• You'll also have access to a Cycle To Work Scheme
• A range of local discounts with businesses across Gloucestershire

At Superdry, everyone has a voice and we want to hear it. We create environments where individuality can flourish and is celebrated as part of who we are as a brand. We're incredibly proud that over 90% of our people feel strongly that they can be themselves at work.

We want to meet people with varied backgrounds because we understand that diversity of thought encourages new ideas to thrive, fuelling creativity and enabling us to do better work. We want to build a team which represents a variety of backgrounds, styles, perspectives, and skills; we hire people based on their merit and potential.

We also welcome conversations about flexible working for all roles at Superdry and will always accommodate it where possible.

Please note that some jobs may be closed earlier than the published closing date if we get a high volume of applications. We therefore advise that you complete your application at your earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment.

Who we are

Superdry have been making world-class product for over 20 years, and we're proud of it. Our mission is to inspire and engage the contemporary style-obsessed consumer, whilst leaving a positive environmental legacy.

Together with our CEO, we have built a brand that has cut through the global apparel market at record speed, taking market share from brands that have existed for decades.

Our brand direction has never been stronger, evolving American Prep to resonate with a new generation of customers.

We are now on an exciting journey having reset our brand returning to our design-led roots and we are looking for talented people to join us.