About this Service Planning Lead - Energy Business Department role at Rakuten

Rakuten · Onsite · Tokyo, Japan

Job Description:

Business Overview

Rakuten is Japan's largest marketplace and Internet ecosystem, offering a wide range of more than 70 services, including e-commerce, travel, banking, fintech, food delivery, golf, insurance, instant messaging, and mobile networking. Rakuten offers more than 140 services worldwide, of which Communications & Energy Company is the division that operates the cell phone business and other telecommunications and electric energy-related businesses.

Please see below for a list of Communications & Energy Company's services*.

https://corp.rakuten.co.jp/about/company/communications_energy.html

Department Overview

As a retail electricity provider of the Rakuten Group, Rakuten Electricity provides "Rakuten Denki," an electricity service for general households, and "Rakuten Gas," a city gas service. Rakuten Electricity is expanding its services to become the No. 1 new electric power company by providing a safe, convenient, and affordable experience close to its users.

The service features a simple design with a basic charge of zero yen and a single metered charge based on the amount of electricity used, instead of the complicated and difficult electricity rate plans of the past. The service allows customers to receive Rakuten points based on their electricity bills and to pay their electricity bills with the points.

Furthermore, the digitization of the energy field is expected to continue in the future, including the digitization of electricity meters, the development of mobile communication technology, and the spread of IoT and AI. With the spread of distributed power resources such as solar power generation, storage batteries, and electric vehicles, virtual power plants (VPPs) can be used to control and optimize power supply and demand, bundle power sources generated by each household, and mutually trade power. I can also imagine a future where this is done. Against this backdrop, we aim to establish a new power platform by leveraging Rakuten Group's IT technology and big data.

- Rewards and Appeal

You’ll have the opportunity to be involved in projects from planning through to launch.

This is an environment where you can gain experience across three key areas—Business, Creative, and Technology—and grow by taking on roles as a product manager even in areas where you previously had no experience.

Since you’ll collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders, including systems engineers, designers, and customer service representatives, this position offers the chance to learn from a diverse array of perspectives.

Position:

Why We Hire

Recruitment of additional staff.

With a view to further enhancing our operations in the future, we are seeking individuals who can serve as the core of our team.

Position Details

As a Service Planning Lead, you will drive product optimization for our in-house service, "Rakuten Denki."

With the goal of elevating customer satisfaction, you will take ownership of the entire lifecycle—from cross-functional data analysis to the planning, formulation, and execution of new service initiatives—while leading KPI management as a strategic driver.

Specific Duties Include

- Designing various consumer research initiatives, conducting data analysis, managing key financial/operational metrics, and tracking customer loyalty.

- Formulating new service concepts (including strategic planning aimed at improving core product KPIs).

- Structuring key business arguments, managing task allocations, and overseeing project timelines.

- Conducting ROI estimations and driving strategic decision-making for system development prioritization.

- Providing direct management, mentorship, and leadership to team members.

- Examples of WorkVisualizing the intangible added value of renewable energy (solar, wind, and hydro) by planning and implementing a gamification feature based on CO2 reduction metrics.

Launching a new all-electric service plan with LINE integration and price-prediction features. This project involved navigating legal requirements and leveraging smart devices to encourage electricity usage (e.g., for water heaters) during lower-priced daytime hours under a 30-minute fluctuating rate plan, effectively reducing customer utility bills.

- Future Service ExpansionDelivering high-value customer experiences and building brand trust for electricity, an otherwise intangible commodity.

Expanding beyond standard reward points to focus on energy conservation, real-time personalized price alerts, and enhanced bundles with gas, mobile, and other Rakuten Group products.

Creating data-driven services by fully leveraging big data and AI within the Rakuten ecosystem.

- Collaboration & Team StructureCross-functional (Horizontal): Partnering closely with various departments—including UI/UX, Development, Marketing, Legal, and Accounting—to drive and operate the service.

Leadership-facing (Vertical): Proposing strategic ideas directly to the Business Unit Head and senior executives to influence corporate decision-making.

- Career PathGain comprehensive expertise and hands-on experience across the three pillars essential for this role: business, creativity, and technology.

Take on high-impact business projects and deliver strategic presentations to executive officers.

Launch and scale new ventures from scratch into multi-billion-yen businesses.

(Following the success of Rakuten Denki, which launched in 2018 with just a few members and has since grown into a multi-billion-yen business).

- Sample Daily Schedule

09:00｜Arrive at work・Check KPIs (review key metrics from the previous day)

09:30 | Consumer Group Regular Meeting (coordinating overall and individual tasks)

10:00 | Data Analysis (in-depth analysis of quantitative data and survey results to prevent churn)

12:00 | Lunch Break

1:00 PM | Strategy Planning (Developing specific action plans to prevent customer churn)

3:00 PM | Project A Team Meeting (Reviewing and adjusting the scope of impact on the product)

3:30 PM | NPS Survey Design (Creating a survey questionnaire to improve user satisfaction)

5:00 PM | Market Research (Researching the features and user experience of competing services)

6:00 PM | Leave work

Work Environment

- Consumer Service Group

Number of members: 4

Composition: Men and women in their 20s to 40s

All members are mid-career hires, and even those with no experience in the energy industry are playing an active role.