Job Description:
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 on our mission of making reading lives better.
The Role:
Rakuten Kobo Inc. is looking for a highly skilled and strategic Marketing Automation Specialist to join our Marketing Delivery team! This pivotal role is responsible for the end-to-end design, implementation, optimization, and governance of complex, multi-channel customer journeys and advanced automation programs. The Marketing Automation Specialist acts as a platform expert, translating strategic marketing objectives into scalable, efficient, and personalized customer experiences across email, push, and other digital channels like Whatsapp and SMS. This role drives continuous innovation and ensures the optimal utilization of our marketing automation platforms to achieve key business outcomes.
Reporting to the Manager, Campaign Services, the Marketing Automation Specialist will leverage deep platform expertise and data understanding to architect sophisticated solutions. They will lead advanced A/B/Multivariate testing, manage platform data flows, ensure platform governance, and mentor Campaign Specialists, playing a critical role in advancing our marketing automation capabilities.
The Person:
- Drives Strategic Automation & Optimization:
- Solutions, designs, builds, and optimizes complex multi-channel customer journeys that span email, push, and other digital channels like whatsapp or SMS, ensuring strategic alignment with marketing objectives.
- Develops and implements advanced segmentation and personalization strategies to enhance customer engagement, relevance, and lifecycle value.
- Designs and implements the technical setup and analysis of A/B and Multivariate tests for complex journeys, providing actionable, data-driven insights for continuous optimization.
- Monitors and optimizes the performance of automated journeys against key KPIs, making proactive recommendations for improvement.
- Expert in Platform & Data Governance:
- Acts as the primary marketing platform expert - managing data integration, data flows, and ensuring data integrity within the marketing automation platform(s).
- Establishes and enforces platform governance, best practices, and naming conventions to ensure consistency and scalability.
- Collaborates closely with the MarSol team on new initiatives and feature evaluations for the Oracle Responsys platform, providing expertise on technical feasibility and campaign execution implications. This includes identifying opportunities for platform utilization and supporting the implementation and adoption of new features and solutions led by MarSol.
- Leads Advanced Troubleshooting & Solutioning:
- Leads investigations into complex errors, system defects, and data discrepancies, providing comprehensive troubleshooting and architecting robust solutions.
- Tags and reports defects and live issues, driving their resolution with relevant internal and external teams.
- Provides accurate project estimations for complex automation builds, effectively prioritizing workload across projects, and proactively managing risks.
- Mentors & Elevates Team Capabilities:
- Trains and mentors Campaign Specialists on advanced platform functionalities, best practices, troubleshooting techniques, and strategic automation principles.
- Actively contributes to the continuous improvement of data quality and hygiene initiatives within the Marketing Automation ecosystem.
- Exceptional Communicator & Collaborator:
- Communicates complex technical concepts and strategic recommendations clearly and concisely to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Collaborates extensively with cross-functional teams (e.g., product, data science, CRM, creative, Solutions team, etc) to align automation strategies with broader business objectives.
- Acts as a key liaison between technical teams and marketing strategy, fostering shared understanding and effective project execution.
- Demonstrates a proactive and self-motivated approach, thriving in a fast-paced, dynamic, and collaborative environment.
- Demonstrates strong curiosity and excellent problem solving skills, diving deeper to understand the full impact and providing solutions based on business requirements, goals, and platform capabilities.
The Skillset:
- Experience: Minimum 3+ years of experience in marketing automation, with demonstrated expertise in platform management, journey design, and data integration (e.g., Oracle Responsys, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Adobe Marketing Cloud, Marketo).
- Technical Depth & Expertise: High (Platform Expert, Data Flows, HTML/CSS, SQL)
- Platform Expert: Deep understanding of marketing automation architecture, data models, and integration points.
- HTML/CSS: Proficient in HTML/CSS for advanced template development, dynamic content implementation, and complex troubleshooting.
- SQL: Ability to write and interpret complex SQL queries for advanced segmentation, data extraction, and troubleshooting.
- Data Flows: Expert understanding of data flows, data integrity, and integration with CRM and other systems.
- Experience with API integrations for seamless data exchange and campaign triggers.
- Level of Supervision & Independent Judgment:
- Operates with minimal supervision, largely self-directed in managing their workload and strategic initiatives. Provides guidance and oversight to Campaign Specialists.
- Exercises significant independent judgment in designing solutions, prioritizing projects, mitigating risks, and making critical decisions related to platform configuration and journey optimization.
- Accountability & Initiative:
- Accountable for the strategic design, performance, and integrity of all automated customer journeys and platform health. Responsible for driving measurable business outcomes through automation.
- Demonstrates strong initiative in identifying strategic opportunities, proactively proposing innovative solutions, and leading complex projects from conception to completion. Continuously seeks to enhance platform capabilities and processes.
- Strong project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple complex initiatives simultaneously.
Nice to Haves:
- Experience with a Customer Data Platform (CDP) or data warehousing concepts (e.g., BigQuery).
- Familiarity with scripting languages (e.g., Python, JavaScript) for custom solutions.
- Experience in an e-commerce or subscription-based business.
- Experience with Oracle Responsys.
- Experience with SMS and/or Whatsapp campaigns.
- Experience with live content and platforms like Moveable Ink or Litmus.
The Perks:
- Flexible hours and hybrid remote working environment
- Subsidized in-office lunches
- Full benefits starting from your first day
- Paid Volunteer days, unlimited sick days, and 3% RRSP matching
- Monthly commuting allowance for those who are hybrid
- Lifestyle spending account
- Talent and development training budget
- Free Kobo device + free weekly e-book or audiobook
- Weekly Kobo Tech University sessions
- Maternity/paternity leave top up
- 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 e-commerce 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.
Beware of fraudulent job offers claiming to be from Rakuten. Rakuten does not send unsolicited job offers or request money during the recruitment process. Learn more: https://rakutenemploymentalert.com/
#RKIND
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 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 would like to thank all applicants for their interest in this role however only qualified candidates will be shortlisted.
Beware of fraudulent job offers claiming to be from Rakuten. Rakuten does not send unsolicited job offers or request money during the recruitment process. Learn more: https://rakutenemploymentalert.com/
At the time of posting, Rakuten expects the Compensation (base salary + discretionary bonus) 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 stock options, health, vision, dental insurance, RRSP matching, Personal Time Off (PTO), Volunteer Time Off (VTO), and other employee benefits as the company implements.
CAD $63,394.00 - 99,112.48 annuallyTop Skills
Rakuten Kobo Toronto, Ontario, CAN Office
150 John St, 5th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5V 3E3,
