IAM Operation Associate Director

The IAM Access Operations Associate Director will be a transformational leader within the clients Identity and Access Management team driving both strategic vision and operational excellence. This role demands a unique blend of deep technical IAM expertise and proven leadership capabilities to guide teams toward best practices while delivering enterprise-scale results.

Success in this dynamic position requires exceptional interpersonal skills sharp analytical thinking and a proven track record of delivering high-impact outcomes in complex time-sensitive environments. Youll balance strategic planning with hands-on technical guidance ensuring your teams have the direction and expertise needed to excel in a rapidly evolving IAM landscape.

The role encompasses leading strategic initiatives fostering global collaboration and overseeing critical application on-boarding processes while ensuring unwavering compliance with IAM risk and controls. Your commitment to operational excellence and quality assurance will be essential to maintaining the highest standards across all deliverables and establishing the client as a leader in enterprise IAM operations.

Key Roles and Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership & Planning
  1. IAM Strategy Development and Implementation: Direct the development and execution of comprehensive support strategies for IAM technologies and services. Lead strategic planning initiatives and develop product support roadmaps that align with organizational objectives and stakeholder requirements. Collaborate with internal stakeholders end user communities and partner groups to define strategic direction for IAM operations.
  2. Policy Development and Framework Design: Lead the design and implementation of IAM governance frameworks policies and operational procedures. Develop strategic compliance programs aligned with NIST and cybersecurity frameworks to ensure enterprise-wide adherence to security standards.
• Operational Excellence & Team Oversight
  1. Team Leadership and Operations Management: Provide strategic direction and leadership across multiple IAM operational functions including IGA PAM authorization management and enterprise identity services. Oversee teams responsible for enterprise authentication platforms including RSA infrastructure licensing management and comprehensive user support services across internal and external deployments.
  2. Legacy System Support and Modernization: Direct teams responsible for establishing and maintaining support for legacy IAM tools MFA platforms and security systems. Lead modernization efforts while ensuring continuity of operations and service excellence.
  3. Quality Assurance and Process Improvement: Establish and maintain high standards of quality for all operational deliverables. Implement and oversee Agile processes and methodologies in operational tasks. Lead continuous improvement initiatives to enhance security posture and operational efficiency while establishing refined operational processes to mitigate control weaknesses and gaps.
• Compliance & Risk Management
  1. Enterprise IAM Governance and Compliance Oversight: Direct and oversee enterprise-wide compliance with IAM security policies across all IT assets including applications and servers. Develop and execute remediation plans for managing risk and ensure proper implementation by operations teams. Supervise discovery reporting and remediation efforts for non-compliant privilege accounts including human and service accounts.
  2. Risk Management and Audit Partnership: Partner with internal audit and control teams to plan and deliver operational features in compliance with IAM controls and processes. Ensure all IAM operations meet regulatory requirements and industry standards while maintaining alignment with organizational risk tolerance.
• Stakeholder Engagement & Global Collaboration
  1. Strategic Stakeholder Engagement: Serve as primary liaison with internal stakeholders and business units to gather requirements and ensure alignment with organizational objectives. Act as the primary point of contact for IAM application on-boarding and strategic initiatives. Collaborate with Executive Leadership team delegates to support access management compliance activities and gather feedback to inform strategic decisions.
  2. Global Team Collaboration: Partner with international teams particularly India-based operations to ensure seamless 24/7 business operations effective handovers across time zones and unified service delivery. Establish and maintain processes that align work between U.S. and international teams while fostering a unified operational culture.
• Technical Guidance & Escalation Support
  1. Product and Development Partnership: Partner with Product Managers to inform backlog prioritization and ensure alignment with business needs and strategic objectives. Provide operational insights and domain expertise to help prioritize features and tasks based on business value stakeholder requirements and resource constraints. Collaborate with development teams to clarify operational requirements and support effective implementation of IAM solutions.
  2. Technical Support Escalation and Oversight: Oversee complex escalation processes from L1 and L2 support teams. Provide technical guidance and partner with Engineering Tier 2/Tier 3 support to resolve complex customer issues and ensure seamless operations. Ensure compliance with agreed-upon service level agreements (SLAs) and operational excellence standards.
  3. Gap Analysis & Enhancement Advocacy: Identify gaps in existing IAM solutions gather technical requirements and collaborate with product architecture and client teams to advocate for necessary enhancements. Lead technical assessment initiatives and provide strategic recommendations for system improvements and optimizations.

Required Qualifications:

• 15 years of progressive experience with a bachelors degree
• 8 years of experience in global organizations at IAM Operations leadership level including hands-on management of enterprise IAM operations (application on-boarding access certification stakeholder engagement multi-tier support)
• Proven expertise in deploying and optimizing large-scale IAM programs across diverse stakeholder groups and complex organizational structures
• Demonstrated success in both strategic planning and tactical execution with ability to seamlessly transition between high-level strategy and detailed technical guidance
• Experience developing and implementing IAM governance frameworks policies and operational controls with knowledge of regulatory expectations and industry standards (NIST cybersecurity frameworks)
• Exceptional project management and cross-functional team leadership skills with a track record of delivering transformative results; relevant certifications (PMP Agile) preferred
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities with proven ability to make data-driven decisions in complex fast-paced environments
• Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills with demonstrated ability to influence and engage stakeholders at all executive levels
• Proven ability to work effectively across multiple time zones with international teams and manage complex competing priorities
• Strategic thinking mindset with superior problem-solving abilities and sound business judgment

Desired Qualifications

• Organizational change management experience with a proven track record of successfully navigating and leading enterprise-wide transformational initiatives
• Professional certifications in security governance or IT service management (CISSP CISA ITIL4 Foundation ISO/IEC 27001)
• Hands-on experience with Azure DevOps and modern development methodologies
• Experience with enterprise identity platforms including but not limited to RSA Entra ID SailPoint CyberArk and other leading IAM technologies