Director, Portfolio Management

Fanatics; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 174,000 - 216,000; Full time

Job summary

Fanatics Collectives is seeking a Director to own the inventory portfolio for Instant Rips, making capital allocation decisions in a fast-moving market. You will set pricing and margins while leading a team of portfolio managers to optimize balance sheet risk and profitability.

You will collaborate with Instant Rips product, Finance, Commercial, Marketplace, and B2B partners, reporting outcomes to senior leadership and shaping the collector experience through disciplined risk and pricing

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Economics, or related field; MBA preferred.
• 10+ years in trading, portfolio management, inventory or sourcing; 3+ years leading teams.
• Proven ability to own buying decisions and manage balance sheet risk.
• Strong understanding of trading cards, collectibles or illiquid markets.

Responsibilities

• Own portfolio strategy and P&L with revenue, retention, and margin targets.
• Manage balance sheet exposure including position sizing, aging inventory, and liquidity.
• Define risk framework with exposure limits and markdown policies.
• Oversee packaging economics, EV, and margins with Commercial and Finance.
• Build and run live ops for drops, calendar events, and partnerships.
• Lead sourcing roadmap with Product, Design, and Engineering to improve liquidity.
• Develop and maintain a B2B order book aligning inventory with partner demand.
• Drive customer lifecycle strategies from first rip to VIP and maximize LTV.
• Run experiments on pricing, pack mechanics, and CRM; report to senior leadership.

Skills

Portfolio management

Risk management

Financial acumen

Leadership

Excel/BI

Trading card market knowledge

Data-driven decision making

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business/Finance/Economics

MBA or equivalent preferred

Tools

Excel

BI tools

Job description

About Us

Fanatics is building a leading global digital sports platform. We ignite the passions of global sports fans and maximize the presence and reach for our hundreds of sports partners globally by offering products and services across Fanatics Commerce, Fanatics Collectibles, and Fanatics Betting & Gaming, allowing sports fans to Buy, Collect, and Bet. Through the Fanatics platform, sports fans can buy licensed fan gear, jerseys, lifestyle and streetwear products, headwear, and hardgoods; collect physical and digital trading cards, sports memorabilia, and other digital assets; and bet as the company builds its Sportsbook and iGaming platform. Fanatics has an established database of over 100 million global sports fans; a global partner network with approximately 900 sports properties, including major national and international professional sports leagues, players associations, teams, colleges, college conferences and retail partners, 2,500 athletes and celebrities, and 200 exclusive athletes; and over 2,000 retail locations, including its Lids retail stores. Our more than 22,000 employees are committed to relentlessly enhancing the fan experience and delighting sports fans globally.

About the Company

Fanatics Collect is a global product and technology group dedicated to revolutionizing the world of collectibles. Every day our team of experienced product leaders, engineers, and operators obsesses over how to create the ultimate collector experience across Topps.com, Fanatics Collect, the most trusted and dynamic collector focused marketplace, and our live shopping platform, Fanatics Live.

We are backed by Fanatics, the world’s largest sports merchandiser, with more than 900 global sports relationships, 90+ million reachable fans, and exclusive licensing deals with the MLB, NFL, and NBA among many others. But we are a nimble, ambitious team building products from the ground up.

If you are passionate about building world class products and share our love for sports fans and collectors, Fanatics Collect is a chance to help build the future of collecting.

About the Role

We are seeking a Director to own the inventory portfolio behind Fanatics Collect and its Instant Rips business. Instant Rips only works if the right cards are in the right packs at the right cost, and if the balance sheet that supports them is managed with discipline. This leader decides what and when we buy, what we hold, and when we sell and is accountable for the downside risk those decisions create.

This is a true ownership role. You will make capital allocation calls on a live, fast-moving market, set the pricing and margin framework across the portfolio, and manage a team of portfolio managers who execute day to day. Managing downside risk on balance sheet exposure is the crux of the job. You will work closely with Instant Rips product, Finance, Commercial,

Marketplace, and our B2B partners, and you will be highly visible to senior leadership.

Responsibilities

• Own portfolio strategy and P&L, setting and delivering against ambitious revenue, retention, and margin targets.
• Own risk management for balance sheet exposure created by buying and sourcing decisions, including position sizing, concentration limits, aging inventory, price volatility, and liquidity.
• Define and maintain the risk framework: exposure limits, stop-loss and markdown policies, reporting cadence, and escalation paths.
• Own Instant Rip pack design and economics in partnership with Commercial leads and Finance, managing EV, buyback rates, sourcing, and margin so that the collector experience and the business model reinforce each other.
• Build and run a live ops engine: pack launches, limited drops, seasonal and sport-calendar events, collaborations, and tentpole moments, with a clear calendar and a measurable playbook.
• Define and execute the sourcing product roadmap in partnership with Product, Design, and Engineering, ensuring improved liquidity options for collectors
• Build and launch an order book of demand and supply for B2B partners, matching inventory to partner needs and sourcing against open demand.
• Partner on user cohorting and lifecycle strategy, from first rip to VIP, using data to understand what drives repeat purchase, card retention, and lifetime value.
• Run a rigorous experimentation program across pricing, pack mechanics, merchandising, onboarding, and CRM.
• Partner with Legal, Policy, and Compliance to ensure Instant Rips is built on transparent mechanics and a collector-first foundation, and operates responsibly in an evolving regulatory landscape.
• Work with Partnerships, Marketing, and Content to bring licensors, athletes, breakers, and creators into Instant Rips moments.
• Build and maintain relationships with distributors, wholesalers, breakers, consignors, and large sellers to secure competitive pricing and supply.
• Build, coach, and develop a high-performing team, setting clear expectations and a culture of ownership and speed.
• Report on performance to senior leadership with clear, number-led insight into what is working, what is not, and what happens next.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in trading, portfolio management, inventory or merchandise buying, category management, or sourcing, including 3+ years leading teams.
• Proven track record owning buying decisions and managing balance sheet or inventory risk, with accountability for margin and write-down outcomes.
• Strong understanding of the trading card market, including key players, product trends, grading, and price dynamics. Experience in collectibles, alternative assets, or other illiquid, price-volatile markets is a strong plus.
• Demonstrated ability to build and apply risk frameworks, including exposure limits, scenario analysis, and pricing models.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen, including forecasting, unit economics, and working capital management.
• Experience negotiating with suppliers, sellers, and large-scale counterparties, and managing B2B relationships or order books.
• Analytical mindset, with fluency in Excel and/or BI tools, and comfort working directly with data.
• Sound judgment and decisiveness under uncertainty, with the ability to act quickly on incomplete information.
• Exceptional communication and cross-functional leadership skills, with the ability to influence senior stakeholders.
• Genuine passion for sports, trading cards, or collectibles.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Economics, or a related field. MBA or equivalent preferred.

The salary range represents base pay only and does not include short-term or long-term incentive compensation. This salary range is specific to Los Angeles and may not be applicable to other locations. When determining base pay, as part of a final compensation package, we consider several factors such as location, experience, qualifications, and training. For information about our benefits, please visit https://benefitsatfanatics.com/

Los Angeles Salary Range

$173,650 - $216,200 USD

The salary range represents base pay only and does not include short-term or long-term incentive compensation. This salary range is specific to New York City and may not be applicable to other locations. When determining base pay, as part of a final compensation package, we consider several factors such as location, experience, qualifications, and training. For information about our benefits, please visit https://benefitsatfanatics.com/

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in Fanatics Collectibles’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service‑connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three‑year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.