Senior Project Manager - Identity & Access Management (IAM)

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced and highly skilled Senior Project Manager to lead complex Identity and Access Management (IAM) initiatives. In this role, you will be responsible for the end-to-end delivery of critical security projects that protect our digital estate and ensure compliance with strict regulatory standards. You will bridge the gap between technical engineering teams, business stakeholders, and audit/compliance functions, ensuring that IAM transformations are delivered on time, within budget, and with measurable improvements to security posture.

Key Responsibilities

• Program Leadership: Lead the planning and execution of large-scale IAM programs, including Identity Governance (IGA), Privileged Access Management (PAM), Single Sign-On (SSO), and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) rollouts across a diverse portfolio of companies.

• Stakeholder Management: Partner with business leads, Group Risk & Compliance, and software engineering leaders to define the project roadmap, backlog, and strategic vision. Act as the primary liaison between technical teams and senior management.

• Governance & Compliance: Drive remediation activities related to regulatory gaps, audit findings, and access control compliance. Ensure all IAM processes and controls align with industry standards (e.g., SOX, GDPR) and internal security policies.

• Delivery & Methodology: Manage the full project lifecycle using Agile, Waterfall, or hybrid methodologies. Facilitate sprint planning, backlog grooming, and retrospectives, while also managing RAID logs (Risks, Assumptions, Issues, Dependencies), budgets, and resource allocation.

• Technical Oversight: Collaborate with architects and engineers to design and implement solutions leveraging platforms such as SailPoint, CyberArk, Okta, or Microsoft Entra ID. Support improvements to Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) models and identity lifecycle processes (Joiner/Mover/Leaver)

• Vendor Management: Manage relationships with external system integrators and technology vendors, ensuring their deliverables meet our architectural and security standards.

• Reporting: Create and maintain executive-level dashboards and progress reports. Define Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to monitor project health and regularly communicate status to stakeholders.

Qualifications & Experience

• Experience: 10+ years of overall project management experience, with at least 5-7 years specifically focused on Identity and Access Management (IAM) or Cybersecurity transformations.

• Domain Expertise: Deep understanding of IAM concepts including Identity Governance (IGA), Privileged Access Management (PAM), authentication protocols, directory services (Active Directory, Azure AD), and access certification.

• Technical Acumen: Familiarity with leading IAM tools such as SailPoint, CyberArk, Okta, Ping Identity or ForgeRock

• Regulatory Knowledge: Proven experience working in highly regulated industries (Financial Services, Investment Banking, or similar). Solid understanding of audit, risk, and compliance requirements.

• Methodology: Expertise in Agile methodologies (Scrum/Kanban) and experience with project management tools like JIRA, Confluence, and Microsoft Project.

• Soft Skills: Exceptional communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills. Proven ability to lead in matrixed, dynamic environments and manage cross-functional teams across different geographies

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field. MBA is a plus.

Preferred Qualifications

• Professional Project Management certification (PMP, PRINCE2, or Certified ScrumMaster).

• Security certifications such as CISSP, CISM, or CIAM.

• Experience with cloud transformation projects (migration to Azure AD/AWS IAM)