Associate HR Business Partner

Job Description:

Rakuten International oversees 7 businesses with over 4,000 employees globally. The brand is recognized for its leadership and innovation in e-commerce, digital content, advertising, entertainment and communications, bringing the joy of discovery and access to more than 1 billion members across the world. Our teams deliver on the company's mission to delight merchants and customers through innovation, optimism, and teamwork.

Job Summary:

As an Associate HRBP, you will play a vital role in providing operational HR support to employees and managers, focusing on the UK while also contributing to broader international initiatives. You will be a key point of contact for HR-related inquiries, offering guidance and support on policies and processes. Working closely with the International HRBP team, you will contribute to the successful implementation of global and local HR programs, process improvements, and projects. This role offers the opportunity to collaborate with Talent Acquisition, Mobility, and Learning & Development teams, all with the goal of enhancing the overall employee experience. We are looking for a proactive and highly organised individual with a strong work ethic and a passion for delivering excellent HR support.

Key Responsibilities:

LOCAL ADVISOR

• First point of contact for employees on process and policy enquiries within your designated client group
• Support with performance management and general employee relations issues within the UK region, providing support to managers and team leads as required to minimize risk, escalating complex ER cases to Senior HR, Legal or ER specialists where needed
• Assist the HR Business partners as needed, providing generalist HR support for tasks to support strategic initiatives across various client groups
• Own the yearly review of the employee handbook and regularly evaluate and revise local UK policies to align them with legislative changes
• Collaborate with the Finance and HR Services team to handle UK payroll and benefits tasks, such as general payroll responsibilities, as well as employee transfers, and conducting audits.
• Be an expert user of our HRIS, ensuring accurate data management at all times. Proactively work with HR Data Management to identify and resolve data inconsistencies.
• Partner with the Mobility team to facilitate visa applications and oversee the management of all active cases within the UK.
• Support international HR initiatives as needed, supporting other regions as required
• Take ownership of assigned administrative tasks and ensure timely and accurate completion
• Serve as a liaison between sister companies as part of our inter-company cross collaboration model, ensuring that relevant processes and paperwork is completed accurately to ensure compliance with local labour laws
• Additional responsibilities as assigned in line with the level of the role to contribute to a positive and collaborative team environment.

PROJECTS

• Partner with and leverage COEs and HR Services to implement HR programs and drive efficiency.
• Represent HR in any local projects
• Work with the Global HR team on core projects including performance management initiatives, culture improvements and operational efficiencies
• Represent the HR team in the UK Rad Squad team (internal employee group) by ensuring social and engagement initiatives are managed in line with internal guidance

Qualifications:

Personal effectiveness

• Able to quickly establish credibility and maintains positive & productive working relationships with colleagues and the global HR team
• Organized and proactive, with the drive to deliver a complex and diverse workload.
• Demonstrates excellent time management skills and the ability to prioritize tasks effectively with little supervision
• Self-aware, and active in continuous self-development ensuring up-to-date knowledge of HR trends, legislation and development
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Resilient in the face of challenges
• Positive mindset and adaptable to change
• Results oriented with a strong worth ethic who takes initiative and ownership to get the job done

Teamwork

• A team player that is able to integrate and collaborate with the local business leaders and their teams
• Confident to communicate at all levels, with ability to build trust and strong relationships
• Ability to collaborate with other HR functions as required
• Contributes to a positive and supportive team environment by being a key team player for the entire global HRBP group

Minimum Requirements:

• Minimum 2 years' experience in UK based HR roles
• A good base level of UK employment law knowledge, any knowledge of additional countries is a bonus
• Ability to own and manage employee relations issues with little supervision and a good understanding of when to escalate
• Used to working in complex and/or global matrix organizations
• Excellent skills with MS Office packages and general high level of technical expertise
• Stakeholder management experience
• Prior experience partnering with COE's would be preferred

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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

Client-provided location(s): London, United Kingdom

Job ID: Rakuten-RakutenAmericas-1028447

Employment Type: FULL_TIME

Posted: 2025-08-22T20:14:00