Community & Partnerships Marketing Manager, Japan
Ahrefs · Tokyo
About Ahrefs
Ahrefs is an all-in-one marketing intelligence platform used by marketers, businesses and agencies around the world. Our tools help people understand search demand, analyse competitors, improve website performance and research content opportunities, backed by 15 years of web crawling data and increasingly powered by AI.
We’re bootstrapped and profitable, and we have been for 15 years. There are no investors and no board, which means no outside timeline on our decisions. We’re multinational, with offices in Palo Alto, Cambridge (MA), Singapore and Tokyo, and our culture is fast-moving, low-ego, and built on smart decisions and ownership.
The Japan team works closely with customers, partners and the wider marketing community to grow Ahrefs’ presence locally, and to make sure our global products and initiatives are relevant to the Japanese market.
The role
We’re looking for a relationship-driven marketer to help strengthen Ahrefs’ presence in Japan. The role sits at the intersection of community, partnerships, events, PR and customer engagement.
You’ll build and deepen relationships with marketers, customers, industry partners, Ahrefs Ambassadors, media and other people who can help Ahrefs become more visible and more connected within the Japanese marketing community.
A major part of the role is bringing people together. That could mean hosting a meetup at our Tokyo office, organising a customer roundtable, building a joint initiative with a partner, representing Ahrefs at an industry event, interviewing a customer for YouTube, or creating a new community around a topic relevant to marketers in Japan.
You’ll have room to shape the role and build programs in your own way. We’re looking for someone comfortable taking ownership, developing relationships independently, and being one of the public faces of Ahrefs in Japan.
You’ll report to the Head of Japan Marketing and work closely with the wider Japan team as well as relevant global teams.
This role is based out of our Tokyo office in Jingumae. This is an on-site role: we’re looking for someone who’ll be in the office with the team.
What you’ll do
- Build and maintain relationships with marketers, customers, industry figures, media, Ahrefs Ambassadors and strategic partners in Japan.
- Identify and develop new partnership opportunities independently, with the Head of Japan Marketing involved in major commercial discussions and final decisions.
- Engage with existing marketing, SEO and business communities in Japan, and create opportunities to bring people together around Ahrefs.
- Plan, host and represent Ahrefs at community and industry events: meetups, roundtables, customer sessions, booths, talks and networking activities, engaging audiences on stage, on camera and in other public-facing settings.
- Develop recurring, commercially focused collaborations with partners, including events, webinars, customer sessions, YouTube appearances and interviews that drive product interest, lead generation and stronger customer relationships.
- Build and maintain relationships with relevant media and news outlets in Japan, and identify opportunities for Ahrefs to contribute to industry conversations.
- Support customer and prospect engagement around marketing activities, including communicating with attendees before and after events.
- Work closely with the Enterprise team where relevant, while keeping activities inclusive of Ahrefs users and customers across different plans and segments.
- Coordinate interviews, filming, photography and production logistics, and support the creation, localisation and reuse of case studies, event assets, presentations and other marketing content for the Japanese market.
- Collaborate with the Japan marketing team and relevant global teams so local activities support broader Ahrefs priorities.
- Travel occasionally within Japan for partner meetings, customer engagement, conferences and events.
What you’ll need
- Around 4 to 6 years in marketing, partnerships, community, field marketing, business development or a related area. We’re flexible on exact experience for the right person.
- Native-level Japanese.
- Professional working proficiency in English.
- Strong relationship-building skills and the confidence to develop new connections from scratch.
- Experience managing external stakeholders such as customers, partners, media, speakers or industry communities.
- Comfort taking ownership and working independently, without a highly prescriptive playbook.
- Strong communication skills and the confidence to represent a company publicly.
- Comfort hosting events, facilitating discussions, appearing on camera and speaking in front of groups.
- Good commercial judgment, and an understanding of how marketing activities contribute to customer relationships, brand growth and lead generation.
- Strong organisational skills, and the ability to move between relationship building, planning, coordination and execution.
- A collaborative working style, working closely with both local and global teams.
- Able to commute to and work from the Ahrefs Tokyo office in Jingumae.
Nice to have
- Experience in SEO, digital marketing, SaaS or B2B technology.
- Existing relationships within Japan’s SEO, digital marketing, SaaS, media or agency communities.
- Experience developing partnerships or ambassador programs.
- Experience with PR or media relations in Japan.
- Experience organising or hosting meetups, roundtables, workshops or industry events.
- Experience working closely with sales or Enterprise teams.
- Familiarity with Ahrefs and the wider SEO industry.
Location: Tokyo (Jingumae). On-site.
Ahrefs does not engage with agencies or third party recruitment solutions for the roles we hire for. If at any point we need help, we'll let you know!