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Retail & Licensing Lead – Rugby Football Union (RFU)
About the Rugby Football Union:
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby union in England, responsible for growing and developing the game at every level. Its Retail & Licensing programme plays a key role in generating commercial revenue, connecting with new audiences, and reinvesting back into the sport to support its long-term growth.
Working at the RFU means being part of the ‘bigger picture’ at England Rugby: to be rooted in our purpose, which is to enrich lives, introduce more people to rugby union & develop the sport for future generations. If our purpose resonates with you, and you recognise the value that sport can bring to people’s lives, we’d love to work with you.
As part of this, the RFU is appointing a Retail & Licensing Lead to take ownership of a high-profile and commercially important programme within England Rugby.
The Impact You’ll Make:
The RFU is looking for a Retail & Licensing Lead to set the strategic direction and oversee the performance of its retail and licensing programme.
This is a senior role with full ownership of both strategy and delivery. You will be responsible for driving sustainable growth across retail channels, while leading and evolving the global licensing programme – identifying new opportunities to extend the England Rugby brand through high-quality partnerships and products.
With full profit and loss accountability, you will play a central role in how England Rugby develops its consumer product offering – working closely with internal teams and external partners to deliver commercial outcomes that support the wider game.
Key Responsibilities:
- Own the strategic direction and commercial performance of the retail and licensing programme
- Lead and develop a team of retail and licensing specialists, fostering a high-performing environment
- Manage profit and loss, ensuring sustainable and profitable growth
- Develop and deliver the consumer product strategy across retail and licensing
- Build and manage senior relationships with licensees, retail partners and commercial stakeholders
- Provide senior leadership across key licensing partnerships, identifying new opportunities and collaborations
- Lead the development of licensed product ranges and partner activity, from concept through to launch
- Ensure consistent and high-quality use of the England Rugby brand across all licensed products
- Oversee retail performance across ecommerce, partners and matchday operations
- Work closely with marketing, digital and finance teams to align activity and performance
Your Skills and Experience:
- Experience in a senior retail or licensing role, with strong knowledge of brand licensing and ecommerce
- Track record of managing commercial partnerships and driving revenue growth
- Experience developing licensing programmes or working with licensed products
- Strong commercial and financial understanding, including profit and loss responsibility
- Ability to identify and develop new business opportunities and partnerships
- Experience leading teams and delivering through both internal and external resources
- Strong communication and stakeholder management skills
- Ability to operate in a fast-paced, multi-stakeholder environment
- Interest in sport or consumer-facing brands is beneficial
How to Apply:
If you are looking for a role where you can take ownership of a high-impact commercial programme and shape how a leading sports brand grows its retail and licensing presence, click the apply button to be considered.
The Executives in Sport Group are retained on behalf of Rugby Football Union to appoint an Retail & Licensing Lead. All direct applications and CV’s will be forwarded to The Executives in Sport Group.
We ask that applicants complete our diversity monitoring form. You are not obliged to answer any of these questions but the more information you supply, the more effective our monitoring will be.
All information supplied is anonymous and will not be viewed by recruiting managers.
Diversity Monitoring Form – Retail & Licensing Lead – England Rugby – Fill in form (Please copy and paste into your browser)
Please note that due to the volume of applications received, we are unable to provide specific feedback on unsuccessful applications.
