Identity Program Lead

This role owns an enterprise identity governance and entitlement management program from strategy through go-live and transition to operations. As product owner and decision coordinator, the lead aligns Information Security, IT, HR, Compliance, application owners, a managed services partner, and implementation vendors across the Customer Identity and Access Management and Identity Governance Lifecycle implementations. Logistics: Remote, contract (US). Must be located within driving distance of CT for quarterly site visits. Here's what you'll be doing: Own the workstream vision, roadmap, delivery backlog, priorities, acceptance criteria, decisions, risks, and dependencies Lead recurring status, requirements, design, governance, and decision forums, and report progress, blockers, and recommendations to program and security leadership Coordinate delivery across Information Security, IT, HR, Compliance, Legal/Privacy, business teams, application owners, technical SMEs, a managed identity services partner, and implementation partners Review and formally approve deliverables with traceability from requirements through design, testing, deployment, and operational handoff Sequence dependencies with Salesforce Financial Services Cloud and nCino role and profile design, the customer portal, CIAM and fine-grained authorization, integrations, and data initiatives Direct IGA platform selection and implementation against business, technical, integration, security, and operational requirements Establish governance for authoritative identity sources, joiner/mover/leaver lifecycle states, access requests, approvals, provisioning and deprovisioning, access certification, RBAC, separation of duties, reporting, and exception management Build entitlement models that support least privilege, need-to-know access, customer data protection, segregation of duties, and auditable approvals Oversee non-human identity and service account governance, including inventory, ownership, lifecycle policy, and accountable use Define decision rights and ownership for identity policies, roles, entitlements, certifications, exceptions, and application onboarding Oversee authoritative source integration and phased onboarding of prioritized business applications Direct business testing, including test planning, requirements traceability, defect remediation, integration validation, rollback planning, security validation, and go-live readiness Coordinate release and environment promotion for access control changes and verify reconciliation, monitoring, and operational support Deliver hypercare, operational runbooks, application onboarding guides, configuration documentation, and knowledge transfer Partner with GRC, Compliance, Legal/Privacy, and Internal Audit on control design, access reviews, separation of duties, evidence, reporting, and regulatory readiness Establish KPIs and KRIs for access requests, lifecycle timeliness, certification completion, provisioning exceptions, reconciliation, policy violations, and application onboarding Drive corrective actions, escalate unresolved decisions, and mature identity governance based on audit results, incidents, stakeholder feedback, and evolving threats And what you need to have: Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Cybersecurity, Computer Science, or a related field (Master's or equivalent experience preferred)8+ years of progressive experience in IAM, IGA, cybersecurity, enterprise applications, or technology program delivery 3+ years leading complex cross-functional identity initiatives or serving as an IAM/IGA product owner Working knowledge of Sail Point, Saviynt, Microsoft Entra ID Governance, Okta, or comparable IGA platformsIGA operating models and lifecycle governance, RBAC, ABAC, ReBAC, separation of duties, access certification, privileged and non-human identity governanceAPI and application integration conceptsNIST CSF, NIST SP 800-53, FFIEC, and sector regulator expectations Proven ability to manage vendors and hold service providers accountable for deliverables and operational readiness Regulated financial services experience and managed service provider coordination strongly preferred Preferred certifications: CISSP, CISM, CRISC, CISA, CGEIT, or an IGA/IAM platform certification; PMP, PMI-ACP, or Certified Scrum Product Owner No CTC or sponsorship at this time.