Royal Bank of Canada

Director Brand Strategy

Royal Bank of Canada$125K — $150K *
Business Services
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 7-9 years of experience in brand or business strategy, preferably in a multi-business-line enterprise.
  • 4+ years at a senior strategy level (Director or equivalent) with experience in brand architecture governance.
  • Demonstrated fluency in brand architecture models and portfolio strategy.
  • Business-strategy orientation to discuss P&L impact, competitive dynamics, and category structure.
  • Strong understanding of brand effectiveness frameworks and their practical application.
  • Informed view on AI's implications for brand governance and risk management.
  • Exceptional research skills to distill insights from diverse data sources.
  • Ability to write concise, actionable briefs that connect strategic insights to brand positioning.

Responsibilities

  • Own and evolve the enterprise brand architecture to establish coherent brand relationships.
  • Maintain frameworks that allow for quick brand decision-making while protecting overall enterprise equity.
  • Advise business units on brand strategy decisions with enterprise-wide implications.
  • Identify potential legal or reputational risks from local brand decisions and intervene proactively.
  • Lead thorough, evidence-based research on brand effectiveness, category dynamics, and competitive positioning.
  • Synthesize complex data into actionable insights for strategic direction.
  • Develop guidance on AI's impact on brand governance and management.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive Total Rewards Program, including bonuses and flexible benefits.
  • Commitment to leadership development through coaching and managing opportunities.
  • Opportunity to make a significant impact in the business.
  • Collaboration within a dynamic, high-performing team.
  • Access to a world-class training program in financial services.
Full Job Description
Job Description

What is the Opportunity?

The RBC brand is one of the organization's most valuable assets. It is built and spent daily by several lines of business, each making locally rational decisions that, in aggregate, determine whether the brand compounds or erodes. This role exists to hold the enterprise-wide view of that dynamic - and to make sure it has a seat at the table before decisions are made, not after.

The Director, Enterprise Brand Strategy is a highly strategic role responsible for the development and management of RBC's Masterbrand and its integration through all priority initiatives across the enterprise for the purpose of generating outsized impact for the business. The role requires fluency in strategic frameworks that keep brand architecture and brand decision-making coherent across a large, complex, multi-line-of-business organization. This is not a marketing execution role. It is a role for a sharp strategist who thinks about portfolio, category, and competitive positioning grounded in the growth priorities of the enterprise, not just the aesthetics of its expression.

This person will partner directly with the Head of Global Brand Strategy to shape how the organization orchestrates the RBC brand in a period of significant structural change, including the accelerating integration of AI into how brand is built, personalized, governed, and experienced and the fundamental shift in the consumer's relationship with financial services, globally. They will be expected to bring a point of view on what AI means for brand architecture, brand governance, and brand risk over the next several years, and to translate that point of view into frameworks the enterprise can actually use.

What You'll Do

Enterprise Brand Architecture
  • Own and evolve the enterprise brand architecture - the logic that governs how the Masterbrand, sub-brands, product brands, and line-of-business brands relate to one another, and the decision rules that keep that system coherent as the business changes.
  • Evolve and maintain the interaction models and mechanisms (frameworks, decision rights, escalation paths) that let individual lines of business move quickly on brand decisions while protecting enterprise-wide brand equity.
  • Serve as a senior advisor to business units on brand strategy questions: brand extension, naming, portfolio architecture, market entry, value propositions, evaluating each through the lens of enterprise-wide implications, not just the requesting business unit's immediate objective.
  • Identify where local, well-intentioned brand decisions could create enterprise-level architecture, legal, or reputational exposure, and intervene early enough to matter.


Strategic Insight & Research
  • Lead rigorous, evidence-based research into brand effectiveness, category dynamics, competitive positioning, and emerging disruption - able to synthesize sources ranging from brand effectiveness intelligence to robust internal brand datasets.
  • Analyze the intersection of brand, business, consumer and cultural context to build clear strategic direction for the business that is informed by proprietary brand data and an in-depth understanding of enterprise brand planning. This capability is analytical (research driven) and creative (narrative building).
  • Mine internal and external data for insight, not just information, translating research into a small number of sharp, decision-useful conclusions that change what leadership does next.
  • Build and maintain a point of view on the competitive and category landscape, including how adjacent disruptors and category redefinition are changing what "brand" needs to do for the business.


AI & the Future of Brand
  • Develop the organization's thinking on AI and brand governance - including how generative and agentic AI change brand consistency risk, personalization at scale, distinctive asset management, and the practical mechanics of enforcing brand standards when more brand-adjacent content is created outside traditional marketing workflows.
  • Stay current on how AI is reshaping brand discovery, distribution, and perception, including AI-mediated search and recommendations, and translate implications into guidance for the business.
  • Partner with legal, risk, technology, and marketing operations stakeholders to define what "AI-ready" brand governance looks like: what needs new guardrails, what needs new tooling, and what the strategy function needs to own versus advise on.


Stakeholder Leadership & Influence
  • Operate fluidly across a wide and senior stakeholder map: lines of business, executive leadership, legal, risk, technology, and external agency partners, and building the trust and influence required to be brought in early.
  • Lead cross-functional groups toward shared outcomes, reading organizational dynamics, anticipating objections, driving to clarity and building consensus before it's needed.
  • Represent enterprise brand strategy in executive and cross-functional forums, translating brand strategy into the language of business risk, growth, and commercial outcomes.
  • See around corners: anticipate where a brand decision made today will create friction, opportunity, or exposure two or three moves out, and raise it early.
  • Lead a team of high performing team of strategists, agencies, and creative SMEs on the day to day integration of the brand across the enterprise.


What You Bring
  • 7-9 years of experience in brand or business strategy, with a track record spanning both marketing-adjacent and business/corporate-strategy contexts - client-side experience at a large, multi-business-line enterprise strongly preferred (financial services, professional services, or another regulated, complex category).
  • 4+ years operating at a senior strategy level (Director or equivalent), including direct experience building or governing brand architecture in an organization with multiple lines of business or sub-brands.
  • Demonstrated fluency in brand architecture models and portfolio strategy: able to design and defend an architecture, not just execute against one someone else built.
  • A genuine business-strategy orientation: comfortable in conversations about P&L impact, competitive dynamics, and category structure, not only campaign and creative strategy.
  • Strong working knowledge of brand effectiveness frameworks and evidence bases (e.g., distinctive asset theory, category entry points) and the judgment to apply them practically rather than academically.
  • Informed, current point of view on AI's implications for brand - governance, personalization, distinctive assets, and risk - with the ability to translate that into enterprise guidance rather than speculation.
  • Exceptional research and synthesis skills: comfortable moving from raw data and disparate sources to a small number of sharp, actionable insights.
  • Ability to write clear, concise briefs anchored in a single, evidence-based insight that connects a human truth to RBC's brand positioning and drives focused creative development.
  • Outstanding stakeholder management and executive presence. Able to influence senior leaders and technical specialists alike, and to hold a firm point of view under pressure without becoming inflexible.
  • A track record of leading through ambiguity and organizational complexity, with the judgment to know when to build consensus and when to make the call.
  • Bachelor's degree required; MBA or equivalent advanced degree a plus but not required in lieu of demonstrated strategic experience.


What Success Looks Like
  • Lines of business proactively bring strategic priorities and questions to this role before making decisions, rather than after.
  • The organization has a clear, well-understood point of view on AI and brand governance that shapes real decisions and processes, not a slide that gets shelved.
  • Enterprise brand strategy stays coherent even as individual business units move fast and make independent decisions.
  • Executive stakeholders across the business see this role as an essential strategic partner, not a compliance checkpoint.


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.
  • A comprehensive Total Rewards Program including bonuses and flexible benefits, competitive compensation, commissions, and stock where applicable.
  • Leaders who support your development through coaching and managing opportunities.
  • Ability to make a difference and lasting impact.
  • Work in a dynamic, collaborative, progressive, and high-performing team.
  • A world-class training program in financial services.
  • Opportunities to do challenging work.


Job Skills
Brand Marketing, Channels Marketing, Creativity, Customer Service, Decision Making, Industry Knowledge, Knowledge Organization, Long Term Planning, Market Research, Product Services

Additional Job Details

Address:

BAY WELLINGTON TOWER, 181 BAY ST:TORONTO

City:

Toronto

Country:

Canada

Work hours/week:

37.5

Employment Type:

Full time

Platform:

HUMAN RESOURCES & BMCC

Job Type:

Regular

Pay Type:

Salaried

Posted Date:

2026-08-10

Application Deadline:

2026-08-24
Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the day prior to the application deadline date above

About Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada Careers

Join the dynamic team at Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), a global leader in financial services and a company committed to excellence and innovation. At RBC, we offer a wide range of job opportunities that empower professionals to shape their career paths with leadership, diversity training, and continuous growth.

Work You’ll Do

At Royal Bank of Canada, we are not just hiring; we are building a culture of innovation and leadership. Our team members are at the forefront of the financial industry, driving transformation and delivering targeted solutions that meet the evolving needs of our clients and communities.

Explore Job Opportunities and Employment at RBC

Whether you are starting your career or looking to take it to the next level, RBC offers positions that challenge your skills and fuel your ambition. From entry-level positions to leadership roles, our job opportunities span across various functions and regions. Join us and be part of a team that values professional growth and diversity.

Internship and Professional Development

Kickstart your career with an internship at Royal Bank of Canada. Our internships provide invaluable hands-on experience, networking opportunities, and insights into the financial services industry. Interns at RBC gain the skills necessary to excel and are often considered for full-time positions within the company.

Benefits and Culture

At RBC, we prioritize the well-being and satisfaction of our employees. Our benefits package is designed to support our team members at every stage of their life and career. RBC’s culture is built on a foundation of respect, integrity, and responsibility, fostering an environment where everyone can thrive.

Career Growth and Innovation

We believe in nurturing the potential of our employees through continuous learning and career development programs. At RBC, you will find endless opportunities to grow professionally through on-the-job experiences, formal training programs, and leadership development initiatives. Our commitment to innovation means we are constantly seeking out new ideas and perspectives, making RBC a perfect place for those who aim to lead and innovate.

Diversity and Inclusion

Diversity is our strength. At Royal Bank of Canada, we are committed to building an inclusive workplace where every employee feels valued and respected. Our diversity training programs are designed to educate and inspire, creating a more inclusive and equitable workplace.

Join Our Team

Search open positions that match your skills and interests. We look for passionate, curious, creative, and solution-driven team players. Start your journey with RBC today and be part of a world-class team known for its commitment to client service, community involvement, and innovation.

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Learn more about Royal Bank of Canada
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86,007 employees
Market Cap
$130.3 billion
Industry
5 Year Trend
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