Business Development Manager

Rakuten Viki•San Mateo, CA

14d

About The Position

Rakuten Viki is seeking a Business Development Manager to support its global partnership strategy, primarily by growing its subscriber base and subscription revenue. The role identifies, develops, negotiates, and launches strategic partnerships across telecommunications, digital platforms, connected TV, brands, loyalty and rewards ecosystems, and the broader consumer ecosystem. The manager develops bundling and distribution opportunities, explores new channels and monetization strategies, and builds partnerships that support growth, brand awareness, and customer loyalty. The position is based in San Mateo, California, and reports to the Director of Business Development.

Requirements

At least 5 years of experience in business development, partnerships, or related commercial roles, with a track record of identifying, developing, negotiating, and closing strategic partnerships.
Professional background in telecommunications, OTT, digital media, subscription, or consumer technology, with a strong understanding of subscription growth and monetization.
Experience owning partnerships from agreement through implementation and launch, including contracting, partner onboarding, and ongoing relationship management.
Strong commercial and analytical skills, including assessing partnership opportunities, building business cases, evaluating financial and growth potential, and using data to inform investment and prioritization decisions.
Strong cross-functional collaboration and project-management skills, including experience working with functions such as legal, marketing, product, finance, content, and customer experience.

Nice To Haves

Established relationships with telcos, OTT platforms, digital services, subscription products, loyalty and rewards programs, and other consumer-facing businesses.
Excellent communication, presentation, and relationship-building skills, including the ability to develop compelling proposals and presentations and influence senior stakeholders and external partners.
Strategic, entrepreneurial, and results-oriented mindset, with the ability to work independently, manage multiple priorities, navigate ambiguity, and build momentum in a fast-paced environment.
Passion for entertainment, technology, OTT, and digital media, with curiosity about evolving consumer behavior, subscription models, and emerging partnership opportunities.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute partnership strategies aligned with Viki’s growth priorities, focusing on subscriber acquisition, engagement, retention, subscription revenue, and brand awareness.
Conduct market and competitive research across priority regions to identify consumer trends, market dynamics, and emerging partnership opportunities, and use insights to inform regional growth strategies.
Identify, evaluate, and develop strategic partnership opportunities across telecommunications, digital platforms, connected TV, brands, and loyalty and rewards ecosystems.
Build business cases, partnership proposals, presentations, and commercial recommendations to evaluate opportunities, align internal stakeholders, and support negotiations with prospective partners.
Develop and negotiate commercial programs, including bundled subscriptions, loyalty and rewards offerings, and partner benefits, to create value and drive subscriber and revenue growth.
Own partnerships from opportunity development through launch and ongoing management, including partner outreach, opportunity assessment, commercial structuring, negotiation, contracting, onboarding, launch coordination, and relationship management.
Collaborate with content, marketing, legal, product, finance, and customer experience teams to implement, launch, and optimize partnership initiatives.
Monitor partnership performance and KPIs, using data and partner feedback to improve conversion, retention, revenue, and overall program performance.