Responsibilities

• Protection of brand, through information and identification of counterfeit product
• Develop, execute, and drive global Brand Protection Strategy across all regions through information and identification of counterfeit product. Have total control and oversight of key program decisions relating to Brand Protection with Chief Legal Officer.
• Drive New Era's brand protection program to be a leader within the industry through constant awareness and promotion of new trends, processes, and solutions. Champion New Era's program both internally and externally.
• Supervise, nurture, and support global Brand Protection Team on all matters and undertakings. Conduct regular performance reviews and enable the Brand Protection team to excel in all fields. Build an industry leading team at New Era.
• Proactively seek input from relevant New Era regional general managers, directors and managers and other senior level internal stakeholders to identify business priorities as they relate the appropriate focus of anti-counterfeiting activities globally.
• Liaison with all global offices regarding the origin of product and anti-counterfeiting generally.
• Manage the budget for Brand Protection ensuring all costs and fees incurred are legitimate and appropriate and keep accurate records of department expenditures and deal with invoices and payment queries.
• Ensure that Brand Protection is a contact point for all global internal Customer Services departments where counterfeit product or suspicious products and/or websites have been reported.
• Work collaboratively with internal cross-functional experts in Legal, Manufacturing, Supply, Product and Sales that support anti-counterfeiting activities
• Identify new and high priority market areas both online and offline through risk and threat assessments and market research.
• Manage relationships with customs authorities and custom agents, police agents, retailers, and informant globally and provide relevant information to customs authorities enabling them to conduct successful risk analysis. Respond to customs suspensions, detentions, and seizures in a timely manner and follow-up on destruction of seized products.
• Identify, hire, retain and manage with Chief Legal Officer external legal counsel, agents, designated service providers, investigators, agencies, service providers and private investigators for investigations, raids, training and for civil and criminal actions and ensure their complete compliance with internal protocols including submission of appropriate support for costs and fees associated with all raids and submission of reports and backup data on raids (reports, images, summary of product seized, etc.)
• Identify and understand risks and vulnerabilities across global supply chain and recommend effective solutions and controls. Assist with implementation of controls and solutions to increase supply chain security.
• Work closely with internal Supply Chain and Operations departments globally to reduce the threat of 'backdoor' product from authorised New Era Factories. Undertake covert and sensitive investigations into New Era factories.
• Support internal departments to ensure all key product components and materials are correctly stored and secure within authorised factories and provide assistance on auditing of the factories.
• Track metrics and reports related to all BP matters including all raids, all seizures, all online take downs identifying key counterfeited products, brands, Clubs, etc. * Manage and support global
• Brand Protection team in the monitoring and enforcement of Third-Party Marketplaces and the unauthorised resale of New Era product. Provide guidance and assistance in formal and in-formal responses to key licensors relating to the sale of New Era product on TPM's.
• Manage and supervise global Brand Protection case management system. Ensure that all cases both civil and criminal are inputted into the system in a timely and accurate fashion by all members of the Brand Protection team.
• Develop and provide ad hoc, monthly, quarterly, and annual reports regarding the metrics and results on enforcement activities regionally and/or globally and share reports with key league partners and to Chief Legal Officer.
• Harness data, trends, and intelligence received from all Brand Protection programs and feed that data back into the business so informed decisions can be undertaken.
• Manage and ensure prompt response, removal, and general policing globally for infringing products.
• Manage / supervise and/or provide and sign corroborative accurate witness statements/affidavits and necessary exhibits (copies of trademark certificates, genuine product) to enable the successful prosecution of infringers.
• Manage / supervise and/or provide "expert witness" evidence in court, when required, for the successful prosecution of counterfeit offenders and criminal proceedings. Provide assistance and support law enforcement research relating to New Era product enquiries for criminal investigations.
• Where possible, ensure all trademark registrations are registered and/or recorded with customs and ensure applicable factories and/or distributors are whitelisted with customs in applicable countries/regions.
• Be a "product expert" and be up on all trends, new product lines, new silhouettes, new licenses, and brands and provide timely accurate information relating to counterfeit and parallel product infiltration into the market. Information to be transmitted to both internal New Era contacts, and external enforcement contacts.
• Maintain a database of global licenses and ensure all applicable licensed brands as well as New Era brands are tracked online within the chosen online takedown software portal/provider.
• Proactively search and manage analysts that monitor the internet via Corsearch and/or other online systems for websites, third party marketplace and social media sites offering counterfeit products, and initiating website take-downs and/or civil actions against online counterfeiters and large scale online b2c or b2b distributors of counterfeit products and work with relevant online platforms to identify major online suppliers.
• Work with online monitoring providers in achieving deliverables and results. Ensure that KPI's are met within the terms of contracts and are delivered on-time and on or under budget.
• Assess and review market leaders within the space to ensure New Era are partnered with industry leaders and the best technology providers both for online monitoring and offline/physical security measures. Achieve agile and prompt deployment, execution, and compliance of new providers.
• Initiate, monitor and administer and the legal process against traders who sell infringing goods online and utilise global sales and auction websites, identifying and making trap purchases of counterfeit product, the taking down of such sites and the supervision of civil action.
• Lead online to offline program focusing on taking civil and criminal action against online traders whilst recovering compensation, products, and materials.
• Throughout the globe, regularly visit and/or retain investigators / agents in the applicable region to visit regularly markets and shops to make test purchases and gather evidence against infringing sellers. Liaise with the relevant authorities to encourage cooperation and enforcement action.
• Represent the Company and attend applicable and relevant IP enforcement meetings, conventions, local, national, international industry association meetings and/or training program to liaison and meet with agents and vendors for cost effectiveness and travel efficiencies and to promote communication, lobby governments, enhance product intelligence and build strong relationships with external contacts.
• Throughout the globe, retain investigators / agents in the applicable region to regularly train customs officers, and other legal and enforcement authorities for cost effective trainings.
• Build strong relationships with other trademark owners, league representatives and work together to share resources and costs on investigations and identify problem areas, investigators, agencies, and other trusted resources.
• Support the applicable law enforcement agencies in each country in the identification of counterfeit products during raid action.
• Establish & maintain database by country of all contacts including agents, investigators, law firms, customs, and police etc.
• Develop and deliver ongoing anti-counterfeiting educational and training seminars and materials to local, regional, and national law enforcement officers and customs authorities as well as awareness training for internal stakeholders and train the trainer seminars for agents, law enforcement and other retained agencies.
• Revise/update/manage ongoing modifications to Brand Protection Guides and all other relevant material and generate and create a brand protection training video to be used remotely for educational purposes.
• Monitor intelligence & highlight trends/anomalies to Chief Legal Officer and leagues.
• Monitor and report and address parallel/grey market goods.
• Diary management and coordination of travel/meetings and manage travel approval for direct reports.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Minimum (10) ten years of experience in a full-time dedicated anti-counterfeiting / brand protection enforcement role
• Excellent understanding of criminal and civil law relating to intellectual property matters
• Demonstrated experience working well with law enforcement agencies, customs, investigators, agencies, and law firms
• Proven ability to perform investigative work, analyse information and act accordingly
• Must be prepared to work outside normal office hours
• Must be able to travel frequently and travel to high counterfeit risk markets and major transit countries to meet with agencies, law firms, supervise anti-counterfeiting activities including intelligence gathering, training and "on the ground" enforcement supervision/support
• Proven flexibility and ability to multi-task and manage shifting priorities
• Proven ability to work and be a self-starter/self-motivated to work independently
• Proven ability to be able to educate and train custom and enforcement authorities and manufacturers and suppliers
• Ability to manage a team of brand protection staff, agents, and analysts both internally and externally.
• Ability to lead work on both tactical and strategic objectives in parallel
• Sensitivity to and practical knowledge of working with diverse cultures
• Outstanding interpersonal communication skills
• Energetic self-starter who self-manages workload and deadlines with a strong work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit
• Make timely decisions, anticipate problems, identify areas of opportunity, and provide creative, logical and efficient solutions
• Analyze successes and failures of investigations, strategies, agencies to improve strategies and share results with leadership

Personal and Leadership Qualifications

• Energic self-started who self manages workload and deadlines with a strong work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit
• Make timely decision, anticipate problems, identify areas of opportunity and provide creative, logical and efficient solutions
• Analyses successes and failures of investigations, strategies, agencies to improve strategic and share results with leadership
• Ability to work flexible hours

Education and Experience

• Minimum (10) ten years of experience in a full-time dedicated anti-counterfeiting / brand protection enforcement role
• Bachelors Degree; Relevant job experience in lieu of degree may be considered

Travel Requirement

• 35%; domestic and/or global

The salary range for this posted position is $130,000 - $200,000 (plus bonus & benefits) and pertains to candidates located in Western New York. Actual compensation is determined by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, education, essential job duties and requirements, and necessary experience.

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