Senior Advisor - Commercial Strategy and Customer Journey, LDRR Fleet Program

Reference Number : 849

Status : Permanent - Full-time

Annual Salary / Hourly Rate : $ 101 000 - $ 118 800

Number of positions to be filled : 1

Application Deadline : 11/28/2026

Did you know that VIA Rail is carrying out ambitious projects to modernize its services and infrastructure? From our new ultramodern train fleet to ongoing improvement of our infrastructure, we’re building the future of transportation in Canada. Working for VIA Rail is being a part of a collective effort in sustainable mobility.

Reporting to the Director, Service Planning & Delivery for the Long Distance, Regional and Remote (LDRR) Fleet Renewal Program, the Senior Advisor - Commercial Strategy and Customer Journey defines, evolves, and maintains the commercial vision for VIA Rail's future LDRR offering.

The role establishes high-level customer experience, market, product, service-class, hospitality, revenue, and value-proposition direction; evaluates commercial viability; and ensures program decisions remain aligned with traveler needs and VIA Rail's business objectives.

Working closely with the Senior Advisor - Service Design & Journey integration, the incumbent provides the strategic foundation for detailed experience and service design and supports alignment, change management, and knowledge transfer across corporate and operational functions.

Program Governance, Alignment and Change
• Act as lead strategic advisor on commercial matters and represent commercial interests in key program forums and decisions.
• Work with the Customer Experience and Service Design role to translate strategic direction into detailed, deliverable experiences and services.
• Lead communications and change-management activities with corporate functions to build alignment, readiness, and adoption of program outcomes.

Commercial Vision and Customer Experience Strategy
• Define and maintain the commercial vision, value proposition, customer experience principles, and high-level customer journeys for future LDRR services.
• Establish the positioning and distinguishing attributes of service classes, including comfort, accessibility, hospitality, and service objectives.
• Ensure alignment among business objectives, traveler needs, brand direction, and program constraints.

Market, Customer and Product Strategy
• Lead market analysis, customer segmentation, persona development, benchmarking, and trend monitoring across passenger transport, tourism, lodging, and hospitality.
• Define target segments and commercial strategies for routes, service classes, products, food and beverage, and ancillary offerings.
• Identify innovation and differentiation opportunities and recommend adjustments to maintain the competitiveness of VIA Rail's offering.

Commercial Analysis and Business Viability
• Evaluate the financial performance, revenue potential, cost implications, and business viability of service concepts and customer segments.
• Contribute to financial analyses and business cases and assess the commercial impacts of design, operating, and deployment decisions.
• Provide evidence-based recommendations to program leadership on products, service levels, and commercial trade-offs.

Evolution and Transition of the Offering
• Monitor traveler expectations and market developments throughout the multi-year program and evolve the commercial offering as required.
• Incorporate lessons from phased fleet introductions into customer, service, and commercial recommendations, recognizing that changes may primarily affect service delivery once physical designs are frozen.
• Collaborate with Operational Readiness and operating teams to transfer commercial concepts, assumptions, and standards.

Requirements

• University degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Strategy, Commerce, Tourism, Transportation, or a related field; graduate-level education is an asset.

• Minimum ten (10) years of progressively senior relevant experience in commercial strategy, customer experience strategy, product or service development, or a comparable field.
• Demonstrated experience developing complex service offerings and evaluating market, revenue, cost, and business viability considerations.
• Experience in passenger transportation, tourism, hospitality, aviation, cruise, or another customer-intensive industry is highly desirable.
• Experience in major transformation programs or complex, multi-stakeholder projects is a strong asset.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office applications and the ability to prepare executive-level analyses and presentations.

Competencies

• Commercial strategy, market analysis, customer segmentation, product and service development, business cases, and revenue strategy.
• Strategic and systems thinking, analytical rigor, synthesis, and sound business judgment.
• Executive communication, facilitation, stakeholder engagement, and influence without formal authority.
• Ability to build consensus around complex strategic direction and navigate ambiguity in a matrix environment
Customer focus, long-term vision, adaptability, and results orientation.

At VIA Rail, we are proud to be an employment-equity employer and we strive to form teams that reflect the diversity of Canadian society. We aim to remove barriers to employment accessibility and aspire to provide an inclusive and equitable work environment where everyone is valued, regardless of their identity or differences, to enable them to reach their full potential.

If you need assistance in making the recruitment process or the position you are applying for more accessible, please let us know. Alternate arrangements may be offered to individuals who request them at any stage of the recruitment process. All information received in relation to arrangements will be kept confidential.

Note that we will only contact those who are selected for an interview.

Join our 3,000 other employees in helping provide Canadians with a safe, accessible, environmentally sustainable way to travel!