Director – Newcomer Channel Strategy & Operations

What’s the Opportunity?

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.

This is a highly cross-functional role. You will work across Everyday Banking & Client Growth, Product, Digital, Enablement, Advice Centre, Technology, Risk, Compliance, Marketing, and external partners to identify friction, establish priorities, and mobilize the organization around a multi-year newcomer journey.

What You'll Do

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.

What do you need to succeed?

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?

We thrive on the challenge to be our best, progressive thinking to keep growing, and working together to deliver trusted advice to help our clients thrive and communities prosper. We care about each other, reaching our potential, making a difference to our communities, and achieving success that is mutual.

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

Job Skills

Client Counseling, Communication, Consulting Engagement Management, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Decision Making, Long Term Planning, Organizational Change Management, Product Development, Professional Presentation, Results-Oriented

Additional Job Details

RBC WATERPARK PLACE, 88 QUEENS QUAY W:TORONTOTorontoCanada37.5Full timePERSONAL & COMMERCIAL BANKINGRegularSalaried2026-11-122026-11-27

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the day prior to the application deadline date above

Our Employment Opportunities

At RBC, we are guided by living shared values of Client First, Integrity, Collaboration, Respect and Excellence and winning together as One RBC. We believe an inclusive workplace that has diverse perspectives is core to our continued growth as one of the largest and most successful banks in the world. Maintaining a workplace where our employees feel supported to perform at their best, effectively collaborate, drive innovation, and grow professionally helps to bring our Purpose to life and create value for our clients and communities. RBC strives to deliver this through policies and programs intended to foster a workplace based on respect, belonging and opportunity for all.

RBC is presently inviting candidates to apply for this existing vacancy. Applying to this posting allows you to express your interest in this current career opportunity at RBC. Qualified applicants may be contacted to review their resume in more detail.