SR Manager Pre-Production Operations

Job OverviewThe Senior Manager of Pre-Production Operations owns the end-to-end pre-production process for licensed sports apparel, ensuring all artwork and licensing processes is produced, reviewed, and approved in compliance with brand, quality, and league licensing standards before it advances to manufacturing. This role is fundamentally operational—driving process discipline, workflow efficiency, and on-time delivery across a team of approximately 10 direct reports and a broader organization of 50+ individuals. Additionally, the candidate will manage key external relationships with licensors such as the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), National Basketball Association (NBA), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and others.The ideal candidate is equally comfortable analyzing operational data, implementing processes and managing production workflows—understanding that artwork must be fully produced, licensed, and approved before a single garment can be manufactured. They are able to translate data and reporting into actionable operational plans, identify business risks before they materialize, and lead a large team with clarity and accountability. This role requires strong judgment, an ownership mentality, and the ability to move seamlessly between strategic planning and day-to-day execution. This role is also cross-functional in nature and the candidate needs to be comfortable collaborating with other departments and teams.About Unrivaled TeamwearUnrivaled Teamwear serves as the parent company of Champion Teamwear, Gear for Sports, and Knights Apparel, each an industry leader in sports and team apparel space.Our family of brands know what goes into great decorated garments, using top-quality fabrics and offering creative decoration options. Each brand offers customers a premier selection and exceptional service for all their sportswear needs, from T-shirts and caps to fleece, performance wear, and outerwear.Primary ResponsibilitiesPre-Production Art ManagementOversee the end-to-end workflow for the creation, revision, and release of all production-ready artwork for licensed sports apparel, ensuring process adherence, quality standards, and on-time delivery across the team.Direct internal and external teams to ensure design concepts are accurately translated into print-ready art for screen print, embroidery, heat transfer, sublimation, and other decoration methods.Balance creative considerations, process adherence, and output quality standards, exercising sound judgment when these priorities compete.Manage capacity to ensure seasonal demands and customer commitments are achieved.Maintain organized digital art libraries and version control systems.Licensing & Approvals ManagementOversee the internal team’s execution of artwork submission, revision, and licensing approval workflows via company systems and league-specific portals; establish clear process standards, monitor throughput, and identify bottlenecks that impact approval cycle times.Manage senior-level relationships with licensor counterparts (e.g., the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA), ensuring escalations are handled appropriately.Partner with brand and sales teams to operationalize brand style guide enforcement and usage requirements across all licensed partners; translate compliance requirements into repeatable team-level processes and controls.Track approval timelines and ensure on-time product release within each league’s compliance framework.People Management & Cross-Functional CollaborationDirectly manage approximately 10 individual contributors and provide leadership across a broader team of 50+ personnel; responsibilities include goal setting, performance management, workload planning, and career development.Serve as a structured cross-functional partner to sales, brand, and manufacturing teams, ensuring pre-production milestones are clearly communicated, tracked, and met to support downstream production timelines.Manage third-party vendor relationships with a focus on delivery performance, cost control, and quality outcomes; hold vendors accountable to defined SLAs and escalate issues proactively.Process & Continuous ImprovementDevelop and implement efficient workflows for art production and licensing submissions.Identify opportunities to streamline communication and reduce approval cycle times.Stay informed of new technology and trends in the sports apparel industry.Own the reporting lifecycle for art and licensing, ensuring total transparency on project risks and delivery status for internal and external stakeholders.QualificationsBachelor’s degree in relevant field.5–10 years of experience in operations, project management, or production management, with demonstrated success leading and developing teams.Experience in licensed products, creative operations, or branded consumer goods is a plus but not required.Job RequirementsProven track record managing large teams of individual contributors, including setting expectations, measuring performance, and driving accountability across a diverse workforce.Working familiarity with Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop sufficient to review and assess work product; strong proficiency in operational and project management tools such as Microsoft Excel, ERP systems, digital asset management (DAM) platforms, and workflow or project tracking software.Functional awareness of apparel decoration techniques and print production processes sufficient to manage team output, evaluate quality, and communicate effectively with production partners.Exceptional attention to detail, organizational rigor, and data-driven mindset; ability to build and maintain reporting frameworks that provide clear visibility into team performance, project status, and risk.Demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities at scale through structured planning, clear prioritization frameworks, and disciplined follow-through in a high-volume, deadline-driven environment.Strong people management and communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to motivate, develop, and hold accountable a large team of individual contributors while building effective relationships with external stakeholders.Familiarity with licensing management platforms and approval systems; experience with sports league licensing (NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA) a plus but not required.