Job Description:

Business Overview

The Technology Management Division (TMD) provides Corporate IT, and Cyber Security & Privacy Governance to Rakuten Group companies and essential business management for technology organizations, thereby enabling innovation and strengthening the technology foundation. Within TMD, the Technology Management Services Supervisory Department (TMSSD) plays a vital role in CIO Governance, IT financial management, IT procurement, Quality Management System (QMS), technology-related public relations, and human resources strategy. By promoting efficiency, quality, risk management, and organizational strength, we ensure that Tech Divisions remain agile and at the forefront of technological advancement.

Department Overview

The IT Planning Department (ITPD) plays a critical role in contributing to Rakuten Group's business success through effective IT finance management. We are responsible for the management accounting of development costs (Tech costs), encompassing budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, and comprehensive reporting. This ensures financial transparency, accuracy, operational efficiency through system development, and the strategic alignment of IT investments with organizational objectives.

Position:

Why We Hire

Requirement of new member to implement proactive actions for strategic IT procurement.

Position Details

IT Procurement Office is responsible for the smooth execution of IT-related procurement activities including cost optimization, appropriate vendor selection, and efficient ordering processes.
 

The main Duty is as following about Cloud products or Services include AI as IT sourcing specialist.

- Cost reduction through vendor negotiations on contractual terms (price, delivery time, quality, etc.)

- Building, maintaining, and managing strong relationships with suppliers (Supplier Management)

- Analyzing procurement costs, and cost reduction activity consideration and implementation

- Improvement and streamlining procurement processes

- Ensuring compliance with relevant laws and internal regulations, conducting appropriate procurement activities

- Researching the latest AI trends and technological developments
 

This position also aims to strengthen collaboration between the "AI & Data Division" and "IT Procurement office", so will hold a concurrent role within the "AI & Data Division". "AI & Data Division" develops and provides service platforms and services that leverage AI & Data for business units, also offers data consulting services to promote AI & Data utilization.

The division formulates and promotes the mid-to-long-term AI & Data strategy for the entire Rakuten Group.

Through this concurrent role with "AI & Data Division", expected to contribute to sourcing strategies from a more practical perspective, by quickly catch-up the demands of the CAIDO (Chief AI & Data Officer) and leveraging the CAIDO's expertise in procurement. Within the AI & Data Division, the responsible for the following:

- Promoting and appropriate procurement processes within "AI & Data Division"(including information security implementation)

- Managing and analyzing expenditures within "AI & Data Division" and reporting to CAIDO

- Supporting the consideration of AI product investments aligned with company-wide strategy

Work Environment

Employees:15 (Sourcing: 8, Purchasing: 6, Admin: 1)
Contract Staff/Outsourcing: 20 (including approximately 15 BPO staff)

The team is primarily composed of mid-career hires with only 2 new graduates
The age range is mainly in the 30s and 40s
Team members come from diverse backgrounds (Sales, SE, Purchasing, Legal, etc.), but many previously worked for IT companies

Mandatory Qualifications:

- Minimum 3 years of experience in IT procurement operations (sourcing or purchasing)
- Ability to communicate closely in both Japanese and English

- English proficiency is essential for communication with the CAIDO and members of "AI & Data Division". Japanese proficiency is essential for negotiations with suppliers

*Procurement product example is as following

- Public Cloud (Azure, GCP, etc.)
- SaaS (CRM, CDN, project management tools, etc.)
- IT-related hardware such as servers, storage, and network appliances
 

Desired Personality:

- Possesses in-depth knowledge and experience in IT procurement and can approach tasks from a strategic perspective

- Can utilize data analysis skills to identify issues and propose improvements

- Have strong communication skills and can smoothly collaborate with related departments and suppliers

- Flexible to change and can proactively acquire new knowledge and skills

- Interested in new technologies and trends, such as AI, and capable of proactively keeping up-to-date

Required Mindset:

- A mindset of being able to act/improve autonomously

- A mindset of being able to adapt to change

- A mindset of enjoying ambiguous situations

Desired Qualifications:

- Procurement and AI-related qualifications (e.g. CPP, CPSM, AI-900)

- AI development experience (Python, original LLM, etc.)

- Public Cloud/SaaS (AWS, Azure, GCP, Salesforce, etc.) usage experience

- Legal knowledge (Subcontract Act, Intellectual Property Act, etc.)

- Project management experience

- Data analysis skills

#corporate #procurement #technologymanagementdiv