Director, Consumer Communications

Rakuten Kobo Inc.; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 113,157 - 211,032; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary bonus

Health insurance

Vision insurance

Dental insurance

401k matching

Paid time off

Volunteer Time Off

Other employee benefits

Job summary

Rakuten seeks a Director of Consumer Communications to lead a global, integrated strategy that strengthens brand awareness and consumer trust across markets including the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. You will shape narratives, oversee agencies, and drive measurable impact for Rakuten’s consumer programs.

You’ll report to the Senior VP of Brand, Creative and Communications, delivering hands-on leadership, storytelling excellence, and data-driven optimization while aligning with corporate goals and

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading global communications programs.
• Hands-on, lead-from-the-front leadership with agencies.
• Experience in retail, ecommerce or consumer tech.
• Strong storytelling and media relations.
• Analytical mindset with measurement ability.
• Collaborates with performance marketing, growth or partnerships.

Responsibilities

• Advise executives with data-driven counsel.
• Lead global consumer comms strategy across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.
• Oversee external PR agencies and ensure performance.
• Refine Rakuten messaging and narrative framework.
• Develop integrated comms for partnerships with Amex and Bilt.
• Support sports partnerships like Warriors and 49ers with storytelling.
• Lead media strategy, interview prep and briefings.
• Create press releases and media pitches.
• Define measurement frameworks and report insights.
• Incorporate AI considerations into comms strategy.
• Support crisis communications.

Skills

Global communications

Agency management

Brand storytelling

Media relations

Cross-functional

Analytical mindset

Project management

Crisis communications

Public relations

Retail knowledge

Job description

Job Summary:

Rakuten is seeking a Director of Consumer Communications to lead the development and execution of a global, integrated communications strategy that increases brand awareness, builds trust with consumers, and drives long-term brand loyalty. This role plays a critical leadership function in managing communications across key international markets—including the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.—ensuring a consistent global narrative while tailoring strategies to local audiences. You will position Rakuten as the #1 shopping destination for earning rewards on everyday purchases, while overseeing agency partners and cross-regional execution to deliver measurable business impact. Reporting directly to the Senior Vice President of Brand, Creative and Communications, this role is both strategic and hands‑on, with significant visibility across senior leadership. The ideal candidate is a proactive communicator and exceptional writer with deep experience in B2C public relations and global brand storytelling. You bring a passion for culturally relevant narratives and have a proven track record of executing high‑impact communications strategies across top‑tier consumer media. You are agile, detail‑oriented, and results‑driven, with strong media relationships and the ability to influence cross‑functional stakeholders. You understand how to connect with diverse audiences and distill complex ideas into compelling, creative stories that drive engagement and growth.

Key Responsibilities:

Serve as a senior communications advisor to internal stakeholders and executive leadership, providing a strong point of view, clear recommendations, and data‑driven counsel in a fast‑paced environment.

Lead the development and execution of a cohesive global consumer communications strategy across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., ensuring alignment across regions while allowing for local market nuance; oversee and manage external PR agencies in each market, driving strategic integration, fostering bold thinking, and holding partners accountable to performance metrics and business outcomes.

Partner with cross‑functional leaders to refine Rakuten’s messaging and narrative framework, aligning communications with broader brand and business priorities.

Identify innovative and culturally relevant ways to tell Rakuten’s story, translating business priorities, product innovation, and partnerships into compelling consumer narratives.

Identify and activate high‑impact opportunities to amplify Rakuten’s brand and business partnerships—including collaborations with American Express and Bilt—by developing integrated communications strategies that drive awareness, credibility, and customer acquisition.

Partner with the Sports & Entertainment team to support communications strategies tied to marquee partnerships—including the Golden State Warriors, Golden State Valkyries, and San Francisco 49ers—shaping narratives, managing media engagement, preparing spokespeople, and amplifying culturally relevant moments that drive brand awareness, credibility, and customer acquisition.

Lead media strategy and execution, including interview preparation, thought leadership development, media briefings, and coverage amplification.

Create high‑quality written content, including press releases, statements, Q&A, briefing materials, award submissions, and media pitches.

Define and evolve measurement frameworks, including media quality, message pull‑through, attribution, and impact on brand and growth KPIs; regularly report insights to leadership.

Integrate AI and LLM considerations into communications strategy, ensuring earned media and brand narratives are optimized for AI‑driven search and discovery.

Support crisis communications and reputation management, partnering with global teams to protect and strengthen brand trust.

Minimum Requirements:

Proven experience leading global communications programs and managing multiple external PR agencies, with a hands‑on, “lead from the front” approach.

Strong experience overseeing agency strategy, performance, and relationships—driving accountability, creativity, and measurable business impact.

Strong business acumen and deep understanding of the retail, ecommerce, and media landscapes.

Experience partnering with performance marketing, growth, or partnerships teams, with a clear understanding of how communications drives acquisition and retention.

Highly creative storyteller with a track record of generating newsworthy ideas and securing impactful media coverage.

Strong analytical mindset with the ability to measure performance and continuously optimize strategies.

Comfortable operating in fast‑paced, matrixed organizations with evolving priorities.

Exceptional written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.

Strong project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously.

Experience with both traditional and digital communications tools and platforms.

Qualifications:

10–15 years of relevant experience, ideally across both agency and in‑house roles at high‑growth companies.

Demonstrated experience managing global or multi‑regional communications programs.

Experience in fashion, retail, ecommerce, or consumer technology strongly preferred.

Five Principles for 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

Rakuten provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type. Rakuten considers applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, provincial or local laws.

At the time of posting, Rakuten expects the base compensation for this role to be within the range shown below.

USD $113,157.00 - $211,032.00 annually

• discretionary bonus
• health
• vision
• dental insurance
• 401k matching
• PTO
• Volunteer Time Off (VTO)
• other employee benefits as the company implements.

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.

Every team members deliver on the company’s mission to delight merchants and customers through innovation, optimism, and teamwork.

Rakuten Rewards is a leading e-commerce company that enhances the way people shop by offering Cash Back, deals and rewards from more than 3,500 merchants. Founded in 1999, Rakuten has grown to become the go‑to shopping destination for consumers, having paid out nearly $2 billion in Cash Back to its 15 million members.

The company also operates ShopStyle, a leading fashion discovery destination, and Cartera Commerce, a top rewards platform for airlines and banks.

For more information, visit www.rakuten.com.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act’s Transparency in Coverage Rules require group health plans to disclose on a public website information regarding in‑network provider rates and historical out‑of‑network allowed amounts and billed charges for covered items and services in two separate machine‑readable files (MRFs). The MRFs for Rakuten’s Aetna benefit plan are provided in the link below. Aetna Transparency in Coverage: Machine-Readable Files | Rakuten