Licensing Director

Debenhams Group; London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Debenhams Group is seeking a Licensing Director to lead their licensing strategy and drive brand growth through innovative partnerships. This senior role requires strategic agility and the ability to influence stakeholders, offering a dynamic environment for a results-driven leader.

Benefits

Highly competitive bonus scheme

Company pension

Private medical cover

40% discount across four brands

Ongoing learning and development opportunities

On-site gym and fitness classes

Qualifications

• Extensive experience leading licensing in fashion or consumer brands.
• Proven track record of executing high-value licensing deals.
• Exceptional stakeholder management skills.

Responsibilities

• Own and evolve the Group’s licensing strategy.
• Identify and negotiate high-impact licensing agreements.
• Manage relationships with current licensees.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Negotiation

Strategic mindset

Commercial acumen

Communication

Presentation skills

Job description

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THE ROLE

At Debenhams Group, we're rewriting the rules of retail. We move fast, think boldly, and embrace innovation at every level. Change is constant here and that's exactly how we like it. If you thrive in high-growth environments, get excited by new challenges, and want to make a tangible impact on a brand with global reach, this is your stage.

We’re looking for a dynamic and commercially savvy Head of or Director of Licensing, someone who can not only see opportunity, but seize it. This is a senior leadership role requiring strategic agility, sharp commercial instincts, and the confidence to influence at the highest levels.

This role can be based out of our central Manchester or Soho, London office.

WHAT YOU'LL BE DOING

As our Head of Licensing, you’ll own and evolve the Group’s licensing strategy, driving revenue and brand growth through world-class partnerships and bold market plays. You’ll act as a key ambassador for the Debenhams brand, working cross-functionally and externally with senior stakeholders, collaborators, and licensees.

• Define and deliver a future-facing global licensing strategy aligned with Debenhams' brand and business goals.
• Drive new brand licensing and inward collaboration deals across targeted global markets.
• Identify and negotiate high-impact licensing agreements with new partners — always with brand integrity and growth front of mind.
• Manage and nurture relationships with current licensees to ensure mutual commercial success and contractual compliance.
• Work closely with senior leaders across marketing, design, legal, and finance to bring category-expanding opportunities to life.
• Oversee the brand approval process for licensed products and collaborations, ensuring flawless brand representation.
• Stay ahead of market trends, identifying white space, emerging categories, and innovative brand partnerships.
• Track, analyse, and report on licensing performance, providing actionable insights and forward-looking recommendations.

WHAT WE LOOK FOR

Your Skills, Knowledge and Experience

• Extensive experience leading licensing within the fashion, lifestyle, or consumer brand space.
• A proven track record of executing complex, high-value licensing deals that drive brand equity and commercial success.
• Exceptional stakeholder management skills, with the gravitas to influence senior internal and external decision-makers.
• A strategic mindset combined with hands-on commercial acumen.
• Strong negotiation, communication, and presentation skills.
• A creative eye for brand alignment and product opportunity.
• A results-driven, agile approach, with the confidence to lead in ambiguity and pace.

WORKING WITH US

At Debenhams Group we thrive on change, innovation, and pace. Every challenge is an opportunity, and every day is a chance to push boundaries. If you’re someone who embraces the unknown, thrives in a fast-moving, high-growth environment, and is ready to shape the future of retail, you’ll love it here. We want visionaries, disruptors, and doers—people who bring fresh thinking, relentless energy, and the drive to make an impact.

WHY JOIN US

Our mission is to create a workplace where everyone is respected, their individual differences are valued, and they can be themselves at work without exception.

2025 is a year for making bold moves, delivering real results, and driving forward with unstoppable momentum. If that excites you, then you belong at Debenhams Group.

Let’s lead the change together.

Benefits Include: (subject to level and eligibility)

• Highly competitive bonus scheme, company pension, share schemes, private medical cover, and life assurance
• Access to an on-site gym (Techno Equipment) and free weekly yoga and fitness classes
• 40% discount across four brands and 20% off at Debenhams
• A comprehensive wellbeing package to support your health and lifestyle
• Some of our offices are dog-friendly, so your furry friend can join you at work
• Ongoing learning and development opportunities with great internal career progression
• On-site canteen serving breakfast, lunch, snacks, and hot drinks daily
• Free season ticket loan

Seniority level

• Seniority level

  Director

Employment type

• Employment type

  Full-time

Job function

• Job function

  Sales, Business Development, and Project Management

• Industries

  Retail Apparel and Fashion, Technology, Information and Internet, and Retail

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