Director – Corporate Strategy and Business Operations

Job Description:

Rakuten International is a division of Rakuten Group, Inc., a Japanese global technology leader in services that empower individuals, communities, businesses and society. Headquartered in San Mateo, California with more than 4,000 employees worldwide, the Rakuten International business portfolio includes market leaders in e-commerce, digital marketing, advertising, communications and entertainment. We create products and services that provide exceptional value by aligning members and the businesses that want to engage them in a shared community. 

Job Summary:

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. Our projects often mirror the work at top strategy consulting firms and investment banks, but with an emphasis on driving impact in close collaboration with Rakuten International’s senior product and business leaders.

Key Responsibilities:

• Leading key projects to drive Rakuten International’s evolution through its market, product, integration, and overall growth strategy.
• Lead the development and execution of long-term business strategies in alignment with company goals.
• Conduct competitive and market analyses to support business decisions.
• Coaching and developing team members to be future leaders and to achieve their own development goals.
• Guiding complex quantitative and qualitative research coupled with analysis to drive key business decision making.
• Structure and lead complex cross-functional strategic initiatives and special projects.
• 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.
• Partner with executive leadership to identify growth opportunities, evaluate market trends, and drive strategic priorities.
• Evaluate potential partnerships, M&A opportunities, and investments, lead business case development.
• Understanding and staying current with the competitive landscape and macro trends.

Qualifications:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Proven track record of leading cross-functional strategic initiatives and driving measurable business impact.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to structure complex problems and develop actionable insights. Experience conducting and guiding complex quantitative and qualitative research, both primary and secondary
• Excellent communication and presentation skills; ability to influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Experience in building trusted advisor relationships and influencing others (including C-level executives)
• Demonstrated experience running large 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.
• 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.

Minimum Requirements:

• 8+ years overall work experience, 4+ years of experience with a top-tier strategy consulting firm [preferred] - Ideally, you also bring an additional 4+ years of experience in a respected technology company's strategy function. MBA or equivalent graduate degree preferred.

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Five Principles for Success
Our 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 - Kaizen
Passionately Professional - Take an uncompromising approach to your work and be determined to be the best
Hypothesize - Practice - Validate – Shikumika - Use the Rakuten Cycle to succeed in unknown territory
Maximize Customer Satisfaction - The greatest satisfaction for our teams is seeing their customers smile
Speed!! Speed!! Speed!! - Always be conscious of time - take charge, set clear goals, and engage your team

Rakuten 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.