Director, Newcomer Channel Strategy & Operations

Newcomers are critical client segment for RBC, with distinct needs across their journey - from preparing to move to Canada, to establishing their financial lives upon arrival, to building deeper financial relationships as they settle and grow.

As Director, Newcomer Channel Strategy & Operations, you will lead the strategy and evolution of the channels, capabilities and partnership operations required to deliver a differentiated newcomer banking proposition. You will own the "how" behind our newcomer strategy: translating our ambition into intuitive client journeys, scalable capabilities, effective frontline experiences and an ecosystem of services that helps newcomers establish their lives in Canada.

Responsibilities

Own the End-To-End Newcomer Onboarding Experience

• Develop and continuously evolve the target experience for newcomers across key moments in their journey - from pre-arrival through onboarding, settlement, and early relationship growth
• Map and assess end-to-end newcomer journeys across digital, assisted, and non-traditional channels
• Identify the highest impact experience gaps, friction points, and capability opportunities
• Define the target state newcomer experience and work cross-functionally to define it into a prioritized roadmap
• Establish clear experience principles and standards that can be applied across products and channels
• Partner with Product and Journey teams to ensure newcomer needs are incorporated into broader enterprise roadmaps rather than addressed solely through segment-specific initiatives

Own the Pre-Arrival Account Open Capability

• Own and continuously evolve the end-to-end pre-arrival account open capability, ensuring a seamless accessible and differentiated experience for newcomers establishing their relationship before coming to Canada
• Define the strategic direction and prioritized roadmap for pre-arrival account opening, identifying opportunities to enhance functionality, simplify the client experience and expand acquisition opportunities
• Identify and address capability gaps, client friction points, and operational inefficiencies across the pre-arrival account opening journey, from application and identity verification through account activation and funding
• Partner with Digital, Product, Technology, Business Development, Operations and Risk teams to deliver capability enhancements that balance client experience, business growth, operational scalability and regulatory requirements
• Identify opportunities to expand the reach and effectiveness of pre-arrival account opening across priority newcomer markets, acquisition channels and strategic partnerships

Enable Newcomer Onboarding, Policy & Process

• Lead the efforts to remove unnecessary complexity from how newcomers establish a banking relationship while ensuring appropriate risk and regulatory requirements are maintained
• Identify policies or processes creating disproportionate friction for newcomers
• Clarify documentation, identification, residency and eligibility requirements
• Challenge legacy processes and distinguish true regulatory requirements from internal practices
• Design scalable solutions that balance client experience, growth, operational simplicity and risk
• Improve consistency in how newcomer policies are understood and executed across channels

Own the Newcomer Channel Strategy

• Define how newcomer clients should be served across digital, branch, AC, and non-traditional channels (i.e. referral partnerships), including the role each channel plays throughout the journey.
• Identify capabilities required to increase digital self-service while preserving high-value human advice
• Partner with digital and journey teams to influence enterprise capability roadmaps
• Work with distribution leaders to understand frontline friction and execution gaps
• Ensure new capabilities and propositions can be delivered consistently across channels

Develop the Beyond Banking Newcomer Ecosystem

• Help evolve the newcomer value proposition beyond traditional banking products by identifying and activating services and partnerships that solve meaningful settlement needs (i.e. housing readiness, employment/career support, immigration and settlement services, etc.)

Deliver Newcomer Advisor Enablement

• Ensure frontline employees have the knowledge, tools, and capabilities to deliver a differentiated newcomer experience by working in partnership with enablement and the Advice Centre (Newcomer COE):
• Define the ideal newcomer advisor experience
• Simplify complex policies and product information
• Develop tools and frameworks that support needs-based advice
• Improve frontline awareness of newcomer beyond banking offers and resources
• Create feedback loops between NCOE and National Office Newcomer Client Segment team to remain aware of key challenges, issues, or escalations.

Requirements

Must-have

• 8+ years of experience in strategy, client experience, digital transformation, product management, operations or financial services.
• Proven experience leading complex enterprise initiatives across highly matrixed organizations.
• Demonstrated ability to translate strategic priorities into scalable business capabilities and operational outcomes.
• Strong understanding of client journey design, digital enablement and experience transformation.
• Exceptional stakeholder management and influencing skills across senior leadership teams.
• Experience leading and developing high-performing teams.
• Strong executive communication skills with the ability to simplify complex topics and influence strategic decisions.
• University degree or equivalent experience.

Nice-to-have

• Experience in client onboarding, customer experience, digital transformation or capability strategy.
• Experience working with partner ecosystems or enterprise implementations.
• Experience in retail banking, payments or financial services.
• MBA or equivalent graduate degree.
• Experience serving newcomer or internationally mobile client segments.

What's in it for you?

• Ability to make a difference and lasting impact
• Work in a dynamic, collaborative, progressive, and high-performing team
• Opportunities to do challenging work