Associate Manager, Toy Marketing - Licensee Team

CREATIVITY IS OUR SUPERPOWER. It’s our heritage and it’s also our future. Because we don’t just make toys. We create innovative products and experiences that inspire fans, entertain audiences and develop children through play. Mattel is at its best when every member of our team feels respected, included, and heard—when everyone can show up as themselves and do their best work every day. We value and share an infinite range of ideas and voices that evolve and broaden our perspectives with a reach that extends into all our brands, partners, and suppliers.

The Opportunity: 
The Associate Manager will partner on a major licensed franchise brand within the toy marketing team, bringing engaging and innovative toys to kids and families around the world. In this role, you will partner closely with the licensor and cross-functional Mattel teams to drive product strategy, oversee the development pipeline, and support global business performance for a key toy property.

What Your Impact Will Be: 

Strategy & Business Management

• Support the development and alignment of global toy strategies across internal teams and with the licensor, ensuring buy-in and execution across key markets.
• Partner with leadership to build 3–5 year product roadmaps, balancing innovation and refresh cycles.
• Define toy strategy by segment (core, premium, collector, preschool, etc.).
• Manage toy pricing architecture and competitive positioning.
• Own business performance including revenue, margin, and SKU productivity.
• Monitor category trends, competitive activity, retailer dynamics, and global market performance.

Product Development & Pipeline Execution

• Collaborate with Product Design, Packaging, and Development teams to bring compelling toys from concept to shelf, on time and on budget.
• Manage complex product development timelines and ensure alignment with consumer insights, play patterns, and brand priorities.
• Maintain the merchandising outline and oversee cadence for product flow to retail.

Cross-Functional & Global Collaboration

• Partner with regional commercial and marketing teams to ensure strategy alignment and address channel-specific or retailer-specific needs.
• Provide input to Brand Marketing on packaging direction, messaging, and feature storytelling for global campaigns.
• Work with other Mattel Global Brand teams to share plans, insights, and best practices.
• Cultivate strong working relationships with the licensor as part of the licensee business team.

Communication & Leadership

• Present strategies, roadmaps, and business updates confidently to senior leadership and cross-functional partners.
• Synthesize insights and data to influence decision-making across creative, engineering, manufacturing, and commercial teams.

What We’re Looking For:

• 5+ years (3 years with MBA) experience in brand marketing (on brand or agency side), franchise management/marketing, content marketing, or purpose-driven strategy/marketing.
• Project management: Managing complex product development timelines.
• Roles in category management, product marketing, or product development.
• Experience partnering with design and manufacturing.
• Background in CPG or toy companies, ideally with exposure to retail buyer dynamics.
• Strong quantitative/financial skills (forecasting, pricing, SKU productivity analysis).
• Product strategy & roadmap: Ability to define toy segments, pricing ladders, and innovation cycles.
• Collaboration with design/R&D: Comfort working with creative, engineering, and manufacturing teams.
• Retail/channel knowledge: Ability to leverage insights to build mass, specialty, and e-commerce distribution strategies.
• Business & financial management: Strong grasp of SKU productivity, margin targets, and overall toy category P&L.
• Financial acumen: Experience with P&L at the brand or category level.
• Communication skills: Excellent at storytelling, presentations, and influencing senior leadership.  Strong PowerPoint creation and presentation skills, proficiency in Outlook, Word and Excel
   

*The pay range is indicative of projected hiring range, however base pay will be determined based on a candidate’s work location, skills and experience. Mattel offers competitive total pay programs, comprehensive benefits, and resources to help empower a culture where every employee can reach their full potential. 

Don’t meet every single requirement? At Mattel, we are dedicated to an inclusive workplace and a culture of belonging. If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we still encourage you to apply. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles. Join Mattel's Talent Community and start receiving exciting updates about our company, our employees, and our culture. Also, interested in signing up for job alerts? Do so here!

How We Work:
We are a purpose driven company aiming to empower generations to explore the wonder of childhood and reach their full potential. We live up to our purpose employing the following behaviors:

• We collaborate: Being a part of Mattel means being part of one team with shared values and common goals. Every person counts and working closely together always brings better results. Partnership is our process and our collective capabilities is our superpower.
• We innovate: At Mattel we always aim to find new and better ways to create innovative products and experiences. No matter where you work in the organization, you can always make a difference and have real impact. We welcome new ideas and value new initiatives that challenge conventional thinking.
• We execute: We are a performance-driven company. We strive for excellence and are focused on pursuing best-in-class outcomes. We believe in accountability and ownership and know that our people are at their best when they are empowered to create and deliver results.

Who We Are:
Mattel is a leading global toy and family entertainment company and owner of one of the most iconic brand portfolios in the world. We engage consumers and fans through our franchise brands, including Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, American Girl, Thomas & Friends, UNO, Masters of the Universe, Matchbox, Monster High, MEGA and Polly Pocket, as well as other popular properties that we own or license in partnership with global entertainment companies. Our offerings include toys, content, consumer products, digital and live experiences. Our products are sold in collaboration with the world’s leading retail and ecommerce companies. Since its founding in 1945, Mattel is proud to be a trusted partner in empowering generations to explore the wonder of childhood and reach their full potential.

Mattel’s award-winning workplace culture has been recognized by Forbes, Fast Company, Newsweek, Great Place to Work, TIME, and more.

Visit us at https://jobs.mattel.com/ and www.instagram.com/MattelCareers.

Mattel is an Equal Opportunity Employer where we want you to bring your authentic self to work every day. We welcome all job seekers, and all applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, veteran and protected veteran status, disability status, and or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state or local law.

Pursuant to the Los Angeles Fair Chance Ordinance and the California Fair Chance Act, qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment.

Videos to watch:
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