Job Description:

Business Operations Intern – KWL, eBooks, and Audiobooks – Internship – 12 Months 

 

Rakuten Kobo 

 

Here at Rakuten Kobo Inc., our mission is to make reading lives better. We stand for readers. We also stand for our employees - from interns and co-ops to permanent staff – and support their growth and development. Whether you are a student at the start of your career or a professional carving a different path, our early career opportunities are built with you in mind-with experiences tailored to your individual skills and interests.  

 

We offer a start-up environment, interesting and engaging work within the technology and publishing industries, and a group of friendly and talented individuals. Additionally, our employees rank us highly in terms of commitment to work-life balance and a company culture committed to caring for our employees. 

 

If you are looking for a company that inspires passion and personal and professional growth, come join Kobo and come help us make reading lives better. 

 

The Role: 

 

Rakuten Kobo Inc. is looking for a Business Operations Intern – KWL (Kobo Writing Life), eBooks, and Audiobooks to join our Business Operations team as an intern for 12 months starting November 2024. The team is comprised of many highly talented enthusiastic individuals who ensure the services and offerings from Kobo are available to both internal and external customers. 

 

This role is specifically responsible for monitoring and resolving inbound requests from internal teams, publishers, and customers. Reporting to the Business Operations Analyst, the Business Operations Intern – KWL, eBooks, and Audiobooks acts as the first level triage for most inbound audiobook-related issues, including investigation of metadata and content processing failures, and incoming requests from customers and partners.  

 

The Business Operations Intern – KWL, eBooks, and Audiobooks is also responsible for supporting the creation and maintenance of relevant documents and help articles as related to their functional areas. They may also assist in creating relevant publisher help centre content.  

 

The Business Operations Intern – KWL, eBooks, and Audiobooks will support the Business Operations Analyst in collecting feedback and metrics from the tickets and QA issues they handle. The data they collect and provide from the various Business Operations ticketing queues in their work is then used to uncover trends and provide feedback to drive audiobook technology and operational improvements and investments for both audiobooks and Kobo’s self-publishing program, Kobo Writing Life (KWL). 

 

Responsibilities Include:  

 

  • Front-Line Support 

  • Triage incoming tickets for audiobooks and KWL area. 

  • Investigate, troubleshoot, solve or escalate audiobooks and first step tickets as required, from functional area or as assigned/delegated. 

  • Data Collection 

  • Review and analyze recurring issues and communicate recommendations based on findings as directed by the Business Operations Analyst.  

  • Create and pull catalogue reports using SQL or our internal content management system as requested. 

  • Share information as requested to client teams, development and delivery teams, content management, and external vendors on the investigation and resolution of bugs. 

  • Documentation 

  • Maintain audiobook-related process documentation as requested by the Business Operations Analyst. 

  • Assist in maintaining KWL-related process documentation as requested by the Business Operations Analyst. 

  • Project Support 

  • Support Business Operations, Content, and Kobo Writing Life with projects on an ad-hoc basis and as available/directed. 

  • Assisting with research into digital publishing standards and topics. 

  • Content Policy Review 

  • At your discretion - reviewing content for compliance with Kobo’s content policy (this task is optional depending on your comfort with the involved content). 

 

The Skillset: 

 

Required: 

 

  • College/university education 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, etc.). 

  • A strong interest in digital media, books, self-publishing, and technology - if it is your heart’s desire to be an editor, you are not going to have much fun. But if it is a potent mix of technology and books, you are 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). 

  • Detail and task-oriented, with strong research and organizational skills. 

  • Flexibility and ability to juggle many projects and priorities simultaneously. 

  • Strong communication skills: you have the ability to compose a professional email and handle ongoing communication with external 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, know how our apps and devices work, are familiar with our reading experience, and/or have published a book through Kobo Writing Life. 

 

Nice to Haves: 

 

  • Specific knowledge of audiobooks, audiobooks, and/or .epub files. 

  • Experience working with XML languages. 

  • Experience working with audio. 

 

The Perks: 

 

  • Flexible working environment. 

  • Free Kobo device + free weekly e-book or audiobook. 

  • Weekly Kobo Tech University sessions. 

  • Mentorship program. 

  • Employee Purchase Program & Corporate Partner Discounts. 

 

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 eReading 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 eReaders, and top-ranking mobile apps. 

 

Kobo is a part of the Rakuten group of companies. 

 

Accommodations and Accessibility 

 

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. Please reach out to our Employee Experience team via the email below if you require any accommodations.  

 

Questions 

 

If you have any questions about this role or other opportunities, please reach out to Andrew McNabb, Early Careers Recruiter at [email protected].  

 

Next Steps 

 

If you want to learn more about Rakuten Kobo, you can find additional information on our internship and co-op opportunities here and learn what it is like working at Rakuten-Kobo here. Please feel free to explore our Glassdoor and LinkedIn profiles as well to learn more about our organization.  

 

Rakuten Kobo would like to thank all applicants for their interest in this role. Please note however that only candidates who are shortlisted for an interview will be contacted. Please feel free to reach out if you wish for an update after applying.  

 

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Rakuten Kobo Inc. is the world’s digital bookseller created by and for book lovers. Owned by Tokyo-based Rakuten Group, Inc. and headquartered in Toronto, Rakuten Kobo’s millions of worldwide users...

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