Client Launch Implementation Specialist

Job Description:

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 more than 4,000 employees worldwide, the Rakuten International business portfolio includes market 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.

Rakuten Advertising provides advertising technology and consumer insights to the world’s leading brands and retailers. Working with agencies and brands around the world, Rakuten Advertising unites technology, client strategy and consumer insights to deliver advertising experiences that drive increased brand awareness and marketing performance. With access to Rakuten’s diverse media properties and audiences, combined with an award-winning performance network and proprietary consumer research, Rakuten Advertising creates the right conditions to reach new customers and sustain long-lasting loyalty.

Job Summary:

Join the Operations Team at Rakuten Advertising!  We offer a great place to work, learn and grow professionally. Our team partners daily with top internet retailers in the e-commerce space to handle the key components of their Affiliate campaigns. Campaigns which are built to create and support distribution opportunities, drive new customer sales and increase their business' ROI. This is a customer-facing role that fosters individual and collaborative work with our clients and departments around the globe.

As Client Launch Implementation Specialist, you’re tasked with creating a seamless experience for new and existing clients moving through the onboarding to post-launch lifecycle. As a primary point of contact for the advertiser, you will collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure program offer setup and technical implementation tasks have been executed for new launches; and to troubleshoot post-launch implementation issues. The ideal candidate will thrive in a highly visible, external client-facing role that requires creative problem solving, product expertise, professional communication skills and effective coordination of resources. Your ongoing goal is to provide a positive customer experience within and outside of Rakuten Advertising. 

Key Responsibilities:

We’re looking for a self-starter and finisher, who has a passion for creative problem-solving. Strong candidates will innately seek to create productive connections with the commercial, technical and shared services teams to create an environment that supports the success of all stakeholders.

• Serve as the primary point of contact for clients through the onboarding to post-launch lifecycle, to ensure marketing and technical launch tasks are executed in a timely manner.
• Facilitate communication between clients, internal teams, and external stakeholders, ensuring that relevant information is shared effectively to provide a smooth transition from prospect to active advertiser.
• Create and/or organize the development of advertisers’ marketing materials.
• Set clear expectations and advocate for most effective implementation solution based on the campaign goals and available Rakuten Advertising technology & partnerships.
• Assist new & existing clients with Rakuten Affiliate Network technical implementation, including technical exploration meetings, sharing implementation instructions, confirming technical set up, tracking testing & validation.
• Manage post-launch tracking inquiries, to maintain tracking integrity and protect revenue.
• Learn and understand the full capabilities of Rakuten Advertising tools and technologies and relevant industry consumer privacy tools.
• Maintain an ongoing focus on delivering an exceptional customer experience, ensuring that clients’ needs are met and exceeded throughout the campaign launch.
• Ensure that the client launch status is up to date and all teams have visibility through project management software
• Analyze & improve the client launch process where opportunity exists or business needs change.
• Advocate for process improvements that benefit the overall client experience and contribute to the efficiency of campaign launches.
• Create and Maintain launch process documentation and define best practice guidelines to support the client’s lifecycle and internal team’s workflows

​Qualifications:

Candidate will have a minimum of 2-3+ years’ experience in in digital marketing, online advertising, or technical support, with a focus on client-facing roles, campaign management, and technical implementation including coding, testing/QA, and troubleshooting. Successful candidates may bring experience from an agency, client, or consulting environment.

Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Computer Science or Engineering preferred.

• Ability to liaise between internal cross-functional teams and external clients on a day-to-day basis
• Able to translate client requirements into technical specifications
• Ask questions pro-actively to confirm clear requirements on both sides
• Understands the impact of decisions on Company’s short and long-term goals
• Experience with any web programming language: ASP, PHP, Java (Specifically JS), etc.
• Experience with databases, shopping carts, SQL, FTP, RSS/XML feeds
• Solid familiarity with the internet marketing practices & technologies and web enabled communications (chat, email, Instant Message)
• Strong verbal, written, presentation & relationship-building skills - internal/external
• Demonstrated problem solver and ability to handle unique customer requests
• Strong project management skills; Can work independently and as part of a team
• Excellent time management, follow-up, and organizational skills. Attention to detail is priority
• Must be able to quickly develop facility with proprietary software to manage and review client tracking activity
• You are fluent in English

Technical / functional expertise

• Familiar with digital marketing and basic concepts of affiliate marketing
• Experience in JavaScript & HTML
• Experience in PHP, NodeJS and SQL
• Experience in web development and cookie tracking skills
• Experience with automation tools and platforms, including AI/ML-driven solutions
• Strong knowledge in web analytics, tracking and reporting
• Comfortable troubleshooting tracking code
• Knowledge of ad tag management platforms and e-commerce solutions is considered a huge plus
• Knowledge of mobile & online to offline advertising concepts & tracking methods is considered a huge plus
• Solid proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite – Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for client-ready reports & presentations

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

At the time of posting, Rakuten expects the base compensation 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 discretionary bonus, health, vision, dental insurance, 401k matching, PTO, Volunteer Time Off (VTO), and other employee benefits as the company implements.

USD $72,090.00 - $123,876.00 annually