Identity & Access Management Lead

Confidential; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 350,000 - 650,000; Full time

Job summary

Confidential in the UAE is building a digital-first, AI-enabled financial services organization. We seek an Identity & Access Management Lead to establish IAM from day one, partnering with CISO and security teams to implement controls, tooling, and governance across the enterprise.

The role focuses on designing and operating IAM frameworks, managing access provisioning lifecycle, and leveraging AI analytics to enhance security and regulatory compliance.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in Identity & Access Management or Information Security in banking/FS
• Deep expertise in IAM platforms, SSO, MFA, PAM
• Proven experience building IAM frameworks and controls in regulated environments
• Strong knowledge of ISO 27001, NIST CSF, UAE PDPL and access-control requirements
• Experience with access governance, recertification, and audit support
• Exposure to AI-enabled access analytics and identity automation technologies

Responsibilities

• Build and operate IAM framework, standards, and tooling.
• Manage joiner/mover/leaver provisioning and de-provisioning.
• Administer authentication controls including MFA and secure access.
• Operate PAM controls including session monitoring and Just-In-Time access.
• Conduct regular access reviews and recertification activities.
• Deploy AI-enabled analytics to strengthen monitoring and governance.

Skills

IAM

SSO

MFA

PAM

Access governance

Audit support

AI analytics

Tools

Azure AD

Okta

CyberArk

Job description

We're excited to be partnering with a leading institution in the UAE that is building a digital-first, AI-enabled financial services organisation from the ground up. This is a unique opportunity to join at an early stage and help shape the operational, risk, and security foundations of a business with significant institutional backing and long-term ambition. If you're passionate about identity security, access governance, and building scalable security frameworks, we'd love to hear from you.

As Identity & Access Management Lead, you will be responsible for establishing and operating the bank's Identity & Access Management (IAM) capability from day one. Working closely with the CISO and Information Security team, you'll build the frameworks, controls, and tooling that ensure the right individuals have the right access at the right time, while maintaining strong security, governance, and regulatory compliance.

Responsibilities

• Build and operate the bank's Identity & Access Management framework, standards, and tooling.
• Manage joiner, mover, and leaver processes, ensuring timely provisioning and de-provisioning of access.
• Administer authentication controls, including multi-factor authentication and secure access mechanisms.
• Operate privileged access management controls, including session monitoring, vaulting, just-in-time access, and segregation of duties.
• Conduct regular access reviews and recertification activities, addressing excessive or dormant access.
• Deploy AI-enabled access analytics and automation to strengthen monitoring, anomaly detection, and access governance.

Requirements

• 8+ years of Identity & Access Management or Information Security experience within banking or financial services, including leadership responsibility.
• Deep expertise in IAM platforms, authentication, single sign-on (SSO), multi-factor authentication (MFA), and privileged access management (PAM).
• Proven experience building and operating IAM frameworks and controls within regulated environments.
• Strong knowledge of security standards and regulations, including ISO 27001, NIST CSF, UAE PDPL, and access-control requirements.
• Experience with access governance, access recertification, segregation of duties, and audit support.
• Exposure to AI-enabled access analytics, anomaly detection, and identity automation technologies.