Senior Director - IAM

Company: Northwestern Mutual
Location: Saint Francis
Posted on: February 15, 2026

Job Description:

As the Senior Director of Identity Management, you will lead the strategic development and implementation of identity management (IM) solutions across the organization. This role is pivotal in setting strategic direction to support IT and organizational strategies. The Senior Director will focus on ensuring secure, efficient, and scalable identity lifecycle management, aligning with industry standards and regulatory requirements. They will assume accountabilities for identity management client functions and coordinate accountabilities within IT, engaging staff, leadership, and business partners to mature and sustain information risk management across the enterprise. What Youll Do Strategic Leadership: Develop and execute a comprehensive identity management strategy that supports organizational goals and regulatory compliance, engaging Identity & Access Management (IAM) leadership in strategic direction setting. Strategic Leadership: Develop and execute a comprehensive identity management strategy that supports organizational goals and regulatory compliance, engaging Identity & Access Management (IAM) leadership in strategic direction setting. Identity Lifecycle Management: Oversee user provisioning, deprovisioning, and identity governance processes to ensure secure and efficient operations. Identity Lifecycle Management: Oversee user provisioning, deprovisioning, and identity governance processes to ensure secure and efficient operations. Technology Implementation: Lead the deployment and management of identity management platforms, including Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) tools, Client IAM tools, and Operations tools. Technology Implementation: Lead the deployment and management of identity management platforms, including Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) tools, Client IAM tools, and Operations tools. Risk Management: Evaluate and prioritize risks in new and existing systems from both business and technology perspectives, recommending controls that balance effectiveness with business impact. Risk Management: Evaluate and prioritize risks in new and existing systems from both business and technology perspectives, recommending controls that balance effectiveness with business impact. Stakeholder Collaboration: Leverage relationships to act as a liaison between IAM and business units, fostering collaboration to implement best risk management practices. Stakeholder Collaboration: Leverage relationships to act as a liaison between IAM and business units, fostering collaboration to implement best risk management practices. Organizational Change: Influence enterprise buy-in to address risk areas and promote a more information risk-aware culture. Organizational Change: Influence enterprise buy-in to address risk areas and promote a more information risk-aware culture. Project and Budget Oversight: Responsible for selection and prioritization of IM projects, oversight of IM budget management, and long-range planning. Project and Budget Oversight: Responsible for selection and prioritization of IM projects, oversight of IM budget management, and long-range planning. Team Development: Develop and mentor a high-performing technical IAM team, setting standards for engineering excellence, documentation, runbooks, and on-call readiness. Team Development: Develop and mentor a high-performing technical IAM team, setting standards for engineering excellence, documentation, runbooks, and on-call readiness. Identity Management: Own and mature workforce and client identity for all internal and external users and applications, including strategic design and hands-on implementation of IAM patterns Performance Tracking: Create and track IAM KPIs and OKRs tied to business outcomes Performance Tracking: Create and track IAM KPIs and OKRs tied to business outcomes What Youll Bring to the Role? Experience: 12 years in identity management, with 5 years in a leadership role within a large-scale enterprise environment. Experience: 12 years in identity management, with 5 years in a leadership role within a large-scale enterprise environment. Technical Expertise: Proficiency in identity management technologies, including Active Directory, IGA tools, and federated identity solutions. preferred (PAM and Cloud IAM) Technical Expertise: Proficiency in identity management technologies, including Active Directory, IGA tools, and federated identity solutions. preferred (PAM and Cloud IAM) Engineering Experience: Requires substantial prior hands-on engineering experience designing and implementing IAM solutions (e.g., JML, Access Certifications, Identity Verification, RBAC), with a clear progression from senior engineer/architect into strategic leadership. Engineering Experience: Requires substantial prior hands-on engineering experience designing and implementing IAM solutions (e.g., JML, Access Certifications, Identity Verification, RBAC), with a clear progression from senior engineer/architect into strategic leadership. Leadership Skills: Proven ability to lead and develop high-performing technical teams, with strong people management skills. Leadership Skills: Proven ability to lead and develop high-performing technical teams, with strong people management skills. Communication Skills: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels. Communication Skills: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels. Education: Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Information Systems, or equivalent work experience. Certification in security space desired (CISSP, CCSP, etc). Education: Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Information Systems, or equivalent work experience. Certification in security space desired (CISSP, CCSP, etc). What Sets you apart Access Management Tools & Technologies (NM) (Expert) Identity & Access Management Industry Standards (NM) (Expert) Leadership (Expert) Accountability (Expert) Strategic Vision and Planning (Expert) Compensation Range: Pay Range - Start: $154,000.00 Pay Range - End: $286,000.00 Geographic Specific Pay Structure: Structure 110: Structure 115: We believe in fairness and transparency. It’s why we share the salary range for most of our roles. However, final salaries are based on a number of factors, including the skills and experience of the candidate; the current market; location of the candidate; and other factors uncovered in the hiring process. Job Posting End Date: The timeline for this job posting may be shortened or extended based on organizational needs. Grow your career with a best-in-class company that puts our clients interests at the center of all we do. Get started now! Northwestern Mutual is an equal opportunity employer who welcomes and encourages diversity in the workforce. We are committed to creating and maintaining an environment in which each employee can contribute creative ideas, seek challenges, assume leadership and continue to focus on meeting and exceeding business and personal objectives.

Keywords: Northwestern Mutual, Mount Prospect , Senior Director - IAM, IT / Software / Systems , Saint Francis, Illinois