Program Manager (Product, Technology)

Job Description:

About Us

Rakuten TV is one of the leading Video On-Demand platforms in Europe, combining TVOD (Transactional Video-On-Demand), AVOD (Advertising Video-On-Demand), and FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV). Rakuten TV is available in 43 European territories and currently reaches more than 110 million households via its branded remote-control button and pre-installed app in Smart TV devices. Rakuten TV is part of Rakuten Group, Inc., one of the world’s leading internet services companies, focusing on e-commerce, fintech, digital content, and communications.

About the role

We are looking for a Program Manager to join the Product organisation, reporting directly to the Chief Product Officer (CPO). This is a key role for the CPO: you will help ensure that Product & Technology delivers on time and with high quality, that our execution pace improves while quality stays intact, and that leadership has a clear and honest view of what is on track and what is not.

You will own how the organisation plans, tracks and reports its work, partnering with squad Product Managers, technology owners and engineering managers, who remain accountable for delivery itself.

The role starts with a clear mandate on visibility, early warning and process, and its decision-making authority is expected to grow as you demonstrate results. You will also be a thought partner to the CPO: we expect you to understand the company's strategy, form your own opinion on it, and help shape the annual Product & Technology strategy and plan.

Responsibilities

• Delivery tracking and early warning.
• Own a single, trusted view of every roadmap item and cross-team project across Product & Technology: owner, dates, dependencies and status.
• Flag slips, blockers and cross-squad dependencies before they affect delivery, and publish a regular risk view for the CPO and CTO.
• Report planned versus delivered work by squad each month, and give the weekly squad spotlight facts rather than opinions.
• Escalate through agreed triggers, separating technical root causes (for the CTO to diagnose) from scope, resourcing or prioritisation issues (for you and the CPO to resolve).
• Execution pace and quality:
• Build and maintain a capacity view by team and squad, including shared and single-person dependencies, so that commitments are realistic.
• Track estimates against actuals to improve estimation accuracy and reduce the lag between commitment and delivery.
• Make sure launches, including channel, connector and telco launches, are managed end to end, with a post-launch check that the expected outcome was achieved.
• Work with engineering managers and squad leads to improve how work is planned and delivered, without trading quality for speed.
• Operating rhythm and process:
• Design, run and continuously simplify the processes Product & Technology works with: roadmap commitments, project intake, status definitions, the weekly squad spotlight and review cadences. Keep process light and proportionate: remove steps that do not improve outcomes.
• Choose and own the tools used for tracking and reporting, and keep them accurate and easy for squads to use.
• Strategy and annual planning:
• Develop a strong understanding of the company strategy and the Product & Technology roadmap, and bring a clear point of view to the CPO.
• Support the CPO in building the annual Product & Technology strategy and plan: priorities, trade-offs, capacity and sequencing.
• Connect strategy to execution by showing where plans and available capacity do not match, and proposing options.
• RFPs and large opportunities:
• Own and maintain the RFP process for large opportunities, such as end-to-end Enterprise services for telcos and white-label apps, including bid or no-bid criteria and response-time standards.
• Scout and qualify opportunities, and coordinate responses between Sales (commercial owner) and the technology team (technical input).

Requirements

• 7+ years of experience in PMO, program or delivery management within a software, product or technology organisation. Experience in streaming, media, adtech or B2B platforms is a plus.
• Proven track record of improving delivery predictability and execution quality in an engineering and product organisation.
• Solid understanding of how software is built and shipped, enough to earn the trust of engineers and Product Managers and to challenge estimates constructively.
• Strong analytical skills: comfortable building capacity models, tracking estimates against actuals and turning data into clear recommendations.
• Strategic thinking: able to understand business strategy, form an independent view and contribute to annual planning.
• Excellent communication and the ability to influence and drive accountability without formal authority, working with senior stakeholders across cultures and functions.
• Experience setting up lightweight processes and choosing the right tools; hands-on with project tracking and reporting tools (for example Jira, Confluence, spreadsheets, BI dashboards).
• Experience with agile delivery. Exposure to bid or RFP management and a PMP, PRINCE2 or similar certification are a plus.
• Fluency in English; Spanish or other European languages are a plus.
• High attention to detail, reliability, and a proactive approach to work.

Some Good Reasons to Apply

• A key, high-visibility role with a direct line to the CPO and a real voice in shaping the annual Product & Technology strategy.
• A newly defined role where your authority and scope grow as you deliver results.
• Opportunity to work for a leading company within the rapidly growing OTT market.
• Great work environment just two blocks away from Poblenou’s beach.
• Culturally diverse team with colleagues from over 30 nationalities.
• Regular company outings, off-sites, and team-building events.
• Private medical insurance or extra money for meal/commuting card.
• Access to interesting trainings and sponsorships.

Rakuten Shugi Principles

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.
• Be 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.
• Speed!! Speed!! Speed!!

Our D&I Mission

Rakuten’s corporate mission is to “contribute to society by creating value through innovation and entrepreneurship.” We foster a culture that provides equal opportunities to those who share this founding philosophy and take on the challenge to transform society, regardless gender, age, sexual orientation, race, religion, culture, nationality, disability, or any other status. Diversity is one of Rakuten's core strategies and a driving force for innovation. To continue to provide innovative services, we strive to respect the uniqueness and values of every one of our Rakutenians, located all around the world, and to create environments where they are able to demonstrate their full potential.

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