Job Description
What is the opportunity?
RBC Capital Markets (RBC CM) is looking for someone to lead a team with responsibility for ensuring an industry-leading experience for the onboarding of Capital Markets clients. The Director, Head of Client Onboarding will be responsible for managing a smooth experience across all stakeholders and the measurement, delivery, and reporting of client experience across business segments and products.
This senior leadership role is responsible for designing, implementing, and overseeing a best-in-class onboarding framework that ensures seamless client experiences while maintaining the highest standards of compliance with regulatory requirements including AML and KYC. They will be responsible for ensuring the Client Onboarding Service groups adherence and execution of operational excellence across all functions.
They will be responsible for the governance and oversight of the operations and escalations across the US onboarding group, coordinating internal and external audit and regulatory examinations with relevant functional parties
The Director will also act as the product owner for US requirements for the technology build of the Client Lifecycle Management client onboarding technology platform, ensuring that US-specific business needs, regulatory requirements, and operational workflows are properly captured, prioritized, and delivered in the technology roadmap.
The Director will act as the management lead and liaison to US Regulators, US AML, and other 2nd and 3rd line of defense functions, serving as the primary point of contact for regulatory inquiries, examinations, audit activities, and compliance oversight related to client onboarding operations. Ensuring all requirements are collated and delivered in a timely manner, overseeing quality control for all examination submissions and being the senior point of contact for examiners.
In addition to leading the Client Onboarding function, this role will also act as the Relationship Manager to RBC Clear (US Cash Management), serving as the primary point of contact and liaison between the Client Onboarding team and RBC Clear to ensure seamless coordination, communication, and service delivery.
What will you do?
Strategic Leadership and Operating Model
•The Director will lead the US KYC team and strategically build it into a sustainable, compliant, and efficient KYC onboarding service for Capital Markets rooted by a foundation of continuous process improvement and operational control.
•The Director will implement the Client Lifecycle Management Target Operating Model in the US Region, ensuring alignment with global standards while adapting to regional requirements and business needs.
•The role encompasses overseeing end-to-end client onboarding processes, ensuring efficiency, compliance, and a seamless experience whilst continuously improving the model and process by bringing a change mindset to the role and keeping in touch with both client and regulatory expectations.
•The Director will develop and implement innovative strategies to enhance client engagement and satisfaction throughout the onboarding journey. This includes leveraging emerging technologies, industry best practices, and client feedback to create differentiated experiences that set RBCCM apart from competitors.
Transformation - CLM Technology Platform (US Requirements)
•The Director will act as the owner for US requirements for the technology build of the Client Lifecycle Management client onboarding technology platform. This includes defining and articulating the US requirements, and priorities for the technology platform, ensuring that the solution meets the unique needs of the US market, regulatory environment, and operational model.
Regulatory Liaison and Line of Defense Management
•The Director will act as the management lead and primary liaison to US Regulators, including but not limited to FINRA, SEC, OCC, FinCEN, and other federal and state regulatory authorities. This includes coordinating responses to regulatory inquiries, managing on-site examinations and inspections, preparing regulatory submissions, and ensuring timely and complete responses to regulator requests.
•The Director will serve as the key interface to US AML and other 2nd line of defense functions, including Compliance, Risk Management, Legal, and Financial Crime. This includes regular engagement on policy matters, control design and effectiveness, issue remediation, testing results, and regulatory developments. The Director will ensure alignment between 1st line operations and 2nd line oversight, fostering a collaborative relationship that supports both business objectives and regulatory compliance.
Client Onboarding Team Leadership
•The Director will drive a team of customer-facing client onboarding specialists responsible for managing the end-to-end workflow and case management. This includes overseeing specialists who conduct client outreach for information and/or documentation, define request priority and resolve prioritization conflicts, and facilitate discussions between clients and internal stakeholders as needed (e.g., Legal).
•The team is responsible for successful client onboarding through to Ready to Trade status. The Director will ensure the team operates with a client-first mindset, maintains high responsiveness standards, and delivers consistent, professional service across all client interactions, including those for RBC Clear clients.
Operational Execution and Workflow Management
•The Director will oversee the comprehensive KYC onboarding workflow, including determination of client data and document requirements based on client type, jurisdiction, and product coverage. This encompasses governance of internal and external data and document search processes, uploading of client documents and input of data into the CLM portal, and management of escalation protocols for RFIs or additional client requests to CST Relationship Managers to perform outreach.
•Strategic oversight of KYC due diligence execution is central to the role, including name screening assessment processes, risk factor validation methodologies, and escalation frameworks for high-risk cases to senior management. The Director will ensure robust controls and quality assurance across all due diligence activities while maintaining client-focused service delivery.
•The Director will collaborate with cross-functional teams to align client onboarding practices with industry regulations and company standards. This includes working closely with compliance, legal, product, technology, and business teams to ensure coordinated execution and regulatory adherence.
Compliance Engagement, Issue Resolution and Policy Rollout
•The Director serves as the point of escalation for global BAU teams with policy and interpretation questions requiring compliance liaison. This includes providing authoritative guidance on complex regulatory and policy matters that require resolution at a senior level.
•The Director will ensure adherence to all applicable US regulations, including BSA/AML requirements, FINRA rules, SEC regulations, and OFAC sanctions requirements. This includes staying current with evolving regulatory guidance and implementing process enhancements to address new requirements.
Knowledge Sharing, Procedures Standards and Training
•The Director will identify and implement policy changes into procedures ensuring that operational procedures remain current with regulatory requirements and internal policies.
•The Director will ensure the completeness, validity, accuracy, and global consistency of procedures including ongoing attestation by BAU owners. This includes establishing a robust procedure governance framework with regular review cycles and maintaining documentation standards.
•The Director will work closely with the BAU teams to ensure that training, standards, and knowledge is effectively distributed across the organization and that levels of competency and expertise exist across the teams. This includes developing training materials, conducting workshops, establishing centers of excellence, and creating learning pathways for staff development.
People Leadership
•The Director will select and build high-performing teams, leveraging individual capabilities and strengths. This includes strategic talent acquisition, thoughtful team composition, and positioning team members for success by aligning roles with individual competencies and career aspirations.
•The Director will take a strategic view of resourcing and reskilling to accommodate changes in the business as well as evolving regulatory requirements and technology. This includes workforce planning, skills gap analysis, and proactive development initiatives to ensure the team remains capable and adaptable.
What you need to succeed.
Experience Required
•Candidates must possess proven leadership experience in Capital Markets with a focus on client experience and onboarding. A minimum of ten years of experience in financial services with at least five years in a senior leadership role focused on client onboarding, KYC, AML, or compliance operations within a capital markets or banking environment is required.
•In-depth knowledge of financial regulations, compliance requirements, and industry best practices is essential. Deep expertise in US regulatory requirements related to KYC, AML, and customer due diligence, including BSA/AML requirements, FINRA rules, SEC regulations, and OFAC sanctions requirements is required.
•Demonstrated experience serving as a liaison to US regulators and managing regulatory examinations, inquiries, and audit activities is highly valued. Experience working effectively with 2nd and 3rd line of defense functions, including Compliance, Risk, Internal Audit, and Financial Crime, is essential.
•Strong client relationship management skills with a demonstrated track record of delivering exceptional client experiences in complex operational and regulatory environments is essential. The ability to balance regulatory requirements with client service excellence and build trust with sophisticated institutional clients is required.
•Demonstrated experience in policy interpretation, regulatory change management, operational risk management, quality control oversight, and cross-functional collaboration with compliance, legal, technology, and business stakeholders is highly valued.
•Proven track record in vendor management, KPI/KRI program development, and driving operational excellence through metrics and continuous improvement is required.
Education, Certification and Designation Requirements
•Required: A bachelor's degree in business, finance, law, or a related field is required.
Nice to Have
•Advanced degrees (MBA, JD, or master's degree in a relevant field) or professional certifications such as CAMS (Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist), CFE (Certified Fraud Examiner), Agile/Scrum Product Owner certifications, or similar credentials are highly preferred.
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 include competitive compensation and flexible benefits, such as 401(k) program with company-matching contributions, health, dental, vision, life, disability insurance, and paid-time off.
•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.
•Opportunities to do challenging work.
•Opportunities to build close relationships with clients.
The expected salary range f