Here at Rakuten Kobo Inc. we offer a casual working start-up environment and a group of friendly and talented individuals. Our employees rank us highly in terms of commitment to work/life balance. We realize that for our people to be innovative, creative and passionate they need to feel valued and supported. We believe in rewarding all our employees with competitive salaries, performance based annual bonuses, stock options and training opportunities.
If you’re looking for a company that inspires passion, personal, and professional growth– join Kobo and come help us make reading lives better.
Our Business Operations team is searching for an enthusiastic SeniorManager, Digital Catalogwho can help shape the way customers interact with our products and services.
Kobo has millions of books available in our digital catalog for our readers’ enjoyment – from ebooks to audiobooks, available in dozens of countries and languages. Our catalog management system for books and its metadata is a core part that powers the digital reading experience for our users, both a-la-carte and subscribers, on Kobo platforms and via our partners across the globe.
As the Senior Manager, Digital Catalog you will be a key leader on the team and driveour plans to modernize the catalog management system, processes,and tools – from content ingestion to consumption by readers. The ideal candidate has experience working on technical productsand proven ability to build and continuously improve product capabilities. You will be part of a diverse and collaborative environment, working with multiple stakeholders andvarious teams including R&D, Product, and Content to takenew features from ideato reality.
Own the Digital Catalog product management function and assume end-to-end responsibility for a product that is used by multiple devices and platforms (web, mobile, eReader)
Demonstrate proficiency with the four core functions of product management:
Understand the user, our business, and the broader market. This means identifying user problems (internal and external) and determining how they impact business performance.
Identify the right problems to solve based on user and business impact
Deliver by working with the software development team to prioritize and plan
Analyze the data to understand product performance and then plan for what’s next
Define a vision and roadmap for the catalogmanagement system and communicate it throughout the organization to gain alignment
Write high-level requirements and work with stakeholders to agree on the scope of an initiative related to your product
Collaborate with R&D teams: lead workshops, refine requirements, write user stories, validate on completed work, plan releases, manage and prioritize backlogs
Communicate the status of current initiatives and keep teams informed of progress
Review research, user feedback channels, and product analytics, seeking problems to solve and opportunities to improve your product
Stay ahead of industry trends and policies governing digital content
4+ years experience working in a product management roledelivering high impact backend products; experience in digital contentor eCommerce a plus
Technical experience and curiosity, with the ability to demonstrate the importance and impact of technical work to non-technical audiences
Strong communicator, with demonstrated ability to convey insights from complex analysis to non-technical business users at varying levels of quantitative familiarity
Solid understanding of the importance of the user experience for the success of the product and know how to determine the most important user problems to address
Experience working in an Agile software development environment
Strong analytic skills, complemented with empathyand the ability to work effectively with different people across the organization
Outstanding organizational skills, self-motivated, creative problem solver with exceptional attention to detail
Dedication to continual self-improvement and learning
A love of reading, obviously
Flexible hours and remote working environment
4 extended summer long weekends
Full benefits starting from your first day
Paid Volunteer days, unlimited sick days, and 3% RRSP matching
Monthly commuting allowance for hybrid employees
Flexible health spending account
Training budget + Udemy account
Free Kobo device + free weekly e-book or audiobook
Weekly Kobo Tech University sessions
Maternity/paternity leave top up
90 Day Work from Anywhere program
Daily lunch credit when in-office and in-office snacks
Dog friendly office
About Rakuten Kobo Inc.
Owned by Tokyo-based Rakuten and headquartered in Toronto, Rakuten Kobo Inc. is one of the most advanced global ecommerce companies, with the world’s most innovative e-reading services offering more than 6 million eBooks and audiobooks to 30 million + customers in 190 countries. Kobo delivers the best digital reading experience through creative innovation, award-winning e-readers, and top-ranking mobile apps. Kobo is a part of the Rakuten group of companies.
Rakuten Kobo Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. Accessibility accommodations for candidates with disabilities participating in the selection process are available on request. Any information received related to accommodation needs of applicants will be addressed confidentially.
Rakuten Kobo would like to thank all applicants for their interest in this role however only qualified candidates will be shortlisted.
