Assistant Vice President, Licensing & Trademarks

University of Houston; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 127,000 - 166,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Houston System seeks an Assistant Vice President of Licensing and Trademarks to lead strategic management and protection of institutional marks across UH System entities and UH campuses. This entrepreneurial leader will drive licensing partnerships and new programs to elevate UH brands and revenue, coordinating with Athletics and multiple UH departments.

The role requires extensive research, cross-functional collaboration, and experience in collegiate licensing.

Qualifications

• Requires seven (7) years of directly job-related experience.
• Master's degree or equivalent in a recognized field related to collegiate licensing.

Responsibilities

• Lead management of UH System institutional marks and protect brand assets to align with standards.
• Manage department staff and liaise with licensing representation services.
• Grow licensing revenue through product/program development and partnerships.
• Collaborate with Athletics and internal departments on NIL merchandising opportunities.
• Monitor licensee performance with retail analytics and KPIs.

Job description

Department: Licensing & Trademarks

Salary: $127,300.00 - $165,500.00

Description:

The Assistant Vice President of Licensing and Trademarks position within the Division of University Marketing and Communications leads the strategic management, protection and elevation of the UH System and University institutional marks in their deployment on commercial and retail consumer goods. This entrepreneurial leader will lead UH into high-impact partnerships, launching innovative collegiate licensing programs, navigating modern industry dynamics, and fostering collaboration across UH System universities, University departments and Athletics.

1. 1. Assures consistent management of the UH System institutional marks (including University of Houston, UH-Clear Lake and UH-Downtown) and oversees protection of all UH and UH System brand assets, including logos and trademarks, to ensure alignment with institutional standards.
2. 2. Manages department staff, which includes assistant director, and serves as the university?s liaison with the agency that provides licensing representation and support services to enhance and elevate the UH System brands.
3. 3. Leads initiatives to grow licensing revenue through strategic product and program development, high-impact licensing partnerships, commercial retail expansion and activations.
4. 4. Manages relationship with licensees, retailers and merchandise providers, including the University Bookstore.
5. 5. Collaborates with Athletics and internal departments to capitalize on co-branding opportunities and support modern Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) merchandising efforts in accordance with university and system policies.
6. 6. Uses retail analytics to monitor licensee performance, assess product category performance, identify gaps in assortment and distribution, and track KPIs.
7. 7. Executes robust market forecasting to anticipate retail trends, consumer demands and emerging brand opportunities.
8. 8. Establishes performance metrics and reporting structures to assess impact and continuous improvement.
9. 9. Administers budget, manages royalty distribution and ensures UH and UHS policies and procedures are consistently followed.
10. 10. Collaborates with UHS Office of General Counsel, and with outside counsel as necessary, on federal trademark registration and other legal considerations.
11. 11. Requires extensive research that involves obtaining information through the coordination of numerous different areas of expertise, typically involving resources from outside the University.
12. 12. Navigates extremely complex and often unprecedented situations, requiring extensive research and the coordination of numerous areas of expertise, typically involving resources from outside the University.
13. 13. Performs other duties as required.

MQ: Requires a thorough understanding of both theoretical and practical aspects of an analytical, technical or professional discipline; or the basic knowledge of more than one professional discipline. Knowledge of the discipline is normally obtained through a formal, directly job-related 4 year degree from a college or university or an equivalent in-depth specialized training program that is directly related to the type of work being performed. Requires a minimum of seven (7) years of directly job-related experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree or equivalent formal training in a recognized field of specialization directly related to the type of work being performed.
• Direct experience and proven capability in brand asset valuation.

Additional Qualifications

• Proven and direct experience in collegiate licensing.
• Demonstrated ability to perform accurate market forecasting and apply data-driven insights.
• Proven track record in achieving revenue growth through the development and launch of new programs.
• Demonstrated expertise in general business management and the application of advanced principles, techniques and theory in the collegiate licensing discipline.

Work Complexity & Impact

• Requires an extensive knowledge of principals and practices within several professional fields.
• Work is broad in scope, covering one or more functional areas.
• Requires extensive research that involves obtaining information through the coordination of numerous different areas of expertise, typically involving resources from outside the University.
• Navigates extremely complex and often unprecedented situations, requiring extensive research and the coordination of numerous areas of expertise, typically involving resources from outside the University.

All positions at the University of Houston-System are security sensitive and will require a criminal history check.

The University of Houston System and its universities are Equal Opportunity Institutions. Everyone is encouraged to apply.