Description

Job Description:

About Rakuten Symphony's Quality Management Department (QMD)

QMD is a global horizontal organization, looking for people who always think things could be done better. QMD sets quality management strategies and develops process monitoring standards to ensure best customer quality and compliance throughout Rakuten Symphony.

Why We Hire:
We're looking for a talented, detail-oriented and passionate Senior Project Manager to join our team and lead different horizontal initiatives driving continuous improvement and governance across departments and teams in Rakuten Symphony.

The role will be responsible for managing governance processes, ensuring compliance with company standards (quality, security, UI/UX, etc.), and facilitating smooth coordination between product teams and functional reviewers. Initial processes in scope are the New Product Introduction (NPI) framework and the Symphony Release Governance (SRG) process.

The role reports to Senior VP of Quality Management and includes high visibility to senior leadership (up to CEO/COO level). It requires strong leadership and communication skills. It offers a unique opportunity for significant professional growth, providing an end-to-end understanding of product lifecycle management within a rapidly expanding, international organization like Rakuten Symphony.

Job Responsibilities:

1. Governance Process Management (NPI & SRG)

• Facilitate onboarding of new products into governance processes.

• Guide product teams through mandatory checks and approvals, ensuring compliance with regulatory, security, and quality standards.

• Maintain and update governance manuals, documentation, and tools.

• Redesign or improve Toll Gate structures when misaligned with product team realities but in accordance with the Table of Approval Authority (TAA)

• Own and manage the Naming and Renaming and Product Termination Processes.

2. Cross-Functional Coordination

• Act as liaison between product teams and functional reviewers (e.g., Security, Privacy, Legal, QA, Data Governance, etc.).

• Translate complex reviewer requirements into clear, actionable steps for product teams.

• Escalate and resolve bottlenecks with diplomacy, engaging stakeholders at multiple levels.

3. Executive-Level Reporting & Preparation

• Prepare materials and facilitate pre-meetings for CEO-level committees (QPC, NPI approval meetings, etc.).

• Anticipate uncooperative or underprepared stakeholders and drive alignment prior to executive discussions.

• Consolidate quality metrics and project status into comparative dashboards.

4. Process Improvement, Automation, & Tooling

• Centralize governance processes in Jira, define sub-tasks, and oversee automation for traceability.

• Identify and implement process efficiencies to reduce delays while maintaining integrity of governance.

• Monitor issues, provide feedback loops, and propose improvements to management.

5. Leadership & Stakeholder Management

• Mentor and guide teammates handling parts of NPI and SRG.

• Represent governance function in cross-departmental projects with high visibility.

• Build trust and navigate diverse personalities to ensure progress.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Experience: 8+ years in project/program management, with 3-5 years specifically in product related work within a technology company.

• Education: Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (e.g., Business, Engineering, Project Management) OR equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Technical: Proficient in project management methodologies and Jira for process management and automation. Strong understanding of quality, security, and compliance standards.

• Leadership: Proven ability to lead complex, cross-functional initiatives, influence diverse stakeholders, and communicate effectively up to senior leadership (CEO/COO level).

• Process: Demonstrated experience developing, implementing, and optimizing governance frameworks. Ability to balance process integrity with product team realities (practical flexibility).

• Language:

English - Business Level

Preferred Qualifications:

• Certifications: PMP, PgMP, Lean Six Sigma, or relevant Agile certifications.

• Domain Knowledge: Experience in telecommunications, cloud, or a highly regulated industry.

• Specific Experience: Direct experience with product naming/termination processes and facilitating executive-level governance committees.

• Tooling: Advanced Jira administration and automation skills.

• Language:

Japanese - Conversational level

Other:

Location:

Rakuten Crimson House, Tokyo

Languages:
English (Overall - 3 - Advanced), Japanese (Overall - 1 - Beginner)