Portfolio and Strategy Lead – Agentic AI

Royal Bank of Canada•Toronto, ON

9d•Onsite

About The Position

RBC's Agentic AI Enablement team is a specialized engineering force that embeds directly into strategic use cases, delivers production-grade agentic systems, and builds institutional muscle for agentic AI at scale. We need a Portfolio & Strategy Lead to own the "what" and "when" of the team's engagement portfolio, deciding what enters the pipeline, in what order, and ensuring the team's finite capacity is deployed against the highest-value opportunities. Reporting to the Senior Director, Agentic AI Enablement, the Portfolio & Strategy Lead owns intake prioritization, capacity planning, portfolio reporting, and engagement sizing. You'll lead a team of Engagement Product Managers (EPMs) and a Portfolio Analyst, building the product management and strategy function that bridges demand (Business Enablement) and supply (Engineering Pods + Delivery). You ensure the team works on the right things at the right time with the right resourcing, while your EPMs ensure each engagement is scoped correctly and delivers against business requirements. This role requires someone who can think strategically about portfolio composition, communicate trade-offs clearly to senior leaders, and operate with rigor in a fast-moving environment where engagement demand consistently outpaces capacity.

Requirements

7+ years in technology strategy, portfolio management, program management, or delivery leadership roles
3+ years managing technology portfolios, intake processes, or capacity planning across multiple concurrent workstreams
Experience making prioritization decisions with incomplete information and communicating trade-offs to senior leaders
Strong analytical capabilities: ability to synthesize demand signals, capacity data, and strategic priorities into clear recommendations
Experience with resource planning and allocation in engineering or professional services organizations
Proven ability to build and maintain executive-level reporting and portfolio dashboards
Experience in regulated industries (banking/financial services preferred) with understanding of governance and compliance constraints
Strong organizational and communication skills with the ability to influence without direct authority

Nice To Haves

Background in professional services, consulting, or managed services operating models with portfolio/resource management
Experience with AI/ML or agentic AI programs
Familiarity with pod-based engineering organizations and variable squad sizing models
Experience building portfolio management practices from scratch in a new or rapidly scaling team
PMP, PgMP, or portfolio management certifications
Background in demand forecasting or capacity modeling for technical teams

Responsibilities

Own the intake process for new engagement requests, jointly prioritizing with Business Enablement based on strategic fit, value potential, executive sponsorship, and data readiness
Maintain a transparent, prioritized pipeline that balances near-term delivery commitments with strategic bets
Ensure every engagement entering the pipeline has clear qualification criteria met before squad formation is triggered
Say no (or not yet) with conviction when capacity or qualification thresholds aren't met
Ensure EPMs maintain scope integrity, requirements quality, and stakeholder alignment across their assigned engagements
Allocate EPM coverage across engagements based on intensity (dedicated for complex engagements, shared for lighter ones)
Set standards for requirements documentation, engagement charters, acceptance criteria, and adoption strategies
Build a cohesive product management practice with shared standards while allowing engagement-level adaptation
Own capacity planning across the engineering pod structure, maintaining real-time visibility into available FDE capacity
Trigger squad formation decisions based on engagement priority, sizing requirements, and available capacity
Partner with the Delivery Lead on resourcing trade-offs when demand exceeds supply
Manage ADT lending allocation decisions, balancing external support commitments against core enablement delivery
Recommend squad sizing (light / standard / heavy) in partnership with Principal Engineers and EPMs based on engagement complexity
Maintain portfolio-level reporting for leadership: engagement status, pipeline health, capacity utilization, and value realization
Track and report on engagement outcomes and success metrics post-delivery, informing future prioritization decisions
Provide executive-ready portfolio updates for steering committees and leadership forums
Identify patterns across engagements that inform strategic direction (e.g., recurring demand signals, capability gaps, reuse opportunities)
Translate enterprise AI strategy into portfolio-level planning for the Enablement team
Align engagement portfolio with broader organizational priorities and funding cycles
Identify capability gaps and inform hiring/investment decisions based on demand patterns
Partner with Business Enablement on demand forecasting and pipeline development
Inform team growth decisions (e.g., when sustained lending triggers the case for additional pods)
Ensure structured handoffs at each lifecycle stage (Intake → Scope & Size → Build & Deliver → Transfer & Close → Measure & Learn)
Own the "Measure & Learn" phase: capturing engagement outcomes, lessons learned, and feeding insights back into prioritization
Ensure engagement artifacts (Opportunity Briefs, Engagement Charters, Delivery Packages) are produced at each transition point
Approve engagement charters (produced by EPMs in partnership with PEs) before squad formation is triggered