Project Manager - System Planning Department, Information Systems Division, Rakuten Life Insurance Co., Ltd.
Job Description:
Business Overview
The Rakuten Insurance Group continues to grow steadily, aiming to become the next pillar of Rakuten's FinTech business, following Rakuten Card, Rakuten Bank, and Rakuten Securities.
Rakuten Life Insurance is one of the core businesses within the Rakuten Insurance Group.
It offers a variety of insurance products, including simple term and whole life insurance, medical insurance, cancer insurance, dementia insurance, comprehensive insurance for younger generations, and group credit life insurance for housing loans.
The company provides multiple proposal channels, such as face-to-face agency channels operating nationwide and internet channels that leverage the extensive Rakuten membership base.
As a familiar and approachable life insurance company, and as an innovative life insurance provider utilizing the technological expertise of the Rakuten Group, Rakuten Life Insurance aims to deliver groundbreaking insurance solutions.
Examples of Initiatives:
- Launch of Rakuten Points rewards for policyholders: Link
- Digital transformation of insurance underwriting operations using AI: Link
Department Overview
The Information Systems Division plays a critical role in underpinning the IT infrastructure of the Rakuten Insurance Group. We are responsible for the stable operation and continuous enhancement of mission-critical core systems that safeguard our customers’ valuable insurance contracts. At the same time, we actively harness the power of IT to drive the development of new products and the improvement of services, working hand in hand with the business to create real impact across the company.
The System Planning Department leads the formulation of the company’s IT strategy and drives business transformation initiatives from the ground up. This role offers a high level of autonomy and responsibility, providing opportunities to work with cutting-edge technologies while contributing to society through innovation in the insurance industry.
This Project Manager position plays a pivotal role in steering large-scale IT projects that shape the future of Rakuten Life Insurance. As a member of the System Planning Department, you will work in close partnership with business stakeholders and lead end-to-end initiatives—from planning and translating IT strategy into actionable roadmaps, through requirements definition, development execution, release, and successful operational adoption.
You will be expected to demonstrate strong leadership by coordinating multiple vendors and internal teams, while comprehensively managing schedule, quality, cost, and risk. By driving complex challenges to successful outcomes and delivering IT investments worth hundreds of millions of yen, this role offers a high level of responsibility, achievement, and the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to both our customers’ future and the company’s sustainable growth.
Attractive Points
- The entire Rakuten Group is actively promoting AI utilization, creating an environment where innovative proposals leveraging AI technology can be readily realized
- As a relatively compact organization within the financial sector, you'll have the opportunity to engage in operations from a perspective closely aligned with management strategy
- By considering company-wide strategies in conjunction with IT strategies, there's a high probability of directly contributing to the company's growth
- Our smaller scale inherently provides abundant opportunities to challenge yourself across a wide range of responsibilities and projects
Position:
Why We Hire
To accelerate digital transformation (DX) and realize our IT strategy, strengthening our IT project management organization to drive key initiatives has become an urgent and critical priority.
Position Details
Based on the company’s IT and business strategies, you will oversee and lead large-scale, complex IT projects end to end.
Planning and Strategy Alignment
- Translate business needs into IT initiatives aligned with the overall IT strategy, defining project objectives and developing business cases
- Formulate comprehensive project plans covering scope, schedule, budget, quality, resources, and risk, and obtain necessary approvals
Project Execution and Control
- Lead project teams and continuously manage progress, quality, cost, and risk
- Identify issues proactively, develop and implement solutions, and manage change requests effectively
Vendor and Stakeholder Management
- Support RFP preparation, vendor selection, and provide guidance on contract negotiations
- Evaluate vendor performance and drive continuous improvement
- Communicate and coordinate effectively with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders to build consensus and alignment
Governance and Risk Management
- Identify, assess, and mitigate project-specific risks, ensuring appropriate governance throughout the project lifecycle
Implementation and Operational Transition
- Oversee system testing and migration planning and execution
- Ensure a smooth handover to operations teams and support stable system adoption and long-term operational success
Work Environment
- Employees: Approximately 40 members
(including around 15 members in the System Planning Department)
- Partner Companies: Approximately 100 personnel
- Mostly career professional
- Windows / Linux
Mandatory Qualifications:
- Proven project management experience leading end-to-end system development projects from planning through implementation (approximately 5 years or more)
- Project scale guideline: investment of several hundred million yen or more, development period of one year or longer, involving multiple vendors and internal departments
- Experience engaging and coordinating with multiple stakeholders—including business units, IT departments, executive management, and external vendors—to resolve complex challenges
- Deep knowledge and hands-on experience in requirements analysis, requirements definition, schedule, quality, cost, and risk management, as well as change management
- Strong logical thinking and problem-solving skills, combined with excellent communication and coordination abilities
- A solid business perspective, with the ability to understand IT and business strategies and translate them into successful project execution
Desired Qualifications:
- Experience in IT project management at a life insurance company or other financial institution
- Experience leading IT projects that contribute to digital transformation (DX) initiatives or new business creation
- Experience in system development projects utilizing cloud services such as AWS, Azure, or GCP
- Hands-on experience introducing and practicing agile development methodologies (e.g., Scrum, LeSS)
- Relevant certifications such as PMP or Japanese Information Technology Engineer Examinations (e.g., Project Manager, IT Strategist)
- Knowledge and experience in system architecture design
- Business-level communication skills in English
Others Information:
Additional information on Location
NBF Shinagawa Tower
Additional information on Secondment
Seconded to Rakuten Life Insurance Co., Ltd. after joining Rakuten Group, Inc.
#engineer #director #projectmanager #fintechgroup #RakutenLifeInsurance
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