Intern - 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 ecommerce, 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

The HR Business Partner (HRBP) Intern will support the HRBP team by assisting with project coordination, administrative support, and the development of tools and resources that improve the employee and manager experience. A core component of this role includes owning or co-owning a defined AI enabled project that supports HRBP efficiency, manager enablement, or people insights. The intern will contribute to HRBP projects by organizing information, building templates and job aids, supporting reporting and insights, and helping the team drive consistent processes. This role offers hands on experience in people strategy, HR operations, and practical AI applications in HR, with mentorship and professional development opportunities.

The Intern Experience

At Rakuten, we pride ourselves on giving interns a genuine, immersive experience that has a direct impact on company objectives. You will do meaningful work, and with us, you will be a true member of the team. We are also invested in your growth as an individual and professional. That is why you can expect curated events such as professional development workshops, interactions with Rakuten leadership, and relationship building opportunities with other interns and professionals at the company.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide administrative and coordination support to the HRBP team across team projects and priorities
• Own or co-own a defined AI enabled HRBP project from problem statement through delivery by partnering with HRBPs to translate needs into an AI solution (e.g., prompt library, intake and summarization workflow, or prototype agent) and producing key deliverables such as a project brief, success measures, test plan, user guidance, and rollout recommendations
• Support the creation of job aids, templates, checklists, and internal guides to improve consistency and scalability of HRBP programs and processes
• Assist in maintaining trackers and team tools used for planning and project management, including Monday.com boards and shared documentation
• Compile, organize, and summarize information to support HRBP deliverables, including meeting notes, action items, and stakeholder updates
• Utilize Excel and AI tools to support data analysis and reporting for HRBP projects, including trend identification and summary insights
• Assist in the preparation of presentations and materials for HRBP initiatives, including manager communications, training support materials, and leadership ready summaries
• Collaborate with cross functional HR partners when needed to gather inputs and support execution (HR Operations, Talent Acquisition, Compensation, HRIS)

Qualifications

• Strong organizational and administrative skills with the ability to manage multiple tasks and priorities
• Strong interest in practical AI applications, including comfort experimenting with AI tools to improve workflows and outputs
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and other productivity tools (Microsoft Office, Monday.com is a plus)
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including comfort drafting internal documents and presentations
• Detail oriented with a high level of accuracy and follow through
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive information with professionalism and discretion
• Comfortable working independently while also collaborating as part of a team
• Strong problem-solving skills and a willingness to ask questions, test ideas, and iterate
• Ability to communicate effectively with HR partners, managers, and other internal stakeholders

Minimum Requirements

• Currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Psychology, Data Analytics, or a related field

At the time of posting, Rakuten expects the hourly rate for this role will be between $20 and $25 per hour. Individual compensation will vary based on job related factors, including skills, qualifications, experience, business need, and geographic location.

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.