Legal & Compliance Group Manager (Candidate) - Global Travel Management Department, Travel & Mobility Business(C&M)

About the role

Job Description: Department Overview The Global Travel Management Department of Rakuten Travel is accelerating Rakuten Travel's global business expansion, particularly services for international users traveling to Japan and future global business development. Through travel services centered on travel and accommodation booking, the department aims to connect users, accommodation facilities, travel-related partners, and internal and external stakeholders while balancing trusted service operations with sustainable business growth. The Legal & Compliance function supports the global business by working closely with business strategy, product, marketing, customer support, finance, privacy/security, and Rakuten Group legal and compliance functions. The team is expected to enable practical governance and risk management required for global business expansion. Position: Why We Hire Rakuten Travel is accelerating global business expansion, particularly in services for international users traveling to Japan and future global business development. To support this growth, we are seeking a manager candidate who can design and operate a global compliance regime that is practical, scalable, and aligned with business strategy. This role is expected to serve as a bridge between business growth and responsible governance by partnering with leadership, product, marketing, customer support, finance, privacy/security, and Rakuten Group legal and compliance functions. - You can help design and build the legal and compliance foundation for a growing global business from an early expansion phase. - You will cover a broad range of topics, including travel/OTA regulations, consumer protection, advertising and direct marketing, privacy and data protection, platform terms, booking/cancellation terms, promotions, points/coupons/campaigns, SNS marketing, and cross-border operations. - You will work close to the business and gain practical experience balancing risk control with the speed required for global business expansion. - As a future manager candidate, you can contribute to member development, prioritization, process improvement, and the advancement of Legal Operations. Position Details The Legal and Compliance Manager (Candidate) will be a future candidate to manage the Legal & Compliance Group. This role is responsible for designing, implementing, and continuously improving legal and compliance governance for Rakuten Travel's global business. You will translate global business strategy into risk-based policies, review workflows, approval processes, legal operations, training programs, and monitoring controls. You will also coordinate external counsel in relevant jurisdictions and support sustainable business growth through pragmatic legal and compliance solutions. Main responsibilities - Design and implement a global compliance regime for Rakuten Travel's inbound and global business, including governance model, risk assessment, policies, controls, approval process, monitoring, and reporting. - Lead the legal and compliance roadmap in alignment with global business strategy, market expansion, product development, marketing campaigns, partnerships, and operational changes. - Advise on legal and compliance risks related to travel/OTA regulations, consumer protection, advertising and direct marketing, privacy and data protection, platform terms, booking/cancellation terms, promotions, points/coupons/campaigns, SNS marketing, and cross-border operations. - Review and advise on business schemes, partnership structures, vendor and partner onboarding, contracts, campaign launches, user communications, service localization, and terms and conditions. - Build legal operations foundations such as intake processes, review playbooks, contract and campaign templates, legal matter trackers, external counsel management, knowledge management, KPIs, and management reporting. - Coordinate with Rakuten Group legal, compliance, privacy/security, accounting/finance, HR, customer support, marketing, product, and other functional teams to ensure consistent and practical risk management. - Manage external counsel and local regulatory research in multiple jurisdictions, including scoping, budget management, quality control, and business-oriented output. - Lead compliance training and communication for business teams to improve awareness and prevent recurring risks. - Support escalation, investigation, remediation, and prevention of legal or compliance incidents. - Mentor junior members and contribute to future team management, including prioritization, capability building, and performance improvement. Example projects - Create legal and compliance risk assessment and approval workflows for new market, service, or campaign launches. - Work with overseas external counsel to research and advise on marketing initiatives, booking/cancellation terms, terms of use, campaign conditions, and privacy/data use across relevant jurisdictions. - Standardize contr