Creative Director

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. We believe in rewarding all our employees with competitive salaries, performance based annual bonuses, stock options and training opportunities.

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:
Rakuten Kobo is looking for a visionary and highly collaborative Global Creative Director to lead the evolution and execution of our global creative strategy. You’ll drive the expression of the Kobo brand across every customer touchpoint, ensuring consistency, quality, and innovation from marketing campaigns and product packaging to in-store and co-branded partner communications.

This is a critical leadership role that blends high-level brand stewardship with day-to-day creative direction. You’ll lead a talented in-house creative team of designers and writers, and collaborate closely with marketing, product, CRM/Digital and retail teams across regions. If you're passionate about storytelling, design, digital experiences, and mentoring creative talent, this is your opportunity to shape how the world sees and experiences Kobo.

What You'll Do:
Brand & Creative Leadership- Define and own the global creative strategy in alignment with Kobo’s brand vision, business goals, and customer needs.- Act as the brand’s creative guide and guardian, ensuring cohesive and compelling brand expression across all channels, markets, and experiences.- Lead the development of big-picture creative concepts and campaigns that build brand equity, drive customer engagement, and support innovation and growth.

Drive Team Management & Collaboration- Lead, mentor, and develop an internal team of copywriters and designers, collaborating closely with external creative partners/agencies.- Provide clear direction, set high standards, and routinely review work to elevate creative quality and effectiveness.- Create a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performing team culture that values innovation, craft, and open communication.- Set clear expectations, provide constructive feedback, and support career development through coaching and goal-setting.

Lead Creative Execution & Oversight- Provide hands-on art and copy direction to ensure all creative outputs meet the highest standards of storytelling, visual excellence, and audience engagement.- Collaborate closely with creative operations and production teams to effectively scope projects, define deliverables, and streamline workflows for efficient, high-quality execution.

Steer Cross-Functional Creative Alignment- Collaborate with Marketing, Product, Content, Digital/CRM and Retail teams to align creative with campaign objectives, user experience, and business strategy.- Translate creative briefs into thoughtful, effective concepts that bring the brand to life with clarity and purpose.- Lead ideation sessions and persuasively present creative ideas to internal stakeholders and executive leadership, clearly articulating their strategic value and creative utility.

Champion Innovation, Insights & Optimization- Stay at the forefront of industry trends, emerging creative technologies, and shifting consumer behaviors to keep Kobo’s creative work fresh and future-forward.- Champion experimentation with new formats such as motion, interactive content, AI-generated creative, and localized storytelling—to enhance impact and relevance.- Review creative performance metrics and translate insights into actionable improvements that elevate future campaigns and deepen customer engagement.

What You’ll Bring- 15+ years of experience in senior creative roles, ideally in a global creative leadership position.- Proven success leading creative teams and delivering innovative work across digital, social, mobile, packing, retail and print platforms.- A strong portfolio showcasing creative excellence in branding, campaign work, content and retail marketing.- Deep expertise in visual storytelling, copywriting, brand strategy, and creative execution.- Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to translate complex business challenges into elegant, compelling creative solutions.- Demonstrated leadership and people management skills, with a passion for coaching and developing talent.- Experience working cross-functionally in agile environments, particularly with product, retail, and marketing teams.- Strong communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills—comfortable influencing at all levels.- Bachelor's degree in Design, Communications, Marketing, or a related field.- Experience in the publishing, e-commerce, or technology industries is a plus.
- The Perks: