Licensing Operations Manager

Department: Workforce and Games Services Reports to: Head of Licensing Operations Position Type: Full-Time

1. JOB PURPOSE

In July 2022, will host the XXII , the largest multi-sport event to be held in in 10 years. Approximately 6,500 athletes and team officials from 71 nations and territories across the Commonwealth will come together in a 12-day celebration of sport and culture. Events will take place across Birmingham and the West Midlands, entertaining more than one million ticketed spectators and reaching a global broadcast audience of more than one billion.

Each of the signatories to the Host City Contract (HCC); the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), UK Government, and Commonwealth Games England (CGE) together with the Organising Committee have key roles role in the planning and delivery of the , both individually and collectively to ensure that the 2022 Commonwealth Games and the host community legacies derived from hosting the Games are a huge success.

The parties to the HCC have established Birmingham Organising Committee for the 2022 Commonwealth Games Ltd as the Organising Committee. The scope of the Organising Committee’s role is broad and complex and ranges from ensuring the physical readiness of the venues and temporary facilities, to the planning, coordination and delivery of more than 40 operational functions such as transport, security and catering to meet the needs of the Games, including the athletes,

technical officials, spectators, press, broadcasters and other Games Family and stakeholders.

The purpose of the role of Licensing Operations Manager is to manage the operational deliverables for the Licensing and Merchandise Programme for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games by developing and delivering policies and procedures, planning venue operations, and overseeing delivery of all licensing and merchandising services, to deliver a diverse merchandise proposition that enhances the customer experience of the Games. 2. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Overall responsibility for delivery of all Licensing & Merchandising operations.

• Responsibility for the delivery of all sales channels of official Licensed Products, including Games Time Venue Concessions and Superstores, Live Sites, Pop-up stores, general retail.

• Contract manage and support the Master Licensee and Official Retailer Partners to ensure contract compliance and delivery of a successful programme with specific focus on: o workforce planning o accreditation o operations planning o venue planning and overlay o Games time planning e.g. Daily Run Sheets, Bump-in planning, secure deliveries. o city centre activations o QBR activations o visual merchandising o compliance with brand guidelines and retailer guidelines o health and safety compliance

• Integrate and liaise effectively with internal Functional Areas (FA’s) to ensure all Licensing and Merchandising operational requirements (e.g. particular venue space requirements, energy and technical solutions) are fully understood and agreed.

• Assist with Brand integrity and licensed products approval processes.

• Contribute to the development and the communication of the Mascot programme.

• Protection of the Birmingham 2022 brand for consumer products, merchandise and sponsor premiums.

• Financial performance of all retail outlets against Licensing & Merchandising plan.

• Approved retailer strategy and implementation.

• Act as the key person for all Licensing and Merchandising operational issues with contractors and within Birmingham 2022.

• Act as the key person responsible for successful retail operations and health and safety for all Licensing and Merchandising activations.

• Responsibilities of the role will evolve during the lifespan of the Organising Committee and it is likely that the role profile will evolve with the changing needs of the OC. 3. PERSON SPECIFICATION a) Skills and experience required

AREA ESSENTIAL DESIRABLE

Qualifications • Higher education qualifications in sport or event management.

Skills & • Demonstrable strong • Ability to understand Abilities analytical and problem-solving Brand assets and assist skills. with product approvals.

• High level of organisational • Negotiating skills. skills and experience in managing demanding projects • Confident presenting to simultaneously. peers and senior management in group • Flexibility to support several situations. different projects within the Licensing Functional Area and to adapt to the differing demands.

• Skilled in the use of Word and Excel.

• Excellent communication, interpersonal and negotiation skills.

• Ability to compromise while maintaining an assertive approach when dealing with contractors and stakeholders.

• Ability to influence others and manage relationships.

• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment, frequently under pressure, on multiple tasks.

• Management experience in a high-quality customer service environment.

Knowledge & • Experience in Licensing and • Experience of Brand Experience Merchandising operations in a Protection methods. multi-sport, multi-venue environment. • Visual Merchandising.

• Experience in managing • Retail marketing and PR. licensees and event retail operators. • Dealing with stakeholders (internal and external) and • Merchandise sales. sponsors.

• Health and Safety preferably • Knowledge of in an event retail environment. merchandise range planning.

• Licensed product approvals.

• Compliance with Style Guide and Brand Guidelines.

• Financial awareness, budgeting and understanding of royalty payments.

b) Personal Qualities

Teamwork • Embraces diversity and displays respect and loyalty to colleagues, the organisation and partners; • Engages effectively, and is helpful and supportive towards others; • Highly collaborative, taking the time to engage with team members; • Reliable and committed to success of the team; • Embraces change and is adaptable;

Communication • Natural communicator at all levels, approachable and knowledgeable; • Open and transparent but also maintains trust and confidentiality; • Prepared to challenge information and bureaucracy; • Embraces and absorbs new information.

Commitment • Excellent communication, diplomatic and interpersonal skills; and results the ability to enthuse, negotiate and influence across a variety delivery of forms of communication; • Demonstrate an ability to interpret a range of information or tasks, making decisions that have an impact on the wider sport team and project; • An ability to mentor team members, developing their capabilities through support, guidance and exposure to opportunities.

Motivation and • Demonstrates enjoyment in their work; drive • Professional, polite and approachable manner;

• Positive attitude and optimistic; • Resilient, calm and in control of emotions; • Self-motivated and proud to be part of the experience;