Strategic Planning Specialist - Energy Division
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.
Position:
Why We Hire
Recruitment of additional staff.
With our revenue growing steadily, we are aiming for further growth.
Position Details
- You will be responsible for strategy, revenue management, and data analysis—the core pillars of the retail electricity business. After joining the company, you will receive guidance from senior colleagues while taking on various challenges with a long-term perspective.
Specific responsibilities include
- Business strategy and new business planning/execution
Formulating and executing business strategies to expand the energy business
Planning measures to strengthen the foundation of existing businesses
Planning new services (from conception to execution of initiatives to increase the customer base)
Analyzing current issues, conducting research, formulating and implementing solutions, and performing market research (current market trends, competitor analysis, etc.)
Planning and executing collaborations with various internal business units and services
Preparing various documents, reports, and proposals
- Electricity procurement and trading operations (revenue management and data analysis)
Demand Supply Planning management involves balancing generated electricity supply with the total electricity consumed by customers in 30-minute intervals.
While the process is automated rather than manual, you will analyze various data to ensure a precise balance between supply and demand, avoiding surpluses or shortages.
Demand forecasting (determining which data and information—such as weather data and historical trends—to collect and incorporate, and conducting post-forecast reviews)
Submitting plans to relevant institutions required for business operations
*This role significantly impacts the energy business's profitability; for instance, if customer consumption exceeds forecasts, the company may need to procure electricity at a higher cost.
- Daily Schedule
09:00 Arrive at work; check tasks (review prepared materials)
09:30 Gather and share information on systems and competitors
10:30 Business strategy and supply-demand planning meeting
11:00 Draft planning materials; prepare data for internal approval
12:00 Lunch break
13:00 Coordination meeting with other departments regarding plans
14:00 Internal meeting
15:00 Draft planning proposals and P&L statements
17:00 Meeting with business partners or collaborators
18:00 Leave work
Work Environment
Business Strategy Team
Number of people: 5 people
Composition: men and women in their 30s-40s
All are mid-career hires, some with no experience in the energy industry.
Mandatory Qualifications:
- At least two years of professional work experience
Desired Qualifications:
- Business level English
#business #strategyplanning
#serviceplanner #communicationsandenergy
Languages:
Japanese (Overall - 4 - Fluent)