Senior Identity Architect

+3 months +

+SC cleared - current active clearance is essential

+Inside IR35

+£650 - £750 a day

+Hybrid

We are seeking an experienced Senior Identity Architect to take ownership of enterprise Identity and Access Management (IAM) strategy, architecture and technical design authority within a complex, secure environment.

This is a senior strategic position requiring someone with the credibility and experience to act as the principal authority for identity-related decisions, providing direction across multiple projects, setting architectural standards and ensuring all identity requirements are aligned to a coherent, prioritised strategy.

You will work closely with senior stakeholders, architects, technical SMEs and project teams, influencing key design decisions and establishing the principles, policies and standards that will underpin the organisation's identity capability.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and lead the enterprise Identity and Access Management strategy, architecture principles and standards.

• Act as the principal design authority for all identity-related decisions across the organisation.

• Provide authoritative direction to technical SMEs and project teams, making and documenting architectural decisions.

• Assess and align new requirements and requests into a prioritised identity strategy and roadmap.

• Ensure identity architecture is aligned across major programmes and projects, including SAP, cloud transformation and application modernisation.

• Establish strategic direction for Identity Governance and Administration (IGA), Privileged Access Management (PAM), authentication, service accounts, password management and third-party access.

• Develop current-state and target-state identity architectures, identifying gaps, risks and opportunities for improvement.

• Define and maintain identity policies, architectural standards, governance models and control frameworks.

• Chair or contribute to architecture and design authority forums, providing clear recommendations and decisions.

• Engage with senior stakeholders to secure alignment and sponsorship for the identity strategy.

• Provide recommendations on emerging identity requirements, ensuring consistency, security and alignment with wider enterprise architecture.

Essential Skills & Experience

• 8-10+ years' experience in Identity and Access Management, with recent experience in a senior or lead architecture position.

• Proven ownership of enterprise identity strategy, architecture standards and technical design authority.

• Strong knowledge across IGA, PAM, PKI/certificate management, secrets management, Joiner-Mover-Leaver (JML), RBAC, authentication and third-party access.

• Experience with identity technologies such as CyberArk, Venafi, Zilla, SailPoint, Saviynt, Microsoft Entra ID and Active Directory, or equivalent platforms.

• Experience aligning identity architecture with major enterprise programmes, including SAP, cloud transformation and application modernisation.

• Proven ability to make, justify and document architectural decisions and provide direction to technical SMEs.

• Experience developing current-state and target-state architectures, strategic roadmaps, principles, standards and governance frameworks.

• Knowledge of NIST, ISO 27001, Zero Trust principles and UK cyber-security expectations.

• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to influence and engage at executive level.