Director, Corporate Strategy and Business Operations

Company: Rakuten Kobo Inc.
Location: San Mateo
Posted on: May 24, 2025

Job Description:

Director, Corporate StrategyDirector, Corporate StrategyApply locations San Mateo, California time type Full time posted on Posted 2 Days Ago job requisition id 1022207Job Description:Location: This role is also eligible for hire in our NY, NY; Chicago, IL and Salt Lake City, UT offices.Rakuten International oversees 7 businesses with over 4,000 employees globally. The brand is recognized for its leadership and innovation in e-commerce, digital content, advertising, entertainment, and communications, bringing the joy of discovery and access to more than 1 billion members across the world. Our teams deliver on the company's mission to delight merchants and customers through innovation, optimism, and teamwork.Overview:Come join Rakuten International as a Director of Corporate Strategy and Development. We are looking for creative problem solvers with a passion for innovation. Reporting to the VP of Strategy & Business Operations, this role will develop business recommendations that will have a substantive impact on Rakuten International's top and bottom line. The Strategy and business operations team shapes the strategic direction of the company, with a strong focus on driving growth. The team serves as advisors to company leaders and addresses the key questions facing senior management and the company's operating units.The team is also responsible for shaping the company's strategic plans, anticipating opportunities and threats, and prioritizing initiatives. Projects are typically highly analytical in nature and include close collaboration with Product, Marketing, Sales and Operations groups.The team works on highly visible, direction-setting strategy initiatives at the corporate level and across all of Rakuten International's business units. The role of SBO Team is to structure the project and provide problem solving leadership, conduct analysis and research, develop recommendations, and communicate well-articulated conclusions to Senior Management and Executives.Key Responsibilities:

• Leadership of Rakuten International's core strategy team, including attracting and retaining a high performing team and leading key projects to drive Rakuten International's evolution through its market, product, integration, and overall growth strategy.
• Leading the annual corporate strategy and planning process alongside the executive team.
• Structuring work plans and project scope to deliver business impact on high priority issues.
• Coaching and developing team members to be future leaders and to achieve their own development goals.
• Understanding and staying current with the competitive landscape and macro trends.
• Guiding complex quantitative and qualitative research coupled with analysis to drive key business decision making.
• Providing thought leadership and ad-hoc strategic advisory to leaders across the company.
• Presenting recommendations and leading discussions with all levels of management including C-level executives across Rakuten International businesses.Qualifications:
  • 8+ years overall work experience, with at least 4+ years of experience with a top-tier strategy consulting firm having reached the Principal or Engagement Manager level.
  • Ideally, you also bring an additional 4+ years of experience in a respected technology company's strategy function.
  • Experience in building trusted advisor relationships and influencing others (including C-level executives); Ability to work effectively with people at all levels in an organization.
  • Experience conducting and guiding complex quantitative and qualitative research, both primary and secondary.
  • Previous experience running surveys and leveraging expert network interviews to drive findings.
  • Demonstrated experience running large corporate strategy projects to desirable outcomes, preferably in the technology industry.
  • Growth mindset for yourself and others; demonstrated track record of coaching and developing team members.
  • Proven track record of influencing sales, marketing, channel, and product organizations to achieve revenue growth.
  • Excellent people development and leadership skills. You have led, developed, and built capabilities in teams and individuals. Able to manage multiple extended or virtual teams.
  • The ability to develop a strong point of view combined with the openness to evolving that view based on new data; Collaborative team player who is also an independent thinker.
  • The ability to create clear, concise, and convincing communications including PowerPoint presentations to diverse audiences; comfortable in business and technical discussions.
  • Strong project management skills, including demonstrated ability to think end-to-end, lead long-term projects, and to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
  • Superlative communication and presentation skills; must have a confident presence.#LI-EP1Five Principles for SuccessOur worldwide practices describe specific behaviors that make Rakuten unique and united across the world. We expect Rakuten employees to model these 5 Shugi Principles of Success.Always improve, Always Advance - Only be satisfied with complete success - KaizenPassionately Professional - Take an uncompromising approach to your work and be determined to be the bestHypothesize - Practice - Validate - Shikumika - Use the Rakuten Cycle to succeed in unknown territoryMaximize Customer Satisfaction - The greatest satisfaction for our teams is seeing their customers smileSpeed!! Speed!! Speed!! - Always be conscious of time - take charge, set clear goals, and engage your teamRakuten provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type. Rakuten considers applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, provincial or local laws.At the time of posting, Rakuten expects the base compensation for this role to be within the range shown below. Individual compensation will vary based on job-related factors, including the skills, qualifications, and experience of the successful candidate as well as business need and geographic location. The successful applicant for this role will be eligible for discretionary bonus, health, vision, dental insurance, 401k matching, PTO, Volunteer Time Off (VTO), and other employee benefits as the company implements.USD $136,485.00 - $254,664.00 annuallyAbout UsRakuten International oversees 7 businesses with over 4,000 employees globally. The brand is recognized for its leadership and innovation in e-commerce, digital content, advertising, entertainment, and communications, bringing the joy of discovery and access to more than 1 billion members across the world.Everyday team members deliver on the company's mission to delight merchants and customers through innovation, optimism, and teamwork.
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Keywords: Rakuten Kobo Inc., San Rafael , Director, Corporate Strategy and Business Operations, Executive , San Mateo, California