Customer Care Manager - Customer Experience Section, Kobo Japan Department

Job Description:

Business Overview

Rakuten Group's mission is "To empower people and society through innovation." Rakuten Kobo is the Group's global digital reading business, serving millions of readers in more than 20 countries with eBooks, audiobooks and Kobo e-Readers. In Japan, Rakuten Kobo offers one of the country's largest eBook stores and a growing range of e-Readers.

*Learn more about Rakuten's businesses in numbers:
https://corp.rakuten.co.jp/careers/services/

Department Overview

The Kobo Japan Customer Care team supports Japanese readers by phone, email and chat, covering eBook purchases, accounts, apps and eReader devices. Support is delivered by an in-house team in Tokyo together with a call center partner and an AI chatbot. The team works closely with Kobo's global Customer Care team in Toronto, which provides support on tools, KPIs and best practices.

Position:

Why We Hire

We are looking for a hands-on Customer Care Manager to lead Kobo Japan's customer support operation.

The ideal candidate combines three strengths:

1. Call Center vendor and in-house team management. You can manage an outsourced partner and lead an internal team.
2. Global collaboration. You will work closely with Kobo's global Customer Care team, using shared tools and processes and representing the needs of Japanese customers.
3. KPI and measurement expertise. You understand contact center metrics and use data to improve the customer experience.

・Ownership: End-to-end responsibility for customer support in one of Kobo's key markets.
・Global exposure: Work in English every day with Customer Care, Product and Engineering colleagues in Toronto and other markets.
・AI and innovation: Shape how AI chatbots and automation improve the customer experience.
・Business impact: Your customer insights will feed directly into improvements to the store, apps and devices.

Position Details

・Partnership Management: Act as the primary point of contact for our call center partners, ensuring strict adherence to SLAs, operational KPIs, and brand standards through rigorous monthly business reviews.
・Team Development: Lead, mentor, and foster a high-performance culture within the in-house Customer Care team, focusing on professional development and employee retention.
・Global Alignment: Collaborate closely with Kobo’s global Customer Care leadership in Toronto to drive support strategies, share best practices, and implement unified tools


・KPI Ownership: Drive performance across key metrics, including NPS, CSAT, AHT, FCR, and QA scores.
・Actionable Insights: Translate raw data into executive-level reports, identifying emerging contact trends and proactively proposing process improvements to reduce friction.


・Quality Assurance: Oversee the QA framework, utilizing audit findings to refine coaching programs, internal knowledge bases, and support workflows.
・Complex Resolution: Own the escalation process, coordinating across internal departments to resolve high-priority customer issues effectively.
・Product Expertise: Oversee end-to-end support for Kobo e-Readers, including troubleshooting, warranty management, and returns logistics.


・Digital Transformation: Lead the optimization of self-service channels and the AI chatbot experience to improve containment rates and customer satisfaction.
・Risk & Compliance: Ensure all support operations remain strictly compliant with APPI data privacy regulations and Rakuten Group global policies.
・Process Optimization: Continuously evaluate and iterate on support processes to improve efficiency and the overall customer experience (CX).

Work Environment

・An in-house team in Tokyo, working with a call center partner.
・Close collaboration with the global Customer Care team in Toronto. Occasional early-morning or evening meetings because of the time difference.
・English is used daily with global teams. Japanese is used with customers and local partners.

Mandatory Qualifications:

・5+ years of experience in contact center or customer support operations across phone, email and chat.
・2+ years of hands-on experience managing outsourced call center vendors (BPO).
・Experience leading an in-house customer support team.
・A proven track record of managing and improving contact center KPIs (NPS, CSAT, AHT, FCR, QA, service level).
・Experience working with an overseas headquarters or regional team, including shared global tools and reporting.
・Strong analytical, reporting and presentation skills, including advanced Excel and PowerPoint.
・Working knowledge of customer service ticketing systems (e.g., Zendesk, Salesforce Service Cloud, Intercom).
・Native-level Japanese and business-level English.

Desired Qualifications:

・Experience with AI chatbots or customer support automation.
・Customer support experience for consumer electronics or devices.
・Experience in eCommerce, digital content or subscription services.
・Experience with root-cause analysis and process improvement (e.g., Lean, Six Sigma, COPC).
・Experience with BI tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI).


・Hands-on, accountable and comfortable working with a high degree of autonomy.
・A clear communicator in both Japanese and English.
・Customer-centric and data-driven.
・Positive about change and new technology.

Other Information:

Additional information on Location

Rakuten Crimson House
1-14-1 Tamagawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo

Related Pages
・Employee Benefits: https://global.rakuten.com/corp/careers/benefit/
・Employee Conditions: https://global.rakuten.com/corp/careers/information/
・Culture: https://global.rakuten.com/corp/careers/culture/

#business #marketing #PR #internationalandsports #RakutenKobo

Languages:

English (Overall - 4 - Fluent), Japanese (Overall - 4 - Fluent)