Senior Manager, Initiative Lead

RBC; Toronto; On-site; CAD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial institution is seeking a Senior Manager, Initiative Lead to plan and execute high-value projects. The ideal candidate will have over 5 years of project management experience, strong communication skills, and proficiency with project management tools. This full-time position is based in Toronto and emphasizes stakeholder management and effective project execution.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience managing projects with high value and complexity.
• Expert understanding of project delivery frameworks including Agile and Waterfall.
• Advanced communication skills with proficiency in presenting to senior management.

Responsibilities

• Plan and execute high-value projects ensuring adherence to PMO standards.
• Manage project communications including status reports to stakeholders.
• Establish and maintain effective project routines and communication.

Skills

Business Oriented

Communication

Group Problem Solving

Long Term Planning

Meeting Management

Organizational Change Management

Resource Coordination

Results-Oriented

Time Management

Waterfall Model

Education

Undergraduate Degree/Diploma

Completion of Project Management specific learning course

Tools

Planview

MS Project

Jira

Leankit

Confluence

Job description

What is the opportunity?

The Senior Manager, Initiative Lead will plan and execute projects and programs with a high value/cost and level of complexity, ensuring operational effectiveness and adherence to the Enterprise Initiative Management Framework and PMO standards while balancing multiple and competing demands and priorities.

The Senior Manager will also be responsible for developing and maintaining detailed program schedules, acting as a point of control of the program’s financial management processes and development of reporting for senior leadership and executives.

What you will do

• Project Management: Plans and executes projects with value of $5M+ and above (benefit/cost), and high level of complexity and uncertainty including managing project scope, requirements changes, multiple and competing demands and priorities as well as determining and conveying impact on budget, time and risk using appropriate fact-based metrics / assumptions.
• Works with Finance, Capital Markets / Technology Owners to ensure that the deliverables achieve the business result that enables value creation.
• Seeks out industry trends and organizational knowledge to understand alternative approaches and/or solutions.
• Facilitates joint planning with the program managers from other areas in the early stages of project formation.
• Develops integrated baseline project plans applying estimated models; documents estimating assumptions, refines plans and manages performance against them.
• Determines quality standards and oversees the execution / production of management documents.
• Escalates the risks/issues in a timely manner to ensure proactive resolution after engaging key finance/technology partners
• Identifies and manages project costs and budgets anticipating operational and some tactical risks.
• Raises and tracks issues and conflicts, removes barriers, resolves minor project issues and escalates them to immediate manager when required.
• Facilitates schedule and cost forecasting; mentors project managers in determining risk based provisions.
• Organizational Change Management through assessment of degree of change and implementing the Change Management processes.
• Establish and maintain effective project routines, facilitating and planning ceremonies in line with RBC\'s AMF/iWF Project Frameworks, and ensure clear, concise, and timely communication across the project deliverables.

• Governance, Compliance and Risk Planning: Sets up appropriate governance and oversight of all projects.
• Anticipates and quantifies tactical, operational and strategic risks applying risk-based approach to forecasting.
• Resolves complex issues and conflicts and escalates to executive level where required.
• Oversees project closure initiatives. Ensures projects follow established standards including delivery life cycle methods, and meets audit requirements.

• Communications and Stakeholder Management: Manages project communications including status reports to executives, stakeholders, business units, vendors, project team, etc.
• Provides senior management with timely updates on project issues. Identifies resources and skills required.
• Recommends external vendors and third parties (consultants, off-shoring, outsourcing) and manages the relationships at the project level.
• Provides superior client experience and strengthens relationships with all key stakeholders.

• Business Project Management: Timely engagement with RBC-specific regulatory, compliance, finance, operational risk, supplier management, and other specific local or enterprise-wide business processes, as determined by financial implications of the project’s costs, and the specific impacts of the change being introduced by the project.
• Facilitate Project Sponsor awareness of internal factors affecting Organizational Change that need to be planned for and managed accordingly based on degree of change being introduced into the organization by the project.
• Contribute to the pipeline of continuous improvement of Project Management processes and procedures at the PMO level, and enterprise-wide, through application of best practices and sharing lessons learned.
• Demonstrate importance of Benefit Realization by understanding benefit profiles and business cases to ensure alignment to stated business outcomes, and PAR.

What you need to succeed

Must-have

• Undergraduate Degree/Diploma
• Completion of Project Management specific learning course
• 5+ years’ experience managing projects with high level of value (benefit/cost), and a high level of complexity and uncertainty
• Advanced project management knowledge including plan development; scheduling methodology; project metrics gathering, analyzing, and reporting; risk and issue assessment and quantification methodologies; cost/benefit analysis and alternatives identification; budgeting, financials and benefits management
• Expert facilitation skills, able to keep teams focused and engaged, resolve conflict, and solve problems as a team
• Expert understanding and experience with project delivery frameworks including Agile, Iterative Waterfall, and Hybrid
• Business oriented with a growth mindset, open to learning and finding new and innovative ways to provide value sooner
• Advanced time management skills, able to prioritize work for the greatest impact through effective decision making
• Proficient in key delivery tools including Planview, MS Project, Jira, Leankit, Confluence
• Advanced communication skills including presentation, verbal and written with comfort presenting to senior level management and executives
• Good understanding of Agile routines
• Skilled in strategic project execution and problem/obstacle resolution
• Results-oriented and experience with developing project-level objectives and key results

Nice-to-have

• Certified Scrum Master (CSM) Designation and/or Project Management Professional/Program Management Professional (PMP/PGMP) Designation
• Undergraduate degree/Diploma (Business/Engineering)

Job Skills

Business Oriented, Communication, Group Problem Solving, Long Term Planning, Meeting Management, Organizational Change Management, Resource Coordination, Results-Oriented, Time Management, Waterfall Model

Additional Job Details

Address: RBC CENTRE, 155 WELLINGTON ST W:TORONTO

City: Toronto

Country: Canada

Work hours/week: 37.5

Employment Type: Full time

Platform: OFFICE OF THE CFO

Job Type: Regular

Pay Type: Salaried

Posted Date: 2025-09-24

Application Deadline: 2025-10-10

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

Inclusion and Equal Opportunity Employment

At 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. RBC strives to deliver this through policies and programs intended to foster a workplace based on respect, belonging and opportunity for all.