Lead Identity Specialist – Microsoft Entra
💰£585/day (Inside IR35) |📅12-Month Contract
📍 London (Hybrid)
Our client is seeking an experienced Lead Identity Specialist – Microsoft Entra to drive enterprise-wide identity and access management transformation initiatives across complex hybrid and multi-cloud environments. As the Lead Identity Specialist, you will lead the design, governance, and strategic adoption of Microsoft Entra and enterprise IAM capabilities across the organisation. You’ll provide consulting-level guidance on identity modernisation, cloud IAM strategy, application onboarding, and security governance while mentoring senior engineers and supporting enterprise-wide IAM transformation initiatives.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead enterprise-wide architecture and deployment of Microsoft Entra solutions including:
- Entra ID
- Conditional Access
- Identity Protection
- Privileged Identity Management (PIM)
- Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM)
- Identity Governance
- Define and execute enterprise IAM strategy aligned with Zero Trust principles
- Establish IAM governance standards, technical policies, and security best practices
- Provide consulting-level guidance on IAM adoption and migration from legacy identity platforms
- Lead identity threat detection initiatives and identity-based risk management strategies
- Conduct security assessments and configuration reviews across Entra environments
- Serve as the escalation point for critical Entra identity incidents and root cause analysis activities
- Support workload identity and non-human identity management across hybrid environments
- Support hybrid identity environments including:
- On-prem Active Directory
- AD FS
- Azure AD Connect
- Define IAM integration patterns across AWS and GCP cloud environments
- Support B2B and B2C identity implementation patterns across large organisations
- Manage and mentor Technical Account Managers (TAMs) and Level 3 engineers
- Work closely with infrastructure, O365, SOC, and security architecture teams
- Collaborate with Microsoft engineering and product teams on roadmap and capability alignment
- Present IAM strategy and architecture guidance to senior leadership and stakeholders
Required Skills & Experience
- Expert-level knowledge of Microsoft Entra ID architecture and deployment
- Strong experience with:
- Identity Protection
- Conditional Access
- PIM
- CIEM
- Governance
- Deep understanding of Zero Trust identity architecture and IAM best practices
- Strong experience with hybrid identity environments including:
- Active Directory
- AD FS
- Azure AD Connect
- Strong understanding of authentication and federation protocols including:
- SAML
- OAuth
- OpenID Connect
- Kerberos
- LDAP
- Familiarity with AWS IAM and GCP IAM strategies
- Experience with identity threat detection tools and security integrations
- Strong knowledge of workload identity, automation, and non-human identity management
- Experience performing IAM security assessments and configuration reviews
- Proven experience managing senior engineers, TAMs, or IAM teams
- Strong stakeholder engagement and consulting capability
- Ability to translate technical IAM capabilities into business-focused security strategies
Preferred Qualifications
- Microsoft certifications including:
- Microsoft Certified: Cybersecurity Architect Expert
- Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator Associate
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate
- Experience leading large-scale IAM modernisation programmes
- Experience presenting IAM strategy and architecture to senior leadership
Please apply with your Cv and we'll be in touch. Thanks!