IT Procurement Sourcing and Strategy Specialist (Cloud Products including AI) - IT Procurement Office, Technology Management Services Supervisory Department

Job DescriptionBusiness OverviewRakuten Group's mission is to empower people and society through innovation.We offer a wide range of internet services that touch people's lives, including "Rakuten Ichiba" one of the largest e-commerce platforms in Japan, and "Rakuten Mobile," an innovative mobile communication service. This provides an environment where you can constantly challenge yourself with new things in diverse business areas and have global growth opportunities.Department OverviewThis 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.you can grow up a wide range of purchasing, strategic, and communication skills.Furthermore, in this role, you will be responsible for Cloud products, including IaaS or SaaS, offering a unique opportunity to learn about and gain experience with the latest technologies and products faster than anywhere else.PositionWhy We HireRequirement of new member to implement proactive actions for strategic IT procurement.Position DetailsIT 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 developmentsThis 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.ResponsibilitiesThrough 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 strategyWork EnvironmentEmployees: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 graduatesThe age range is mainly in the 30s and 40sTeam members come from diverse backgrounds (Sales, SE, Purchasing, Legal, etc.), but many previously worked for IT companiesMandatory 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 suppliersProcurement 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 appliancesDesired 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-dateRequired Mindset A mindset of being able to act/improve autonomously A mindset of being able to adapt to change A mindset of enjoying ambiguous situationsDesired 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