What are the responsibilities and job description for the Senior Director Corporate Development position at Lids?
About Lids
Lids Sports Group, operating within Lids Holdings, Inc. is the largest licensed sports retailer in North America, selling fan and fashion-oriented headwear and apparel across North America. Operating out of Indianapolis, IN, Lids retail stores and affiliated concepts offer officially licensed headwear from collegiate teams and major professional sports teams, as well as branded headwear and other specialty fashion categories in the latest styles and trends in over 1,200 locations and counting.
General Summary
This Senior Director, Corporate Development role will support Lids Sports Group strategic and long-range goals, focusing on the company’s partnerships, with a primary focus on LidsU, our college merchandising partnership with Barnes & Noble Education (BNED). This role involves supporting existing relationships and initiatives, providing operational support, assisting company management, and maintaining constant communication with partner colleges. The Senior Director role may also support expansion projects domestically inside the core Lids business.
Principle Duties and Responsibilities:
- Understand the college licensed apparel landscape, and the LidsU approach to product strategy and merchandising within the BNED partnership.
- Understand the LidsU role in supporting store operations, and supporting store managers and staff.
- Understand the administrative staff structure and personnel at our primary, and most profitable colleges.
- With the above knowledge, the primary responsibility of this role is to establish and maintain persistent relationship management across our school/college ecosystem.
- Secondarily, communicate school/college problems, concerns, and opportunities back to the LidsU team. In some cases, and eventually, be equipped and able to solve the above problems yourself.
- Execute strategic plans of the company’s principals and company management, if/when needed.
- Support negotiations with potential and existing partnership targets, especially as it relates to new school/college accounts.
- Support the evaluation and execution of new corporate initiatives and acquisition opportunities, at both LidsU and Lids.
- Foster strong and effective working relationships with company personnel, and external partners. Become known across our ecosystem for being attentive, responsive, and quick to solve problems tactfully and collaboratively.
- Oversee dozens of relationship across partnerships, primarily across the LidsU college/school ecosystem.
- Communicate daily with the LidsU and Lids executive team to leverage resources and support company objectives and needs.
- Ensure collaboration and communication across partner initiatives.
Job Required Knowledge, Skills, and Education:
- Bachelor’s degree in a business concentration.
- Minimum 4-6 years of experience in business development, partnerships, relationship management, college licensing, or marketing in sports, sports apparel, or college/university ecosystem.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to convey messages clearly and concisely.
- Ability to work autonomously and in teams at all levels of the organization.
- Strong negotiation skills with experience dealing with sports leagues, teams, potential partners.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously and work effectively with levels of ambiguity.
- Organizational and management skills in prioritizing and synchronizing multiple work streams while meeting deadlines.
- Demonstrated ability to protect confidential information.
- Proficiency in the Microsoft Office Suite, including Excel and PowerPoint.
- Willingness to travel by automobile and aircraft, potentially staying away from home for extended periods.
This role ensures the comprehensive relationship management and development of the Lids Sports Group and LidsU portfolio, focused on stable and sustained performance, and operational excellence across all initiatives.
