Job Summary

Playboy is one of the most recognized brands in the world — present in 180+ countries, with cultural equity that spans seven decades of groundbreaking media, fashion, and lifestyle. We are rebuilding the brand for the next generation: new editorial, new audience infrastructure, and a licensing business that reflects the full commercial potential of what Playboy stands for.

The VP of Licensing & Partnerships is a senior commercial leadership role at the center of that rebuild. You will own Playboy’s global licensing and partnership business end-to-end — deal origination, renewal pipeline, category expansion, brand standards enforcement, and the day-to-day commercial relationship with CAA, our licensee base, and our advertising partners. This is a rare opportunity to step into one of the world’s most storied brands at a genuine inflection point, with direct access to senior leadership and a mandate to build the commercial infrastructure that makes the brand’s cultural moment grow financially. The role requires a rare combination of commercial expertise, cultural fluency, and a genuine understanding of how lifestyle brands build long-term equity through relevant expansion. The role reports directly to the President of Playboy Media & Brand; the VP of Licensing & Partnerships and the Editor-in-Chief serve as the two primary cross-functional owners of the media-licensing flywheel.

What You’ll Do — Job Responsibilities

The essential job duties below are specific to this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

Licensing Portfolio Management

• Develop and own the portfolio category strategy — identifying where Playboy has the strongest commercial traction, where there is untapped opportunity, and where to exit.

• Own the full global licensing portfolio — apparel, accessories, fragrance, lifestyle, gaming, and emerging categories — with accountability for total royalty revenue and minimum guarantee performance.

• Lead a comprehensive portfolio audit covering renewal schedules, revenue concentration, brand standards compliance, and channel gaps; deliver findings and a prioritized action plan within the first 60 days.

• Manage all licensee relationships with commercial rigor: regular business reviews, sell-through tracking, renewal negotiations, and proactive category expansion conversations.

• Own the full commercial relationship with CAA — setting priorities, managing deal flow, and ensuring the agency is activated as a strategic partner rather than a passive intermediary.

• Enforce brand standards across every licensee activation — creative approvals, packaging, retail presentation, and digital — with zero tolerance for off-brand execution.

• Own the Amazon brand governance strategy — coordinating the current multi-licensee model under Playboy’s Brand Registry account and defining the long-term channel approach that best serves the brand’s commercial interests and standards.

Deal Origination & Category Expansion

• Identify and close new licensing opportunities in underpenetrated categories, with a bias toward partners who bring distribution, marketing, and co-creation capability alongside commercial commitment.

• Build and maintain an active pipeline of prospective licensees across priority categories in partnership with CAA; own the internal deal process, negotiation strategy, and execution end-to-end.

• Leverage editorial tentpoles, cover moments, and audience data to support licensing negotiations and new partner pitches.

• Track lifestyle and consumer trends, monitor the competitive landscape, and identify cultural opportunities that keep the brand’s licensing portfolio at the forefront of the market.

Sponsorship & Brand Partnerships

• Own sponsorship relationships across Playboy’s content, events, and digital platforms — building the category pipeline that monetizes the brand’s audience at scale.

• Develop and sell integrated sponsorship packages that combine print, digital, podcast, and event touchpoints into high-value brand partner programs.

• Drive the event sponsorship commercial model in partnership with the Sr. Director of Growth — category exclusivity, co-brand rights, on-site activation, and audience data sharing.

• Build and maintain relationships with senior marketing decision-makers at target partner brands across alcohol, gaming, automotive, personal care, fashion, and lifestyle categories.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Lead and develop a growing team currently including two Product Development roles and a Director of Advertising & Sponsorships, with the expectation that the team will scale in line with the business.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Serve as the primary licensing counterpart to the EIC — ensuring a shared editorial-licensing calendar, regular alignment on upcoming tentpoles and partner launches, and explicit accountability for surfacing each function’s moments in advance.

• Partner with the Sr. Director of Growth on events commercial structure, contest sponsorship packaging, and audience data sharing with licensee co-promotion programs.

• Work with Finance to maintain the licensing revenue model, forecast renewal risk, and track minimum guarantee performance against plan.

• Represent Playboy’s licensing business at industry conferences, partner meetings, and trade events including the Las Vegas licensing conference.

• Monitor and report on category and partner performance to executive leadership; this role will present regularly to senior leadership and, as relevant, to the board.

What You’ll Bring — Qualifications and Skills

Skills / Abilities / Competencies:

• Proven track record managing a global licensing portfolio with material royalty revenue — you have owned renewal negotiations, enforced brand standards, and expanded categories.

• Deep relationships in the licensing and brand partnership ecosystem; you are known in the market and can open doors independently of the agency relationship.

• Commercial instinct: you understand the economics of licensing deals, can model minimum guarantees and royalty structures, and know when to push and when to close.

• Ability to build financial models and projections to evaluate potential deals and long-term revenue streams before bringing them forward for approval.

• Equally strong as a relationship manager and a deal executor — this role requires both, and the balance matters.

• Experience working with or managing external licensing agencies; familiarity with CAA or comparable intermediaries a strong plus.

• Understanding of brand governance — creative approvals, retail standards, digital brand experience — and the operational discipline to enforce it across a large licensee base.

• Strong cross-functional communicator; comfortable translating commercial priorities into editorial language and vice versa.

• Executive presence and polish appropriate to senior partner and licensee relationships.

• Entrepreneurial mindset with a strong sense of ownership and accountability — you thrive in environments where you are building as much as managing.

• Willingness and ability to travel domestically and internationally as required by partner relationships, licensee meetings, and industry events.

Education & Experience:

• 10+ years of progressive experience in brand licensing, partnerships, or commercial development, with at least 4 years in a senior or VP-level role.

• Experience in consumer lifestyle, fashion, entertainment, or media licensing strongly preferred.

• Demonstrated track record of closing deals, managing complex multi-partner portfolios, and hitting revenue targets.

• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or equivalent a plus.

What We Offer

• Competitive Medical/Dental/Vision insurance plans with FSA/HSA and Dependent Care FSA options

• Generous Family and Parental Leave Policy

• Pet Insurance for those who need it too!

• Dedicated Health and Wellness resources including Employee Assistance Program

• Pretax Transportation/Commuter Benefits options

• Employee Resource Groups

• 401K program with Company match

• Flexible Time Away Plan

• Dynamic, inclusive workplace culture focused on innovation, impact, and employee well-being

What You’ll Be Part Of

Playboy is one of the most recognizable, iconic brands in the world that started as a culture-driving, boundary-pushing magazine over 70 years ago. Today, Playboy is a consumer lifestyle business with digital and physical products available in 180 countries across entertainment, events, fashion, lifestyle, sexual wellness, consumer products, and more. Our mission — to create a culture where all people can pursue pleasure — is built upon decades of creating groundbreaking media and hospitality experiences and fighting for cultural progress rooted in the core values of equality, freedom of expression, and the idea that pleasure is a fundamental human right.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Please note this job description is intended to convey information essential to understanding the scope of the job and the general nature, level, and expectation of the work to be performed. It is not designed to cover a complete list of qualifications, skills, efforts, duties and responsibilities or activities associated with this position, as they may change at any time, with or without notice.

Playboy is an equal-opportunity employer and is committed to providing a workplace free from harassment and discrimination. We are committed to recruiting, hiring, training and promoting qualified people of all backgrounds, and make all employment decisions without regard to any protected status. The right talent for us innately embodies our values. Come as you are.

Job Conditions

Individuals applying for this position should understand that Playboy’s brands are focused on creative freedom, artistic expression, and sex positivity. As a result, the business concept is based partly on sex appeal, nudity, and/or sexual wellness products, which means that employees may be exposed to: individuals in sexy and/or sexually provocative clothing, either in person or in photographs or videos; lewd and/or obscene language; depictions of lewd, risqué, intimate or explicit acts or behaviors; conversations and discussions about sex, sexuality and the human anatomy; and conversations where vulgar language or sexual jokes and innuendo may be expressed. While individuals should not apply for this position if they find a work environment as described above to be offensive, intimidating, hostile or unwelcome, nothing herein shall prevent them from notifying the Company immediately if they are exposed to conduct of any type with which they feel uncomfortable.