Sr. Account Manager

Rakuten Kobo Inc.; Greater London; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Rakuten Advertising in the United Kingdom is seeking a Senior Account Manager to strategically oversee and grow client programs, delivering results and maintaining strong relationships. You will mentor junior teammates, develop execution plans, and act as a subject matter expert on Rakuten Marketing's proprietary systems while driving revenue growth and client retention.

The role requires excellent communication, a solution-oriented mindset, and the ability to manage complex client needs across

Qualifications

• 6+ years of digital marketing experience including client service
• BA degree in Marketing preferred
• Excel (intermediate) and PowerPoint experience
• Experience in strong client relationships, reinforced by building trust, advising and upselling
• Fluent in English

Responsibilities

• Oversee and grow client programs with strategic execution
• Mentor junior team members and develop execution plans
• Act as subject matter expert on Rakuten Marketing's proprietary systems
• Drive revenue growth and aim for 100% client retention
• Maintain proactive, clear communications with clients and internal teams
• Lead client engagements and ensure delivery of high-quality services
• Coach and develop team to improve client relationship management
• Contribute to department-wide initiatives and best practices

Skills

Client service

Fluent English

Negotiation

Communication

Excel

PowerPoint

Education

Bachelor's degree in Marketing

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Job Description

Rakuten International oversees 7 businesses with over 4,000 employees globally. The brand is recognized for its leadership and innovation in e-commerce, digital content, advertising, entertainment and communications, bringing the joy of discovery and access to more than 1 billion members across the world. Our teams deliver on the company’s mission to delight merchants and customers through innovation, optimism, and teamwork.

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

As a Senior Account Manager, you will strategically oversee and grow client programs, ensuring exceptional performance and strong relationships. This role involves mentoring junior team members, developing execution plans, and acting as a subject matter expert for Rakuten Marketing's proprietary systems. You will proactively drive revenue growth, target 100% client retention, and actively participate in new business development. The position requires a solution-oriented approach, strong communication, and the ability to independently manage complex client needs. Ultimately, you’ll be responsible for the overall success and satisfaction of your client portfolio while contributing to team and company-wide initiatives.

In this role, you will be responsible for relationship management with an assigned portfolio of clients. You will serve as a client liaison throughout the delivery of client service engagements or outsourced solutions. You will be strategically focused and responsible for maintaining client satisfaction by ensuring consistent and proactive communications with clients while completing tasks that support the overall management of client relationships.

Key Responsibilities

• Assesses the overall health and effectiveness of client relationships, identifying key areas for improvement and optimization.
• Defines strategies for managing client accounts and engagement processes, ensuring alignment with organizational objectives and best practices.
• Develops more complex client solutions and plans to address unique needs, delivering measurable results that enhance satisfaction and retention.
• Conducts more complex client data analyses to uncover insights, drive actionable recommendations, and inform decision-making.
• Implements processes to standardize and enhance client management workflows, improving efficiency and consistency across the team.
• Confers with cross-functional teams and stakeholders to address client concerns, foster collaboration, and ensure the delivery of seamless services.
• Improves client engagement metrics by introducing innovative strategies and leveraging data-driven approaches to optimize outcomes.
• Coaches less experienced team members, providing mentorship and guidance to enhance their skills and effectiveness in managing client relationships.
• Helps establish and implement department-wide initiatives to elevate client satisfaction, contributing to the achievement of organizational goals.

Client management

• Oversee account programs by developing and strategizing execution plan for clients. Be able to execute on all account developments. Manage in a timely and satisfactory manner.
• Support your senior lead on team execution plan around the roles and responsibilities for each client. Manage and monitor the overall health of the program by leading weekly internal meetings with client team members. Generate efficiencies to ensure smooth running of the accounts, including supporting the team with prioritizations.
• Build strong relationships at all levels of the client organization to ensure positive overall experience with Rakuten Advertising.
• Demonstrate a firm understanding of client goals and strategy. Be proactive with setting, meeting and exceeding aggressive revenue goals for your clients. Demonstrate ability to influence and advise client on strategy for their program with authority.
• Manage client relationships and serve as primary interface to organization; gather and manage necessary client input and approvals. Review program performance with client and work closely to set realistic and strategic goals.

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Technical

• 6+ years of digital marketing experience including client service (agency, client or consulting)
• BA degree in a Marketing field preferred
• Competent in Microsoft Office programmes - particularly Excel (intermediate) and PowerPoint
• Experience in strong client relationships, reinforced by building trust, advising and upselling

Communication

• Strong customer services skills: Negotiation, diplomacy, able to translate client requirements into technical specifications
• Excellent written and verbal communication
• Fluent in English

Minimum Requirements

• 5-7 years relevant work experience Required
• 8-11 years Preferred
• Bachelor's Degree Required
• Master's Degree Preferred

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