Lead Identity Specialist

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!