Publishing jobs in Canada

Job Description

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.

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.

The Role

The business operations team is composed of a director, manager, team leads, analysts, and interns. Our analysts are primarily aligned by functional area and are responsible for supporting the team via investigations and resolutions for issues authors, publishers, and customers experience as it relates to their functional area, in addition to supporting the other functional areas and wider team and teams serviced.

The Junior Business Operations Analyst acts as the first level triage for most inbound catalogue questions from publishers and Kobo Writing Life (self-published) authors, including investigation of data discrepancies, metadata and content processing failures, as well as education and best practices for publishing books on Kobo. Using data from tickets and other reporting queues, the Junior Business Operations Analyst supports the team by providing metrics and feedback that is used to uncover trends and drive Kobo technology, operational improvements, and investments.

The role will also assist our partner analyst with similar support tickets that come in from our retail partners and will provide support for incoming requests from internal teams. Additionally, the Junior Business Operations Analyst is responsible for supporting the creation and maintenance of relevant documents and help articles as related to their functional area.

The Scope

Responsible for triage, monitoring and processing of ticket queues related to the KWL (Kobo Writing Life) and traditional catalogue, as well as responsible for the oversight and day-to-day operations and business functions of the catalogue, providing front-line support and triage of author and publisher content issues, and improving workflow processes. A major contributor to roadmap prioritization and project management efforts. Works collaboratively with project teams to enable continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities

Front-line support

• Triage incoming tickets for B2B support area(traditional publishers and KWL authors)
• Investigate, troubleshoot, solve or escalate tickets as required
• Incoming tickets will cover ebooks and audiobooks from both traditional publishers and self-published authors.
  
  

Data collection

• Review and analyze recurring issues and workflow inefficiencies, communicate recommendations based on findings as directed by other team members
• Share ticket and catalogue data as requested to client teams, development and delivery teams, content management, and external vendors on the investigation and resolution of bugs
  
  

Documentation

• Create and maintain internal process and operational standards documentation as well as external-facing documentation
  
  

Project Support

• Assist stakeholders and larger BusOps team with projects on an ad-hoc basis and as available/directed
• Assisting with research into digital publishing standards and topics
• Assisting with catalogue research/querying
• B2B ticketing and support
  
  

The Person

The ideal candidate is a generalist who can jump on any problem and is focused on efficiency. A balance of technical skills, strong communication, problem solving, and organization skills are key for success in this role. You thrive in a fast-paced environment, can quickly adapt to changing priorities, and work independently. Where constant change frightens others, you see opportunities to learn, grow, and make a lasting contribution. The successful candidate will be a highly adaptable team player who enjoys supporting a globe-spanning team and delivering quality service to internal and external stakeholders.

Required:

• College/university diploma or equivalent course study, ideally with a focus on publishing or book selling programs, a college/university diploma or work/project experience in the realm of digital media/content, or other books related experience (for example: experience working at a bookstore, running a book blog/Bookstagram/BookTube/BookTok)
• A strong interest in digital media, books, self-publishing, and technology - if it’s your heart’s desire to be an editor, you aren’t going to have much fun. But if it’s a potent mix of technology, books, and self-publishing, you’re in the right place
• General understanding of the book industry (ISBNs, ONIX files, .epub formats are all familiar terms)
• Solid hands-on experience with Microsoft Excel (ideally you can run a VLOOKUP, concatenate data and create a pivot table)
• Demonstrated ability to analyze data and use the data to drive decision making
• Detail and task-oriented, with strong research and organizational skills
• Flexibility and ability to juggle many projects and priorities simultaneously
• Excellent customer service experience, strong initiative, and the ability to keep cool under pressure to meet deadlines
• Strong communication skills: you can compose a professional email and handle ongoing communication with parties regarding technical issues; you aren’t afraid to ask questions or follow up on action items or requests for information
• Experience with the Kobo ecosystem: you've read a book from Kobo, published a book through Kobo Writing Life, know how our apps and devices work, and/or are familiar with our reading experience
• Work experience in the publishing or book retail space
  
  

It would be a bonus if you also have:

• Specific knowledge of ebooks, audiobooks, and/or ePubs
• Experience with SQL
• Experience working with XML languages
• Fluency in another language
  
  

The Perks

• Flexible hours and hybrid working environment
• Subsidized in-office lunches
• Full benefits starting from your first day
• Monthly commuting allowance for those who are hybrid
• Lifestyle spending account
• Talent and development training budget
• Free Kobo device + free weekly e-book or audiobook
• Weekly Kobo Tech University sessions
• 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.

Beware of fraudulent job offers claiming to be from Rakuten. Rakuten does not send unsolicited job offers or request money during the recruitment process. Learn more: https://rakutenemploymentalert.com/

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