FP&A Director

Rakuten Rewards; San Mateo (CA); On-site; USD 113,000 - 211,000; Full time

Job summary

Rakuten Rewards, headquartered in San Mateo, California, seeks an experienced Director of FP&A to lead financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, and analysis across business units. You will mentor contributors, partner with unit leaders, and present actionable insights to senior leaders to optimize resource allocation and financial performance.

The role emphasizes hands-on leadership, deep modeling skills, and collaboration with marketing analytics and revenue planning teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics or related field required; MBA or CPA preferred.
• 7+ years FP&A experience with 2–3 years in leadership or senior IC role.
• Strong strategic thinking and ability to translate objectives into financial plans.
• Deep financial modeling, budgeting, forecasting, and variance analysis expertise.
• Excellent communication and influence with non-finance stakeholders.
• Proficient in Excel, Adaptive, BI tools like Tableau; experience implementing FP&A platforms.

Responsibilities

• Lead financial planning for assigned business units: annual budget, monthly forecasts, long-range plans.
• Analyze GMV, revenue, profit and Opex down to vendor level; report trends and variances.
• Partner with business unit leaders to provide financial insights and recommendations.
• Collaborate with marketing analytics on channel forecasts and LTV analysis.
• Prepare and present dashboards and KPIs to senior leadership; highlight risks & opportunities.
• Identify variances to forecast and opportunities for optimization within areas.
• Coordinate with cross-functional teams on risks, trends, and business impact.
• Support revenue planning monthly revenue and cost of sales forecast; contribute to long-range planning.
• Provide analyses for Japan parent company as requested.

Skills

Strategic & Analytical

Financial Acumen

Communication & Influence

Systems Proficiency

Adaptability

Attention to Detail

Education

Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics

MBA or CPA preferred

Tools

Excel

Adaptive

Tableau

Job description

Job Description

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.

Rakuten is a leading shopping platform that offers Cash Back on purchases from your favorite brands. By partnering with thousands of brands in apparel, beauty and wellness, dining, grocery, travel, on-demand services, subscription boxes, and more, Rakuten helps members save and get more on everyday purchases. Since its founding in 1999, Rakuten has become the largest and most rewarding shopping program, and its members have earned $4.6 billion in Cash Back just for shopping through Rakuten. For more information, visit Rakuten.com.

We are seeking an experienced and strategic Director, FP&A to play a critical role in shaping the financial future of Rakuten Rewards. This position will be responsible for providing strategic guidance and financial insights that will help with decision‑making processes across the company, with a particular focus on driving financial performance and optimizing resource allocation for specific business units within Rewards. This role will report to the Senior Director, FP&A, and will partner closely with business unit leaders and department heads.

The ideal candidate will possess a deep understanding of financial modeling, budgeting, forecasting, and analysis. You will be a hands‑on leader, capable of mentoring and developing individual contributors, while also providing actionable insights to support the company's objectives. As a business leader in the team, you will be presenting and communicating with senior leaders across the organization.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development and execution of financial planning processes for assigned business units including annual budgeting, monthly forecasting, and contributing to long‑range strategic plans. This includes detailed analysis of GMV, revenue, profit, and operating expenses down to the vendor level.
• Serve as a primary financial partner to business unit leaders and department heads, providing critical financial insights, variance analysis, and recommendations to drive performance and achieve financial goals.
• Work closely with marketing analytics team on marketing forecast by channel and analysis of marketing performance including LTV analysis.
• Oversee the preparation and presentation of comprehensive financial reports, dashboards, and key performance indicators (KPIs) to business unit leadership and the Senior Director, highlighting trends, risks, and opportunities for assigned business units.
• Identify and research variances to forecast, budget, and prior‑year spend; proactively identify opportunities for improvement and optimization within assigned business areas.
• Collaborate closely with cross‑functional partners to understand business trends, identify and communicate risks and opportunities that may impact financial goals, specifically for their area of responsibility.
• Work closely with the revenue planning team assessing revenue planning monthly revenue and cost of sales forecast
• Contribute to the long‑range financial planning process by providing detailed inputs and analysis for their business areas.
• Provide requested analyses for Japan parent company

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related field. MBA or CPA preferred.
• Experience: 7+ years of progressive experience in FP&A, with at least 2–3 years in a leadership or senior individual contributor role managing complex financial analyses.
• Strategic & Analytical: Proven ability to think strategically about business problems, translate objectives into financial plans, and provide actionable insights. Exceptional analytical and problem‑solving skills, with the ability to synthesize complex data into clear, concise, and actionable recommendations.
• Financial Acumen: Deep understanding of financial modeling techniques, budgeting, forecasting, and variance analysis.
• Communication & Influence: Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to articulate financial concepts to non‑finance stakeholders and senior leaders. Demonstrated ability to influence others through effective verbal and written communication.
• Systems Proficiency: Advanced proficiency in financial systems and tools (e.g., Excel, Adaptive). Experience with business intelligence and analytics platforms (e.g., Tableau) and implementation of financial planning platforms (Adaptive).
• Adaptability: Ability to manage multiple tasks and adapt to a changing, fast‑paced environment with a strong sense of ownership and a proactive approach.
• Attention to Detail: Superior attention to detail and ability to successfully manage multiple competing priorities while maintaining a view of the big picture.

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.

USD $113,157.00 - $211,032.00 annually