Sr. hr business process optimization specialist

Job Description:

This role is eligible for remote employment in the following states: CO, CT, FL, GA, IL, MA, TX, WI, UT.

Rakuten International is a division of Rakuten Group, Inc., a Japanese global technology leader in services that empower individuals, communities, businesses and society. Headquartered in San Mateo, California with more than 4,000 employees worldwide, the Rakuten International business portfolio includes market leaders in e-commerce, digital marketing, advertising, communications and entertainment. We create products and services that provide exceptional value by aligning members and the businesses that want to engage them in a shared community.

Job Summary:

Rakuten's HR Transformation HUB is a dedicated function within HR Services focused on driving continuous improvement across the broader HR organization.

The Sr. HR Business Process Optimization Specialist serves as an internal process consultant to HR functions across the organization. This is not an operational execution role — it is an advisory and enablement role. You will partner with HR functional teams to assess how they work, identify opportunities to optimize, and help them redesign processes, build the controls, governance, and documentation infrastructure they need to sustain improvements independently.

What You'll Do

Process Consulting & Optimization

• Partner with HR functional teams to assess current-state processes and identify inefficiencies, gaps, and improvement opportunities.
• Apply Lean/Six Sigma methodologies to diagnose root causes and design future-state solutions tailored to each team's context.
• Facilitate process improvement workshops and working sessions with HR stakeholders, guiding teams through problem definition, process mapping, and solution design.
• Develop recommendations and improvement roadmaps; support functional teams through implementation while transferring ownership to them upon completion.

Controls, Governance & Enablement

• Help HR functional teams establish process controls and governance frameworks — including process flows, decision trees, and SOPs — that they will own and maintain going forward.
• Ensure improvements are documented in a way that is sustainable, auditable, and scalable across regions and countries where applicable.
• Identify control gaps or compliance risks within HR processes and partner with functional owners to remediate.
• Build functional team capability over time so improvements are self-sustaining rather than HUB-dependent.

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Collaborate closely with the Transformation HUB to align process improvement work with broader HR transformation initiatives.
• Support change management efforts associated with process transitions, ensuring functional teams are equipped to adopt and sustain changes.
• Surface systemic themes and patterns across HR functions to inform HUB prioritization and strategic planning.

What You Bring

• 5–7 years of experience in process improvement or an internal consulting capacity within an HR environment; HR experience is required.
• Lean and/or Six Sigma certification required (Green Belt minimum; Black Belt preferred).
• Demonstrated ability to lead process improvement engagements end-to-end — from assessment through implementation and handoff — without retaining ownership of day-to-day execution.
• Strong facilitation skills; ability to guide cross-functional stakeholders through ambiguity and drive to clear, actionable outcomes.
• Experience designing process governance frameworks and controls in a way that is practical and adoptable by operational teams.
• Familiarity with HRIS platforms; Workday experience a plus.
• Comfortable working across a multi-country organization with varying local requirements and stakeholder needs.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to translate process complexity into clear documentation and recommendations.
• Demonstrates executive presence and the ability to influence and challenge stakeholders at all levels, effectively managing resistance, communicating difficult messages with diplomacy, and making recommendations that balance business needs, operational efficiency, and organizational priorities.

Five Principles for Success

Our worldwide practices describe specific behaviors that make Rakuten unique and united across the world. We expect Rakuten employees to model these 5 Shugi Principles of Success.

• Always improve, Always Advance - Only be satisfied with complete success - Kaizen
• Passionately Professional - Take an uncompromising approach to your work and be determined to be the best
• Hypothesize - Practice - Validate – Shikumika - Use the Rakuten Cycle to succeed in unknown territory
• Maximize Customer Satisfaction - The greatest satisfaction for our teams is seeing their customers smile
• Speed!! Speed!! Speed!! - Always be conscious of time - take charge, set clear goals, and engage your team

Rakuten provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type. Rakuten considers applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, provincial or local laws.

As part of our Rakuten interview process, we encourage applicants to use their own words, rather than AI-generated content. Tell us your story in a way that's personal and authentic.

At the time of posting, Rakuten expects the base compensation for this role to be within the range shown below. Individual compensation will vary based on job-related factors, including the skills, qualifications, and experience of the successful candidate as well as business need and geographic location. The successful applicant for this role will be eligible for discretionary bonus, health, vision, dental insurance, 401k matching, PTO, Volunteer Time Off (VTO), and other employee benefits as the company implements.