Head of Application Services

JLL•Chicago, IL

6d•$190,000 - $280,000•Onsite

About The Position

JLL is seeking an experienced Head of Application Services, reporting to the SVP of Infrastructure and Operations. As a senior member of staff in Infrastructure and Operations within IT, this individual is responsible for standardizing and scaling the Identity Access Management, Authentication, Authorization, and Active Directory functions across JLL — building a future-fit application services organization that delivers resilient, secure, and adaptable identity and access capabilities across the enterprise. The scope of this role is expected to grow over time to encompass additional products and capabilities within the broader IAM, Authentication, and Authorization ecosystem as JLL’s technology landscape evolves. The Head of Application Services brings experience, knowledge, and future vision for transforming the identity and access management function, including the standardization of IAM platforms, authentication protocols, authorization frameworks, Active Directory governance, and adjacent identity and access technologies across JLL’s global environment. The role encompasses tier 1, 2 and 3 support of tooling and tier 3 support for identity and access infrastructure. The role holder is a senior stakeholder in all relationships with externally sourced identity and access management capabilities. Owns the direct points of contact and continuous engagement and improvement with Applications Teams. As a key member of the senior I&O leadership team, this role contributes to the development and execution of the enterprise-wide Infrastructure and Application Services strategy and is responsible for ensuring I&O strategy is fully aligned, positioning I&O to deliver compelling value to the application teams as well as the JLL Business. This individual is expected to support the SVP of I&O, the Infrastructure Leadership peer group, the Chief Architect and VPs of Application Services under the CTO by implementing identity and access solutions that align to the enterprise architecture framework and roadmap. He or she will also serve on IT planning and policymaking committees and will drive the development and adoption of enterprise technology standards, governance processes and performance metrics. As AI agents and non-human identities become first-class actors in enterprise environments, this role will be responsible for evolving JLL’s IAM strategy beyond traditional human-centric models. The ideal candidate will have experience designing dynamic, context-aware access controls — including purpose-based and just-in-time authorization — for agentic and automated workloads. This individual will establish governance frameworks that ensure trust delegation, auditability, and least-privilege principles are maintained across AI-driven systems, while partnering with security and engineering teams to build behavioral baselines and enforce policy at runtime.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Science or Engineering; Master’s degree preferred
10+ years of experience in Application Services or identity and access management, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership role, preferably in a technical capacity in IAM, cloud identity, or enterprise directory services
Strong knowledge of current and emerging technologies, including Identity Access Management platforms (e.g., SailPoint, Saviynt, Okta, Azure AD), authentication protocols (SAML, OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect), authorization frameworks, Privileged Access Management (PAM), Single Sign-On (SSO), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), and Active Directory/Azure Active Directory, with an understanding of related IT security strategies; comfort expanding scope to adjacent IAM products as needed
Experience designing identity and access governance for non-human identities, AI agents, and automated workloads, including just-in-time access, purpose-based authorization, and least-privilege enforcement at runtime
Strategic thinker with a proven track record of implementing large-scale IT initiatives
Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities
Experience as a collaborative and influential leader instilling confidence among stakeholders in FORTUNE 500 environments
Established reputation as a bold thinking, progressive executive exhibiting strong levels of insight and exceeding stakeholders’ expectations
Transformational leader who leads change with energy and resilience to propel the business forward; has the courage to make complex decisions and take calculated risks; adjusts style to accommodate individuals and the various phases of growth
Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree preferred
If this job description resonates with you, we encourage you to apply, even if you don’t meet all the requirements. We’re interested in getting to know you and what you bring to the table!

Responsibilities

Evolve IAM for AI agents and non-human identities: Lead the evolution of JLL’s IAM strategy to address the growing presence of AI agents, service accounts, and automated workloads as first-class actors in the enterprise. Design and implement dynamic, context-aware access controls — including purpose-based and just-in-time authorization — for agentic and automated systems. Establish governance frameworks that ensure trust delegation, auditability, and least-privilege principles are maintained across AI-driven environments, partnering with security and engineering teams to build behavioral baselines and enforce policy at runtime.
Standardize and expand IAM, Authentication, Authorization, and Active Directory: Define and drive the enterprise-wide standardization of Identity Access Management, Authentication, Authorization, and Active Directory functions across JLL. Establish consistent platforms, policies, and operating models that reduce fragmentation and improve security posture globally. Position the function to absorb and govern additional IAM-adjacent products and capabilities as JLL’s identity landscape grows and matures.
Create and execute strategy: Create and communicate a pioneering vision for Application Services within the identity and access management domain, including the value proposition in digital transformation, optimization of cloud-based identity services, and adoption of innovative technologies such as generative AI and zero-trust frameworks.
Optimize, redesign, and deliver engagement models for Application Services: Streamline engagement practices, enable a compelling digital employee experience, and improve the value the enterprise receives from IAM, authentication, authorization, and Active Directory platforms and services.
Champion innovation: Take advantage of breakthrough technologies by embracing and driving automation, observability, and modern identity standards such as OAuth 2.0, SAML, OpenID Connect, and passwordless authentication.
Manage and optimize cloud and hybrid identity environment: Create and execute strategies for cloud, hybrid, and on-premises identity infrastructure, and maximize the value the enterprise receives from investments in identity and access platforms and services.
Develop and engage talent: Create future-proofing talent strategies to develop, upskill, and retain an adaptive workforce amid the impact of generative AI and automation. Adopt leadership principles that engage teams and executives to change culture, build soft skills, and improve the employee experience.
Achieve operational excellence: Modernize to a cost-optimized, on-time, and stable identity and access management environment that addresses technical debt and minimizes risks of new initiatives. Build resilient platforms to power business growth.
Drive and communicate outcomes: Build relationships and collaborate effectively across various levels of the organization. Able to convey complex technical concepts and strategies that resonate with technical and non-technical stakeholders. Define, Measure and Drive Success: Define the value of Application Services within the IAM domain, including objectives, metrics and KPIs, and track outcomes against goals, such as reducing identity-related risk and optimizing cost. Drives the adoption of (and commitment towards) service improvements through a programmatic approach to continuous improvement which also measures impact and shares results. Continuously evaluates the business value of Application Services including the use of metrics such as Key Performance Indicators, Outcome Driven Metrics and Objectives and Key Results.