Senior Director - IAM

Northwestern Mutual

20h

About The Position

Summary The Senior Director of Identity Management will lead the strategic development and implementation of identity management (IM) solutions across the organization. This role is pivotal in setting strategic direction to support IT and organizational strategies. The Senior Director will focus on ensuring secure, efficient, and scalable identity lifecycle management, aligning with industry standards and regulatory requirements. They will assume accountabilities for identity management client functions and coordinate accountabilities within IT, engaging staff, leadership, and business partners to mature and sustain information risk management across the enterprise. Primary Duties & Responsibilities Strategic Leadership: Develop and execute a comprehensive identity management strategy that supports organizational goals and regulatory compliance, engaging Identity & Access Management (IAM) leadership in strategic direction setting. Identity Lifecycle Management: Oversee user provisioning, deprovisioning, and identity governance processes to ensure secure and efficient operations. Technology Implementation: Lead the deployment and management of identity management platforms, including Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) tools, Client IAM tools, and Operations tools. Risk Management: Evaluate and prioritize risks in new and existing systems from both business and technology perspectives, recommending controls that balance effectiveness with business impact. Stakeholder Collaboration: Leverage relationships to act as a liaison between IAM and business units, fostering collaboration to implement best risk management practices. Organizational Change: Influence enterprise buy-in to address risk areas and promote a more information risk-aware culture. Project and Budget Oversight: Responsible for selection and prioritization of IM projects, oversight of IM budget management, and long-range planning. Team Development: Develop and mentor a high-performing technical IAM team, setting standards for engineering excellence, documentation, runbooks, and on-call readiness. Identity Management: Own and mature workforce and client identity for all internal and external users and applications, including strategic design and hands-on implementation of IAM patterns Performance Tracking: Create and track IAM KPIs and OKRs tied to business outcomes

Requirements

Experience: 12+ years in identity management, with 5+ years in a leadership role within a large-scale enterprise environment.
Technical Expertise: Proficiency in identity management technologies, including Active Directory, IGA tools, and federated identity solutions.
Engineering Experience: Requires substantial prior hands-on engineering experience designing and implementing IAM solutions (e.g., JML, Access Certifications, Identity Verification, RBAC), with a clear progression from senior engineer/architect into strategic leadership.
Leadership Skills: Proven ability to lead and develop high-performing technical teams, with strong people management skills.
Communication Skills: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels.
Education: Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Information Systems, or equivalent work experience.

Nice To Haves

Certification in security space desired (CISSP, CCSP, etc)

Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership: Develop and execute a comprehensive identity management strategy that supports organizational goals and regulatory compliance, engaging Identity & Access Management (IAM) leadership in strategic direction setting.
Identity Lifecycle Management: Oversee user provisioning, deprovisioning, and identity governance processes to ensure secure and efficient operations.
Technology Implementation: Lead the deployment and management of identity management platforms, including Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) tools, Client IAM tools, and Operations tools.
Risk Management: Evaluate and prioritize risks in new and existing systems from both business and technology perspectives, recommending controls that balance effectiveness with business impact.
Stakeholder Collaboration: Leverage relationships to act as a liaison between IAM and business units, fostering collaboration to implement best risk management practices.
Organizational Change: Influence enterprise buy-in to address risk areas and promote a more information risk-aware culture.
Project and Budget Oversight: Responsible for selection and prioritization of IM projects, oversight of IM budget management, and long-range planning.
Team Development: Develop and mentor a high-performing technical IAM team, setting standards for engineering excellence, documentation, runbooks, and on-call readiness.
Identity Management: Own and mature workforce and client identity for all internal and external users and applications, including strategic design and hands-on implementation of IAM patterns
Performance Tracking: Create and track IAM KPIs and OKRs tied to business outcomes