Marketing Technology Solutions Lead, Rakuten Kobo

• 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
• This role requires a blend of strategic thinking, deep technical understanding, and hands-on execution to empower marketing teams and deliver innovative experiences
• Minimum 5+ years of experience in MarTech, marketing operations, or a related role, with a proven track record of strategic problem-solving, process optimization, and hands-on technical implementation
• Exceptional systems thinking, pattern recognition, and conceptualization abilities, demonstrating a fluid capacity to navigate from tactical details to operational impact and strategic vision
• Deep expertise in workflow automation and hands-on proficiency with low-code platforms (e.g., ReTool) and enterprise automation tools (e.g., ClickUp Automations, Zapier)
• Proven ability to strategically leverage AI in marketing, encompassing workflow automation, creative applications, and personalization across channels
• Strong cross-functional mapping abilities and a proven track record of engaging diverse stakeholders to translate complex business needs into integrated and actionable MarTech solutions
• Comprehensive knowledge of the broader MarTech ecosystem, including specific experience with digital advertising platforms, email, and push notification channels
• Expertise in designing robust solution architectures across multiple MarTech systems (e.g., Hightouch, Builder.io, BigQuery, Oracle Responsys), with a strong understanding of data flow, modeling, and integration principles
• Experience defining technical/business requirements for new tooling, leading vendor evaluations, and contributing to the RFP process
• Highly autonomous with strong independent judgment, capable of driving initiatives from concept to completion
• Excellent communication, presentation, and analytical skills, with the ability to articulate complex concepts and build consensus across technical and non-technical audiences

Desirable

• The Marketing Technology Solutions Lead is a pivotal role bridging strategic marketing objectives with effective technological solutions. This individual is a strategic operator and problem-solver who excels at understanding marketing challenges, optimizing processes, and leveraging technology to enhance performance
• They will drive the identification, evaluation, and implementation of MarTech solutions, focusing on workflow automation, AI integration, and operational efficiency across various marketing channels
• Strategic Problem Solving & Solution Design: Collaborate effectively with internal teams, actively seeking out pain points, operational inefficiencies, and strategic goals. Translate these into actionable problems that can be solved/improved through MarTech
• Cross-Channel MarTech Strategy: Understand and address MarTech needs across a broad spectrum of marketing channels, including email, push notifications, digital advertising platforms, and other customer engagement points
• Workflow & Process Optimization: Proactively identify opportunities through process mining and stakeholder engagement to streamline marketing workflows, automate repetitive tasks, integrate, and improve efficiency across the marketing project lifecycle
• Technology Scouting & Evaluation: Continually research and monitor developments in the MarTech landscape, including workflow automation, AI capabilities in marketing (creative AI, personalization, data), and emerging tools. Drive the development of Proof of Concepts for innovative marketing experiences, evaluating new technologies and approaches for their potential to address business needs and enhance marketing capabilities
• AI Integration & Innovation: Identify and implement opportunities to integrate Artificial Intelligence into marketing workflows and tools, from enhancing creative processes to optimizing campaign execution and personalization across channels
• Solution Implementation & Configuration: Lead the end-to-end technical design, hands-on configuration, development, and implementation of MarTech solutions, including creating automations within platforms like ClickUp, building internal tools with platforms like ReTool, and configuring existing MarTech systems
• Solution Architecture & Integration: Design, optimize, and maintain robust solution architectures across various MarTech systems (e.g., Hightouch, Builder.io, ReTool, Oracle Responsys), ensuring seamless data flow and integration
• Performance Monitoring & Optimization: Contribute to the reporting and analysis of marketing solution performance, identifying areas for continuous improvement and optimization
• Platform Governance & Best Practices: Establish, enforce, and maintain best practices for MarTech platform utilization, data governance, and system integrity to ensure scalability and compliance
• Technical Requirements & Vendor Evaluation: Define clear technical and business requirements for new tooling, evaluate vendor solutions, and contribute to the RFP process by assessing technical fit, integration capabilities, and methodology
• Documentation & Training: Develop and maintain comprehensive documentation for MarTech solutions, processes, and data flows. Provide guidance and training to marketing teams on new tools and optimized workflows