Senior Product Manager, Digital Catalog

 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. 

The Role 

Our Business Operations team is searching for an enthusiastic Senior Manager, Digital Catalog who 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 drive our 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 products and proven ability to build and continuously improve product capabilities. You will be part of a diverse and collaborative environment, working with multiple stakeholders and various teams including R&D, Product, and Content to take new features from idea to reality.  

Key Responsibilities 

• 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 catalog management 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 

The Skillset 

• 4+ years experience working in a product management role delivering high impact backend products; experience in digital content or 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 empathy and 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 

The Perks:  

• 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.  

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