Retail Franchise & Licensing Manager

Job Purpose:

The Retail Franchise & Licensing Manager is responsible for managing and maximising Al-Ittihad’s commercial IP revenue across two equally weighted streams: the retail franchise partnership and the Club’s licensing programme. In the franchise stream, the role serves as the primary day-to-day interface with the Retail Franchise partner, ensuring contractual milestones are met, brand standards are upheld, and performance is tracked against agreed KPIs across the contractual term. In the licensing stream, the role manages the full lifecycle of licensing agreements from partner onboarding and product approval to royalty tracking and compliance enforcement in line with the approved Licensing Framework. The role operates as a dual commercial and brand governance function, ensuring both streams generate sustainable, high-margin revenue while protecting the integrity and reputation of the Al-Ittihad brand.

Key Activities, Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

A. Retail Franchise Management

• Serve as the primary operational interface with the Retail Franchise partner, managing the day-to-day franchise relationship and ensuring full adherence to all contractual obligations.
• Monitor and enforce the Contractual Milestone & Accountability Framework tracking all progressive milestones against agreed timelines, gate conditions, and performance streams.
• Conduct monthly review of franchise sales reports, GMV, and commission data; prepare Quarterly Business Review (QBR) packs for internal leadership.
• Enforce brand standards across all franchise-operated stores approving store concepts, visual merchandising planograms, and product ranges prior to launch.
• Coordinate ICC location approval for all new store openings, ensuring compliance with site criteria and brand guidelines.
• Manage the store takeover and expansion process, overseeing handover of existing stores and onboarding of new franchise locations across the plan.
• Monitor franchise partner’s marketing commitments including campaign plans, digital spend allocation, and seasonal product drop calendars.
• Oversee the Retail Franchise & Kit Partner Senior Specialist in managing technical partner obligations and kit-related contractual deliverables.
• Escalate performance shortfalls through the structured consequence mechanism: initiating cure periods, step-in rights, or termination procedures as required.
• Maintain 24/7 ICC data access rights and ensure reporting dashboards are active, accurate, and reviewed on schedule.

B. Licensing Management

• Manage the end-to-end lifecycle of all licensing agreements from partner identification and onboarding through to royalty collection, compliance monitoring, and renewal or exit.
• Apply and enforce the approved Licensing Framework, including the tiered royalty structure (Tier 1/2/3), stream classification (Itti vs Co-Brand), and the mandatory 7-point licensing checklist for all new submissions.
• Review all incoming licensing proposals against the Resolution 5/2/26 checklist: exclusivity terms, ICC pre-approval process, exit strategy, reputational exposure assessment, and revenue projections.
• Manage the product approval workflow: ensuring all licensed products receive ICC written sign-off prior to production and that no unauthorised products reach market.
• Track royalty income, minimum guarantee payments, and overall deal performance across the active licensing portfolio; prepare periodic revenue reports for the Head of Franchise & Licensing.
• Oversee the Licensing Specialist in managing partner communications, agreement documentation, and the centralised licensing agreement register.
• Coordinate with Legal/GRC on all new agreements ensuring no deal is executed without the required sign-off and all contracts meet brand protection standards.
• Monitor compliance with brand audit rights, morality clauses, and auto-termination triggers across all active licensing agreements.
• Manage the 90-day inventory sellout process and post-exit obligations upon agreement termination.
• Identify and develop new licensing opportunities aligned to the Everyday Ittihadi licensing strategy, prioritising categories in the approved licensing framework.

C. Commercial Governance & Reporting

• Maintain a live centralized register of all franchise and licensing agreements, including key terms, renewal dates, termination triggers, and compliance status.
• Support the Head of Franchise & Licensing in preparing Board submissions, approval presentations, and commercial performance updates.
• Conduct quarterly contract conflict checks across all active agreements for exclusivity overlaps, territorial conflicts, and IP contradictions.
• Ensure all new licensing deals are presented with the standardized checklist.
• Contribute to the development of standard licensing agreement templates and brand governance policies in coordination with Legal.

Communication and Working Relationships:

Internal:

• Head of Franchise & Licensing (direct line manager)
• Legal & GRC (contract review and compliance sign-off)
• Finance (royalty tracking and P&L reporting)
• Marketing & Brand (product approvals and campaign coordination)
• E-Commerce (digital channel alignment)
• Retail Franchise & Kit Partner Senior Specialist (direct report)
• Licensing Specialist (direct report)

External:

• Retail Franchise partner
• Technical kit partner
• Active and prospective licensing partners
• Sub-licensing agents
• Legal counsel and brand consultants.