The Opportunity

At Cambly, we're navigating through a period of significant transformation: Generative AI is finally beginning to unlock the promise of advanced education, and internet-native marketplaces have enabled access to education in ways we have only begun to explore. This is a pivotal moment to join our team, offering a unique experience that blends Silicon Valley's innovative spirit with Japan's deep cultural richness, and rapidly changing education landscape. This role presents an unparalleled opportunity to be part of our efforts through global change, growth, and leverage an entrepreneurial mindset to drive the business for one of our most strategically important regions.

The Position

We are on the lookout for an Operations Manager who harbors a deep passion for education, believes in the benefits of a global perspective (or worldview), and possesses the agility to navigate the complexities of the current market landscape. This position is ideal for someone who thrives in dynamic environments and is proficient in pivoting strategies to execute and maintain sustained engagement and adaptability.

You will work with the Japan General Manager and the dedicated Strategy & Operations team and obtain insights from the market, build the strategy, and get to the lowest level of detail to execute plans rapidly. You will partner directly with, and influence Product, Engineering, Analytics, Marketing, Finance, and Support leadership teams to marshall the essential investments for the Japan market. Your leadership will ensure that Cambly is the number-one choice for English learners in Japan.

In this role, you will have the chance to profoundly impact the lives of English learners in Japan as well as the global regions and in doing so transform the lives of people in every country.

You will be responsible for the following:

• Strategic Planning: Help develop and refine Cambly’s business initiatives and product line through providing local insights through market research, competitive analysis, and internal assessments to identify opportunities to drive improvements to the learner experience.

• Identify Growth Opportunities: Develop and execute strategies to identify and capitalize on growth opportunities within the market. This includes analyzing market trends, assessing competitive landscapes, and evaluating internal capabilities to drive sustainable business expansion and profitability.

• Market Monitoring: Continuously monitor market trends, industry developments, and competitor activities. This involves gathering and analyzing data related to market demand, pricing trends, regulatory changes, and emerging technologies to stay ahead of market shifts and opportunities.

• User Feedback Analysis: Utilize tools and strategies to collect, analyze, and interpret user feedback, reviews, and sentiments about our product or services. This includes monitoring social media platforms, customer surveys, and feedback channels to understand customer preferences, pain points, and satisfaction levels.

• Local Insights: Develop deep insights into local markets by understanding cultural nuances, customer behaviors, and preferences specific to different regions or target demographics.

• Experiment and business analysis: Analyze key performance metrics and patterns to inform and influence product and feature iterations.

• Operational efficiency: Identify opportunities through observation of patterns and workflows to streamline processes, improve productivity, and remove bottlenecks. Work with cross-functional teams to improve operations and processes.

• Cross-functional collaboration: Manage cross-functional projects with our B2B Sales, Marketing, Finance, Product teams to improve Learner and Tutor experience.

• Progress versus goal reporting: Own business outcomes. Provide cross functional team members with daily reports on key KPIs during critical business periods to surface growth opportunities, or flag issues.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Finance, or a related field

• 7+ years experience in a related field to Cambly's business (EdTech, consumer internet, consumer marketplace, or app-based solution) or management consulting company

• Track record of bridging the local market with a multinational company’s global headquarters

• Strong business acumen and analytical skills in consumer behaviors and related marketing strategies and tactics

• Ability to make sound business decisions based on multiple options/scenarios and ability to evaluate performance based on data

• Entrepreneurial mentality, creative thinking, and an ability to set and execute a strategy autonomously with no playbook for success

• A passion for learning and teaching and excitement about creating opportunities for English learners

• Fluent in English and native in Japanese

About Cambly:

Cambly was founded in 2012 by Kevin Law and Sameer Shariff, two former Google engineers who decided to start a company to help people around the world to study English. Cambly has native teachers from countries like the United States, Canada and England online 24 hours a day for students to instantly connect to private classes via video chat. The service can be accessed through the computer, Android or iOS applications. Today, the service is used in more than 190 countries around the world. Cambly was first backed by the Silicon Valley Accelerator Y Combinator in 2014 and was selected as YC top company in January 2021.

Press Release: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrickcai/2022/06/08/cambly-series-b-english-language-app-profitable/

Founder Sameer's interview on Podcast: https://www.joincolossus.com/episodes/51567490/shariff-breaking-language-barriers?tab=blocks