Director, Marketing Strategy & Operations

About Rakuten International

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 over 4000 employees worldwide the Rakuten International business portfoliocomprisesmarket 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.

About Rakuten Rewards

Rakuten is a leading shopping platform that offers Cash Back on purchases from all your favorite brands. By partnering with thousands of brands in apparel beauty and wellness dining grocery travel on-demand services subscription boxes and more Rakuten helps members save and get more on everyday purchases. Since its founding in 1999 Rakuten has become the largest and most rewarding shopping experience and its members have earned$4.6 billionin Cash Back just for shopping through Rakuten. For more information visit .

Job Summary
Were seeking a Director of Marketing Strategy & Operationsto serve as thestrategic and operational hubof the Rakuten Rewards Marketing organization. This role sits at the intersection ofstrategy analytics and execution ensuring that marketing priorities investments and operating rhythms are tightly aligned with business outcomes.

Reporting directly to the CMO this leader will help define what matters most translate strategy into action and ensure the organization is well-resourced effectively measured and held accountable. You will work closely with senior marketing leaders Finance Analytics Product and Revenue teams to drive clarity rigor and momentum across a complex fast-moving environment.

This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who can zoom out to set direction and zoom in to solve problemsusing data structured thinking and strong operational judgment.

Key Responsibilities
To perform this job successfully an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below represent the knowledge skills and/or abilities. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Strategic Planning &Road Mapping

• Ownthe end-to-end marketing planning process (annual quarterly and in-quarter) including setting priorities sequencing initiatives and driving alignment across Brand Growth Product Marketing Loyalty Partnerships and Retention.

• Translatebusinessobjectivesinto clear actionable marketing strategies with defined success metrics and resource implications.

• Pressure-test assumptions surface trade-offs and recommend where to invest where to pull back and why.

• Establishclear operating rhythms that connect strategy to execution (planning cycles reviews decision forums).

PerformanceAnalytics & Operational Discipline

• Defineand own the marketing performance framework including KPIs dashboards and leading indicators tied to growth efficiency and LTV.

• Partnerwith Analytics to move beyond reporting into insight generationdiagnosing performanceidentifyingroot causes and recommending action.

• Proactivelyidentifyrisks bottlenecks and underperformance and drive cross-functional resolution.

• Lead quarterly business reviews executive readouts and post-mortems with a focus on learning and course correction.

BudgetingROI & Financial Rigor

• Own the marketing investment framework partnering with Finance to forecast spend model scenarios and ensure disciplined resource allocation.

• EvaluateROI across channels programs and initiativesmaking clear recommendations on optimization and reallocation.

• Developforward-looking views on efficiency scalability and return not just historical performance.

• Helpleadership balance growth ambitions with financial discipline.

Cross-FunctionalLeadership

• Act as a trusted strategic partnertoMarketing leadership Product Finance Sales and Analytics.

• Leadcomplex ambiguous initiatives that cut across teams (e.g. GTM prioritization operating model changestoolingand process evolution).

• Createclarity where there is ambiguity; bring structure to fast-moving problems.

Executive Storytelling

• Synthesizecomplex analyses into clear concise executive narratives.

• Leadwith the so what before diving into detail.

• Developframeworks and point-of-view documents that guide decision-making at the CMO and executive level.

• Supportthe CMO inpreparingexecutive and board-level discussions as needed.

Qualifications

• 812 years of experience in strategy marketing operations business planning growth strategy or management consultingideally in a consumer-facing digital business.

• Demonstratedability tooperateas a strategic thought partner to senior leaders.

• Strong analytical skills witha track recordof turning data into decisions.

• Comfortnavigating ambiguity driving prioritization and holding teams accountable.

• Advanced Excel and PowerPoint; fluency in BI tools (Tableau Looker etc.)is stronglypreferred.

• Exceptional written and verbal communicator with executive presence.

• Experience reporting directly to a CMO GM or business unit leader strongly preferred.

• Bachelors Degree Requiredmasters degreePreferred