VP, Franchise Development & Consumer Products

• →Own the global franchise roadmap, treating Poppy Playtime as a business to build rather than a catalog to license out.
• →Identify white space opportunities (categories, geographies, formats, platforms) and build the case, structure, and team to launch them.
• →Set annual franchise and licensing priorities and revenue plans.
• →Operate with a founder's mentality, defining strategy and execution simultaneously where no playbook yet exists.

• Own the global licensing roadmap across all categories (toys, apparel, collectibles, home, publishing, and beyond); identify, prioritize, and close new licensee partnerships.
• Manage the licensee roster (compliance, quality, delivery) and negotiate commercial terms, royalty structures, and MGs with Legal.
• Develop retail expansion strategy across major markets; build relationships with key buyers across mass, specialty, and DTC channels; drive sell-in and shelf-presence activation.
• Recruit, mentor, and develop the team as the function scales.

• Enforce brand standards and lead cross-functional product approvals with Creative, Production, and Marketing.
• Oversee product development from concept through retail-ready.

• Partner with Marketing and Community to translate fan demand into product and business opportunities ahead of competitors or unofficial markets.
• Explore creator economy and digital-first models (creator collabs, digital collectibles, community drops, platform-native commerce) as extensions of the core business.

• Define long-term DTC strategy; shorten time-to-market with current commerce partners.
• Identify international commerce opportunities in priority territories (e.g., Brazil, Korea).

• Build licensing operations, royalty governance, and commercial processes from the ground up: deal tracking, approval workflows, licensee communication cadence.
• Deliver annual revenue targets and regular commercial forecasts to leadership.
• Build the team playbook and org structure recommendation for the full-time function.

• 10+ years in consumer products, licensing, or brand management and at least 5 years in a senior leadership role.
• Demonstrated success building new businesses or business lines from the ground up, not solely managing or optimizing established ones.
• Experience in gaming, creator economy, or digital-first entertainment, with fluency in how fan communities form and monetize online.
• Experience creating new revenue platform and new categories that did not previously exist
• A track record of converting fan passion or community engagement into scalable, commercially viable businesses.
• Proven track record closing licensing deals across multiple categories with major retail partners in all meaningful territories.
• Demonstrated experience building, leading, and scaling high-performing Franchise Development & Consumer Products organization.
• Established network of relationships with leading global licensees, retailers, distributors, and licensing agents.
• Ability to operate independently with minimal ramp time as this role requires immediate impact.
• Based in or willing to work from Los Angeles on a hybrid schedule.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally as required.

• Experience operating in a founder-led, high-growth environment with limited infrastructure and resources
• Experience with DTC storefront preferred
• Experience with entertainment or gaming IP preferred.

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Final compensation within the applicable salary range will be determined based on factors such as the applicant’s experience, qualifications, and work location.

Los Angeles, CA:   $248,000 - $290,000 USD annually