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

This organization, IT Procurement Office, is in charge of IT-related product procurement for Rakuten Group, Inc. (Headquarter) as well as for Rakuten global subsidiaries (partly). Our mission is to bring profit to the Rakuten Group through IT procurement activities.

Due to the significant transaction amounts and target reduction amounts, as well as the constant adoption of new technologies and services, there are abundant opportunities for self-growth and purchasing experience.

IT Procurement office has 3 groups: "IT Purchasing Group," which is responsible for executing operations efficiently, quickly, and accurately; "IT Sourcing Group," which is responsible for reducing and optimizing procurement costs; and "IT Procurement Admin Group," which provides cross-sectional support such as contract management.

The mission of "IT Sourcing Group" is not only achieve Cost Reduction negotiations with supplier, but also consider procurement strategies while communicating with internal and external stakeholders, including executives.

The "IT Sourcing Group" is an organization where you can hone a wide range of purchasing, strategy, and communication skills. This is achieved not only through cost reduction negotiations with suppliers but also by formulating and executing procurement strategies while communicating with stakeholders, including executives, both internal and external.

“IT Sourcing Group” is structured with teams tailored to procurement products such as “infrastructure” “outsourcing” and “cloud”, and is structured to adjust and negotiate with internal/external with greater expertise.

Position:

Why We Hire

Requirement of new members to expand the sourcing coverage of IT Sourcing Group

Position Details

IT Procurement Office - Job Opportunity

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

- 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

Work Environment

- The team is primarily composed of mid-career hires with only 2 new graduates
- The age range is mainly in the 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)

Target product examples include

- IT-related hardware such as servers, storage, and network appliances

- Public cloud services (Azure, GCP, etc.)

- Software and SaaS (CRM, CDN, project management tools, etc.)

- Development outsourcing (including consulting and BPO)

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

Language

- Fluent in Japanese

Desired Qualifications:

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

- 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

#business #procurement #AI #technologymanagementdiv

Languages:

English (Overall - 3 - Advanced), Japanese (Overall - 4 - Fluent)

IT Sourcing Specialist - IT Procurement Office, IT Sourcing Group, Technology Management Services Supervisory Department (TMSSD)