Brand Manager, Brand & Collaborations

General Position Summary

The Brand Manager, Brand & Collaborations will help shape how Lids shows up at the intersection of sports, culture, fashion, entertainment, and fandom. This role is responsible for developing and executing brand-led collaboration programs, talent partnerships, ambassador initiatives, influencer campaigns, and live-event moments that build cultural relevance and drive consumer engagement across Lids channels.

This person will partner closely with internal teams across merchandising, marketing, creative, retail, e-commerce, social, PR, and external partners to bring collaborations and cultural activations to life from concept through execution. The ideal candidate understands the sports lifestyle consumer, has strong instincts for emerging trends and talent, and can manage multiple complex projects with creativity, urgency, and attention to detail in a fast paced, high-volume environment.

Principal Duties & Responsibilities

Lead day-to-day planning and execution for ambassadorships, special projects across sports, fashion, music, entertainment, and creator communities. 
Lead day to-day management and internal and external partner communication for marquee brand moments that fall under brand and collaborations umbrella including Fitted Fest, Fanatics Fest collaboration programs, launch events, ambassadorships, seeding initiatives, and other tentpole activations. 
Manage the updating and maintaining of brand and collaboration calendars. 
Manage cross-functional collaboration timelines, deliverables, product needs, marketing assets, event requirements, launch plans, and partner communications. 
Manage regular and campaign driven seeding initiatives for ambassadors, influencers, and brand partners. 
Partner with merchandising and product teams to support collaboration assortment strategy, storytelling, product positioning, and go-to-market readiness. 
Develop influencer, ambassador, and activation plans that translate collaboration concepts into clear consumer-facing narratives across retail, digital, social, PR, and experiential channels. 
Manage the day-to-day communication with external PR agency

Talent, Ambassadorship, & Influencer Strategy

Support the strategy, recruitment, onboarding, and management of P1 talent, brand ambassadors, influencers, athletes, creators, and culture drivers. 
Build and maintain a pipeline of relevant talent across sports, streetwear, music, lifestyle, and local-market communities. 
Develop influencer and ambassador briefs, deliverable trackers, content guidelines, product seeding plans, and activation recaps. 
Coordinate talent appearances, content shoots, social posts, event participation, meet-and-greets, and collaboration launch support. 
Evaluate partnership performance using engagement, reach, earned media, sales impact, content quality, brand fit, and community response. 
Ensure all talent and influencer programs reflect the Lids brand voice, values, and standards while supporting broader business and marketing goals.

Fitted Fest & Fanatics Fest Focus

Own workstreams related to Fitted Fest planning, including partner outreach, vendor communication, creator engagement, brand storytelling, event programming support, product integration, and post-event reporting. 
Support Fanatics Fest collaboration strategy by coordinating partner concepts, exclusive product moments, talent participation, content capture, and retail or digital launch plans. 
Work with internal and external stakeholders to ensure all event-related collaboration programs are delivered on time, on budget, and aligned with the broader Lids brand strategy. 
Identify ways to extend event momentum before, during, and after each activation through social storytelling, influencer content, earned media, community engagement, and product drops.

Job Required Knowledge and Skills

4–6 years of experience in brand marketing, events, talent partnerships, influencer marketing, experiential marketing, or related fields. 
Strong understanding of sports culture, headwear, streetwear, fashion, creator communities, and cultural collaboration ecosystems. 
Experience managing influencer campaigns, event activations, and talent/ambassador partnerships. 
Ability to develop creative and visually appealing decks. 
Extremely strong organization and time management skills with the ability to be proactive, productive, and a self-starter without being overly managed. 
Excellent project management skills with the ability to manage multiple timelines, stakeholders, deliverables, and priorities simultaneously. 
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to develop briefs, recaps, presentations, and partner-facing materials. 
Creative instincts with a practical understanding of how ideas move from concept to execution across retail, digital, social, PR, and live experiences. 
Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with shifting priorities, tight timelines, and high-visibility brand moments. 
Common sense and emotional intelligence.

Preferred Qualifications

Existing relationships within sports, fashion, entertainment, creator, athlete, or streetwear communities. 
Experience supporting major fan events, festivals, pop-ups, product drops, or limited-edition collaboration launches. 
Familiarity with influencer contracting, usage rights, content deliverables, seeding logistics, and campaign reporting. 
Ability to identify emerging talent and cultural opportunities before they become mainstream. 
Strong presentation skills and comfort working with senior leaders, external partners, agencies, and talent representatives.