Founded by fans, Crunchyroll delivers the art and culture of anime to a passionate community. We super-serve over 100 million anime and manga fans across 200+ countries and territories, and help them connect with the stories and characters they crave. Whether that experience is online or in-person, streaming video, theatrical, games, merchandise, events and more, it’s powered by the anime content we all love.
Join our team, and help us shape the future of anime!
The Strategic Initiatives Director will help shape and execute Crunchyroll’s growth agenda by evaluating strategic opportunities, developing clear recommendations for senior leadership, and mobilizing cross-functional teams to move important initiatives forward. The role sits at the intersection of corporate strategy, corporate development, partnerships, operating model design, new business incubation, and enterprise execution.
This is a highly collaborative senior role for a structured thinker who can move comfortably between market analysis, executive communication, financial and strategic assessment, and hands-on program leadership. The portfolio will evolve with business priorities and may include both inorganic and organic growth initiatives.
Reporting to the VP, Corporate Development, the Strategic Initiatives Director will:
- Lead the assessment and prioritization of strategic growth opportunities across Crunchyroll’s businesses, markets, products, and partnerships.
- Translate ambiguous questions into structured analysis, practical options, and clear recommendations.
- Work across Strategy, Corporate Development, Finance, Legal, Product, Content, Marketing, and other business teams to build alignment, drive execution, and spearhead a dynamic range of cross-functional projects.
- Monitor market dynamics, competitive activity, emerging business models, and relevant trends; lead target screening, opportunity assessment, and prioritization across sectors, geographies, and business models.
- Build strategic, commercial, and financial frameworks that assess rationale, value-creation potential, risks, dependencies, and execution implications.
- Evaluate strategic partnerships and selected growth capabilities, including fit, economics, feasibility, risks, governance, and recommended path forward.
- Partner with business and functional leaders to shape deal structures, operating requirements, and implementation roadmaps.
- Prepare concise, decision-useful materials for senior leadership, executive committees, and board discussions, translating complex information into clear recommendations, decision asks, and next steps.
- Coordinate cross-functional workstreams, maintain action logs and decision registers, establish stakeholder cadences, and drive timely follow-through.
- Communicate uncertainty, data gaps, unresolved trade-offs, risks, and dependencies clearly and proactively.
- Where needed, support selected integration-related initiatives by leading or supporting business units in transition, e.g., pre-close planning, milestones, dependencies, and post-closing integration for business continuity.
- You bring 12+ years of experience in corporate strategy, corporate development, management consulting, investment banking, private equity / investing, or a related strategic program leadership role.
- You have a track record of leading complex, cross-functional initiatives from ambiguous problem definition through recommendation and execution.
- You combine strategic judgment with analytical rigor, including market assessment, business cases, financial analysis, scenario evaluation, and prioritization.
- You communicate clearly and credibly with senior executives, business leaders, and functional subject-matter experts, including through polished, executive-ready presentations.
- You create structure, clarify ownership, anticipate dependencies, follow through on commitments, and adapt as priorities change.
- You take pride in excellence, integrity, attention to detail, and an internal sense of urgency; you share our excitement for media, entertainment, and technology.
- A bachelor’s degree is required; an MBA or other advanced degree is preferred but not required.
Embedded within the broader Strategy organization, the Corporate Development team works closely with senior leadership and across Crunchyroll’s global businesses, spanning subscription video, digital manga, eCommerce, games, theatrical releases, consumer products, and more.
The team evaluates and supports high-profile opportunities across acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, strategic partnerships, and organic growth initiatives. We also partner with stakeholder groups and operating teams across the company to turn strategic priorities into durable execution.
Why you will love working at CrunchyrollIn addition to getting to work with fun, passionate and inspired colleagues, you will also enjoy the following benefits and perks:
- Receive a great compensation package including salary plus performance bonus earning potential, paid annually.
- Flexible time off policies allowing you to take the time you need to be your whole self.
- Generous medical, dental, vision, STD, LTD, and life insurance
- Health Saving Account HSA program
- Health care and dependent care FSA
- 401(k) plan, with employer match
- Employer paid commuter benefit
- Support program for new parents
- Pet insurance and some of our offices are pet friendly!
#LifeAtCrunchyroll #LI-Hybrid
We want to be everything for someone rather than something for everyone and we do this by living and modeling our values in all that we do. We value
Courage. We believe that when we overcome fear, we enable our best selves.
Curiosity. We are curious, which is the gateway to empathy, inclusion, and understanding.
- Kaizen. We have a growth mindset committed to constant forward progress.
Service. We serve our community with humility, enabling joy and belonging for others.
Our mission of helping people belong reflects our commitment to diversity & inclusion. It's just the way we do business.
We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at Crunchyroll. Pursuant to applicable law, we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.
Crunchyroll, LLC is an independently operated joint venture between US-based Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Japan's Aniplex, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc., both subsidiaries of Tokyo-based Sony Group Corporation.
Questions about Crunchyroll’s hiring process? Please check out our Hiring FAQs: https://help.crunchyroll.com/hc/en-us/articles/360040471712-Crunchyroll-Hiring-FAQs
Please refer to our Candidate Privacy Policy for more information about how we process your personal information, and your data protection rights: https://tbcdn.talentbrew.com/company/22978/v1_0/docs/spe-jobs-privacy-policy-update-for-crpa-dec-21-22.pdf
Please beware of recent scams to online job seekers. Those applying to our job openings will only be contacted directly from @crunchyroll.com email account.
Skills Required
- 12+ years of experience in corporate strategy, corporate development, management consulting, investment banking, private equity, investing, or related strategic program leadership
- Track record leading complex, cross-functional initiatives from ambiguous problem definition through recommendation and execution
- Experience with market assessment, business cases, financial analysis, scenario evaluation, and prioritization
- Ability to communicate clearly with senior executives, business leaders, and functional subject-matter experts
- Ability to create structure, clarify ownership, anticipate dependencies, and follow through on commitments
- Bachelor's degree
- MBA or other advanced degree
- Interest in media, entertainment, and technology
Crunchyroll Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Crunchyroll and has not been reviewed or approved by Crunchyroll.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage includes medical, dental, and vision with multiple plan options plus mental-health/EAP resources, and some plans are described as having low premiums or even fully covered options.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time off is presented as flexible or unlimited and is augmented by additional company holidays such as summer Fridays and a year-end shutdown.
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Retirement Support — Retirement benefits include a 401(k) with a company match that is noted as meaningful and in some cases matched per paycheck.
Crunchyroll Insights
What We Do
At Crunchyroll, we deliver what anime fans love—anytime, anywhere. With the world’s largest anime streaming library, we connect fans to the stories, characters, and creators they love. But Crunchyroll is more than just a destination to watch anime—it's a global ecosystem where anime lives and breathes beyond the screen. From streaming and theatrical releases to merch, games, news, events, and music, we offer fans immersive experiences that celebrate anime culture in all its forms. Headquartered in the U.S. with teams and reach across the globe, Crunchyroll is an independently operated joint venture between Sony Pictures Entertainment and Aniplex of Japan. This unique partnership gives us the power to scale globally while staying rooted in anime’s cultural origins, ensuring authenticity and access for fans everywhere. We believe anime is more than entertainment—it’s a way of life. And we’re here to champion that passion every day.
Why Work With Us
We take the People Experience seriously here at Crunchyroll. Join a diverse team of talented, ambitious people who treat each other well and believe that how we win is just as important as winning.
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