Identity Security IAM Specialist

Northwest Partners; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits

Job summary

Northwest Partners is seeking an experienced Identity Security Posture Management Specialist to mature identity security posture across IAM, IGA, and PAM. The role focuses on reducing identity risk, access exposure, and audit risk while driving remediation with owners and leadership.

You will build dashboards, automate checks, and deliver evidence packages for audits, collaborating with security, infrastructure, and governance teams.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of cybersecurity/identity security delivery and risk management experience.
• Strong IAM experience across lifecycle, authentication, authorization, RBAC/ABAC, privileged access, entitlement models, and access reviews.
• CISSP certification is required.
• Experience with identity providers, IGA platforms, PAM platforms, cloud identity constructs, and SaaS administration.
• Proven ability to coordinate remediation with technical and business stakeholders and produce evidence packages for audits.

Responsibilities

• Mature identity security posture management across IAM, IGA, and PAM.
• Identify and track identity exposures and privileged access issues.
• Maintain an identity exposure register with remediation plans and due dates.
• Prioritize identity findings using risk-based methods and coordinate remediation with owners.
• Provide audit-ready reporting and dashboards for internal/external audits.

Skills

IAM

RBAC/ABAC

Privileged access

Access reviews

Automation (PowerShell/Python)

Security risk management

Education

CISSP certification

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

IGA platforms

PAM platforms

Directory services

Cloud identity constructs

Job description

Northwest Partners is supporting a major initiative with a top-tier organization in the insurance space and is looking for an experienced Identity Security Posture Management Specialist to contribute to the success of this work. This role will mature identity security posture management across IAM, IGA, and PAM, driving measurable reduction of identity risk, access exposure, and audit risk.

What YOU will do

• Operate and mature the identity security posture management capability across identity providers, SaaS applications, cloud environments, and critical enterprise systems.
• Continuously identify and track identity exposures, including excessive privileges, dormant accounts, misconfigured administrative roles, weak authentication enforcement, privilege escalation paths, and risky third-party access.
• Maintain an identity exposure register that documents severity, business impact, ownership, remediation plans, and due dates, and drive SLA-based remediation of critical findings.
• Prioritize identity findings using risk-based methods that consider likelihood, impact, exploitability, and business criticality.
• Coordinate remediation with system owners through role redesign, least-privilege enforcement, MFA coverage improvements, privileged role controls, conditional access, and entitlement cleanup.
• Reduce inappropriate access combinations and segregation-of-duties issues where applicable.
• Provide evidence supporting identity-related controls, including privileged access governance, MFA enforcement, access reviews, identity lifecycle controls, and service account governance.
• Produce audit-ready reporting and evidence for internal and external audit and regulatory requirements.
• Connect posture findings to applicable policies, standards, and governance workflows.
• Build and maintain identity security dashboards and key risk indicators covering privileged access, stale accounts, MFA coverage, high-risk entitlements, and remediation cycle time.
• Present identity posture trends, business risk, and remediation progress to security leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Integrate identity posture insights with workflow, SIEM/SOAR, IGA, PAM, and enterprise security platforms.
• Automate repeatable posture checks and reporting using APIs, scripting, queries, and scheduled processes.
• Develop and maintain repeatable playbooks, runbooks, operating procedures, and identity governance documentation.
• Advise application and infrastructure teams on least privilege, role design, privileged access, and authentication hardening.

What YOU will bring us

• 7 or more years of relevant cybersecurity, identity security, IAM, IGA, security operations, or security risk management experience, with hands-on exposure to identity platforms.
• Strong IAM experience across identity lifecycle, authentication, authorization, RBAC/ABAC, privileged access, service accounts, entitlement models, and access reviews.
• CISSP certification.
• Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience in cybersecurity, information security, risk management, governance, or a related discipline.
• Advanced knowledge of cybersecurity controls, technology risk, identity security, and risk management practices.
• Experience interpreting identity-related findings, gathering evidence, assessing risk, and coordinating remediation with technical and business stakeholders.
• Experience with identity providers and directory services, IGA platforms, PAM platforms, cloud identity constructs, and SaaS administrative models.
• Familiarity with at least two identity technology areas such as enterprise directory services, cloud identity platforms, IGA, PAM, or cloud access controls.
• Experience supporting regulated environments and identity-related audit or compliance requirements.
• Experience with identity security posture management, identity exposure management, entitlement risk, identity threat detection, or attack path analysis.
• Practical automation skills using technologies such as PowerShell, Python, KQL, or APIs.
• Strong documentation and reporting skills, including evidence packages, dashboards, executive summaries, and remediation tracking.
• Ability to translate technical identity findings into business risk and communicate effectively with cross-functional stakeholders.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, stakeholder management, and project coordination skills.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively across security, infrastructure, application, and governance teams.

Disclaimer: All candidates will be asked to briefly show a government-issued ID on video during the first interview. This step protects the integrity of the hiring process, given the rise in applicant impersonation and employment fraud.

Benefits Include:

Comprehensive benefits available to full time employees

About Northwest Partners

Northwest Partners is an equal opportunity employer. At Northwest Partners we are dedicated to moving at the speed of innovation. We work with clients across the globe to provide exceptional knowledge, talent, and resources. As a trusted partner, we merge the client's vision with our expertise to deliver powerful results. Northwest Partners is known for building and managing elite teams in technology across diverse industries. Our mission is to empower every talent and every client to achieve more.