Sr. Manager, B2B Collaborations

About the role

At Just Ingredients – a health and wellness e-commerce company – we believe that nourishing your body with real ingredients is essential for living a healthy and fulfilling life. That's why our products are made using carefully selected, whole-food ingredients. And our people are just as real as our ingredients – authentic, collaborative, and dedicated to fostering a workplace that inspires individuals and teams to reach their full potential.

The Collaborations team builds Just Ingredients' next generation of products alongside the brands and ingredient partners who share our commitment to real, whole-food nutrition. This role owns the business side of the full lifecycle of B2B product collaboration – identifying partners, building the business case, negotiating licensing and development terms, and driving co-created products to market – while R&D and Product Development own the technical formulation work. This is a marketing and business development role, not an R&D role, and it is not a channel, distribution, or talent-facing role either – it is focused entirely on building new products and business value together with other companies.

Responsibilities

• Identify and pursue opportunities to build new products together with partner brands and ingredient suppliers – co-branded formulations, joint development agreements, and limited-edition collaborations.
• Lead the business side of collaborative product launches from concept through market – building the case, driving the timeline, and managing the partner relationship – while R&D and Product Development own the technical formulation and development work.
• Structure joint development agreements (JDAs), including scope, exclusivity, cost-sharing, timelines, and milestone-based terms.
• Evaluate potential co-creation partners for brand fit, technical capability, and commercial opportunity.
• Negotiate licensing agreements for branded, patented, or proprietary ingredients used in Just Ingredients products, and for use of the Just Ingredients brand, formulations, or IP in a partner's product.
• Understand and structure licensing economics – upfront fees, royalties, milestone payments, and exclusivity terms – in partnership with Finance and Legal.
• Coordinate with R&D and Quality – who own the technical vetting – to confirm licensed ingredients or shared formulations will meet Just Ingredients' quality, safety, and label-claim standards before finalizing a deal.
• Track and manage the ongoing terms of active licensing agreements, including renewal, exclusivity, and performance conditions.
• Build the business case for each product collaboration or licensing deal, including projected demand, cost, margin, timeline, and strategic value, and pitch it to leadership.
• Identify the broader opportunity behind a partnership – not just a single product, but a platform for repeatable co-creation with a given partner.
• Track collaboration and licensing performance against business case projections, and recommend whether to expand, renegotiate, or exit a partnership.
• Build and maintain ROI tracking and performance metrics across all active collaborations, providing leadership visibility into deal value and impact.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for all B2B product collaborations, ensuring a consistent standard for how Just Ingredients evaluates, negotiates, and manages these partnerships.
• Partner closely with Legal on the drafting, review, and negotiation of joint development agreements, licensing terms, and collaboration contracts.
• Coordinate with Product Development, R&D, Marketing, Operations, and Finance to align collaboration activity with broader business priorities.
• Report on collaboration pipeline, performance, and ROI to leadership.
• Build and mentor a team as the collaboration function grows.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in business development, product partnerships, or licensing, with direct experience structuring joint development agreements and ingredient or brand licensing deals.
• Experience building co-branded or co-developed products from concept through launch – not just managing a sponsorship, media, or distribution relationship.
• Working knowledge of branded-ingredient and licensing partnership models (e.g., exclusivity structures, milestone-based economics, IP terms) common in CPG, DTC, or health and wellness.
• Experience in CPG, DTC, or health and wellness preferred, ideally including deal-making with ingredient suppliers, co-manufacturers, or brand partners.
• Proven track record negotiating and closing joint development and licensing agreements from first conversation to signed contract, working closely with Legal along the way.
• Comfort managing a varied portfolio of B2B product collaborations at different stages simultaneously.
• Excellent cross-functional collaboration skills, with experience partnering across Legal, R&D, Product Development, Marketing, Operations, and Finance.
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, or related field, or equivalent experience.

Benefits

• Competitive salary based on experience
• Medical, Dental, Life Insurance
• 401K with company matching