Engagement and Partnerships Manager

Join our digital revolution in NatWest Digital X

In everything we do, we work to one aim. To make digital experiences which are effortless and secure.

So we organise ourselves around three principles: engineer, protect, and operate. We engineer simple solutions, we protect our customers, and we operate smarter.

Job description

This role is based in the United Kingdom and as such all normal working days must be carried out in the United Kingdom.



Join us as an Engagement and Partnerships Manager

• In this crucial role, you'll lead innovative initiatives across the bank by collaboratively identifying potential opportunities and strategic partnerships that drive purposeful outcomes
• We'll look to you to build and strengthen relationships both within and outside the bank to identify and progress the most strategically impactful innovation opportunities
• This is a great opportunity to expand your leadership profile as you collaborate with the internal and external stakeholders to identify and understand key focus areas for exploration

What you'll do

As an Engagement and Partnerships Manager in Open Innovation, you'll help identify, explore, and validate opportunities that create value for customers and the bank. Working at the intersection of emerging technology, customer needs, and business strategy, you'll bring external insights, innovative thinking, and strong partnerships to shape the bank's future.

You'll also work closely with start-ups, technology providers, academic institutions, and other ecosystem partners to source new capabilities and opportunities. Internally, you'll build strong stakeholder relationships, secure sponsorship for innovation initiatives, and help take ideas from discovery and experimentation through to implementation and scale.

In addition, you'll be:

• Identifying and developing innovation opportunities aligned to strategic priorities and emerging technology trends
• Building and managing relationships across the external innovation ecosystem to source ideas, capabilities, and partnerships
• Bringing market and technology insights to inform strategy, decision-making, and investment priorities
• Collaborating with stakeholders across the bank to build support, manage delivery, and maximise impact
• Representing innovation initiatives through governance forums, while ensuring alignment with relevant risk and policy requirements

The skills you'll need

We're looking for someone with a strong understanding of the external innovation landscape and its impact on customers, with the ability to translate emerging technologies, market trends, and ecosystem developments into meaningful opportunities for the business. You should also have a good grasp of financial services strategy and be excited by the opportunity to explore, test, and scale technology-enabled propositions.

To succeed in this role, you must be comfortable collaboratively incubating ideas, identifying high-potential opportunities, and shaping innovation pathways informed by developments both within financial services and across adjacent sectors.

In addition, you'll need:

• The ability to build productive relationships and collaborate effectively with internal and external stakeholders, while managing commercial discussions and partnership negotiations where required
• Proven experience in shaping and delivering innovation initiatives, with the ability to adapt to new insights, navigate ambiguity, and progress opportunities through structured innovation pathways
• Strong strategic thinking skills, with the ability to define experimentation and validation approaches, take concepts from discovery to implementation, and make informed investment recommendations
• Experience building and managing relationships with a broad range of external partners, including start-ups, scale-ups, academic institutions, technology providers, and industry networks
• A strong understanding of emerging technology trends and their implications for financial services, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence, agentic AI, automation, data, and digital platforms
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, with the ability to engage senior stakeholders, build alignment, and secure support for new opportunities