Identity & Access Management (IAM) Senior Manager/Director

Role purpose   

Avanade UK Security is scaling fast, requiring a   Director -level Identity & Access Management (IAM) Lead to build a Microsoft-first IAM growth engine across advisory, implementation, and managed services, with a strong bias toward repeatable offers, accelerated conversion, and delivery excellence.   This role is also accountable for positioning Identity   as the control plane for AI-era   security, including Microsoft Agent 365, Copilot-driven workflows, and emerging agent-based architectures, ensuring UK Security is future proofed for the next generation of identity-centric security demand.   

 

This role reports to the UK Security Practice Lead and   leads   presales/solutioning   with a technical Solution Architect and Presales Lead . Furthermore, this role owns   IAM GTM,   delivery quality, capability/IP build while feeding into the Identity MSS module as part of the broader MSS portfolio (separate accountability, tight interlock).  

 

Travel expected for key clients, Microsoft, and   P ractice leadership commitments.  

 

 

Commercial expectations  

This role influences revenue and will carry a soft target aligned to the UK Security all-up plan:  

• Year 1:   $1–2m influenced growth  

• Year 2:   $ 2 – 3 m influenced growth  

 

Success is measured through supporting the sales team to generate pipeline, conversion of pipeline, expansion/attach of existing accounts, and repeatable delivery.  

 

 

Reporting line & operating model  

• Reports to:   UK Security Practice Lead   

• Key peers:   UK   MSS Lead,   UK   Security Presales Lead,   UK   Security Solution Architects   x2   ( UK Solution Architects from   other practices   5 practices – Infrastructure, Software Engineering, Modern Workplace, Data & AI, and Business Applications )  

• People leadership:   No formal line management initially. Expected to act as Career Advisor/People Lead for a small number of individuals (mentorship, development, high-performance standards).  

• Matrix influence:   The Identity Solution   Architect  will   soft-report into the IAM Lead for practice-level IAM direction, consistency, and capability build   while   Security   leadership team members continue to report to the Practice Lead.  

 

 

Success criteria:  

First 6 months  

• A clear IAM “spine” for the practice: what we sell, how we sell it, how we deliver it, and what becomes service   delivered across UK onshore, nearshore delivery centres, and offshore delivery centres.  

• A repeatable presales motion for Entra-led IAM (workshops/assessments/pilots → scaled rollouts) that improves speed and win rate.  

• Delivery governance and QA standards that reduce programme variability and escalations.  

12 months  

• A scaled, Microsoft-first IAM pipeline with a predictable conversion pattern.  

• Demonstrable asset reuse (templates, reference architectures, automation patterns, delivery playbooks).  

• A clear project-to-service pathway into Identity MSS (handover criteria, onboarding artefacts, operational KPIs   etc ).  

24 months  

• UK recognised as a credible IAM leader in regulated industries, with external presence (clients/Microsoft/events) supporting sustained growth.  

 

 

Key responsibilities  

1) IAM GTM & seller enablement (primary)  

• Own the UK IAM narrative and differentiation: Microsoft Entra-first (Entra ID, Entra Suite/E7 positioning, Identity Protection,   governance   and lifecycle foundations   etc. ).  

• Own the UK Security narrative and capability for   identity ‑ centric   AI security, including Microsoft Agent 365, Copilot, and   agent ‑ based   workloads, where identity, permissions, and trust boundaries are the primary control mechanisms.   

• Define how agent identities, agent permissions,   human ‑ to ‑ agent   and   agent ‑ to ‑ agent   trust, and data access are governed,   monitored , and secured using Microsoft Entra and the broader Microsoft Security stack.   

• Ensure IAM offerings explicitly address   AI ‑ driven   risk scenarios, including delegated agent access,   over ‑ privileged   identities, lateral agent movement, and   non ‑ human   identity sprawl.   

• Position Identity as the foundational security layer for AI adoption, pulling through Entra, E7, Purview, Defender, and AI Security conversations as a single, coherent value proposition.  

• Build   IAM ‑ led   GTM plays where AI security, Copilot adoption, and Agent 365 are anchored in identity governance, access control, and trust, positioning IAM as the entry point rather than an implementation afterthought.  

• Build practical seller enablement: talk tracks, qualification prompts, value proof, commercial guardrails, “what good looks like”   etc.  

• Create repeatable plays by industry and account segment where identity is the control plane for transformation and AI adoption.  

 

2) Presales leadership & solutioning  

• Lead solutioning for complex IAM pursuits   with UK IAM Solution Architect : scope, approach, commercials, delivery model, risks, and dependencies.  

• Drive fast, outcome-led client entry motions (e.g., Entra security & resilience assessment, identity modernisation, governance quick starts   etc ).  

• Work with Microsoft where relevant to accelerate co-sell and secure sponsorship (without diluting Microsoft-first stance).  

 

3) Delivery quality, escalation & governance (shared accountability)  

• Own IAM delivery quality and programme health: QA gates, architecture assurance, delivery risk management, and escalation resolution (shared with delivery leads).  

• Ensure delivery standards produce repeatable outcomes and strong client confidence (not bespoke reinvention).  

• Embed modern identity security realities into delivery (identity threat, resilience, response readiness) beyond “implementation complete”   to expand Microsoft security footprint .  

 

4) Capability, assets & IP  

• Build reusable assets across:   

• assessment/diagnostics,  

• reference architectures and design patterns,  

• migration patterns (hybrid/legacy modernisation),  

• automation (PowerShell, Graph/API patterns),  

• runbooks and onboarding templates.  

• Establish a clear lifecycle   across   project → asset → offer → service   to compound   capability   and drive recurring revenue .  

 

5) Identity MSS interlock ( modular   component   of wider   MSS   suite , separate accountability)  

• Define the “handshake” from projects into Identity MSS:   

• what must be true at handover,  

• onboarding artefacts,  

• operational KPIs / reporting,  

• continuous improvement backlog and ownership boundaries.  

• Partner closely with the MSS Lead to ensure Identity MSS is scalable and commercially   viable , without blurring accountability.  

 

6) Partner leverage (where   supporting   Microsoft-first outcomes)  

• Build and   support the Partner Ecosystem team to   manage relevant partner alliances when needed (e.g., migration from non-Microsoft IDPs; selective IGA integration   etc. )   always anchored to a Microsoft-first end state.  

 

7) Culture, leadership & people development (mentorship)  

• Act as a high-trust,   high-autonomy,   high-standards leader who raises quality, pace, and ambition.  

• Provide mentorship and capability development through Career Advisor responsibilities and informal leadership   especially for Solution Architects and emerging IAM talent.  

.

Essential Experience

• Proven   track record   building and scaling IAM capability in a consulting environment: sell + solution + deliver + industrialise.   However, this role primarily focuses on sell, solution and industrialise with minor delivery oversight.  

• Deep Microsoft Entra leadership across:   

• Entra ID security and configuration  

• Conditional Access, authentication strength, Identity Protection  

• Identity governance and lifecycle foundations (JML and provisioning patterns)  

• X-to-Entra migrations, driving Microsoft first identity journeys.  

• Demonstrated ability to translate emerging Microsoft platform shifts (e.g. Agent 365, Copilot,   AI ‑ enabled   security) into credible client narratives, offers, and delivery patterns, with Identity positioned as the primary security control.  

• Strong understanding of workforce IAM and hybrid/legacy identity modernisation (AD and modern identity patterns).  

• Senior stakeholder presence: able to   operate   credibly with CISOs/CIOs and internally influence sellers and architects.  

 

 

Desirable   experience  

• Security operations awareness: monitoring/logging patterns, identity investigations, and integration with broader security services.  

• Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM)/B2C experience.  

 

 

Non-negotiable behaviours (fit & performance)  

• Microsoft-first mindset   as an   exclusive stance .  

• “Start-up mentality”: hungry, creative, ambitious, pace-driven, ownership-led.  

• Able to form and articulate a clear point of view on how identity, AI agents, and automation change the security model, rather than waiting for   vendor ‑ led   narratives.  

• Builds through   others:   sets direction, creates clarity, removes blockers, demands quality   without creating dependency.  

• Comfortable operating in a high-ambition peer group with shared standards   and high autonomy.  

 

 

Measures of success (how performance is judged)  

• Influenced revenue against soft target (pipeline creation and conversion).  

• Win rate and cycle time improvement for IAM pursuits.  

• Delivery health: reduced escalations, stronger QA, predictable outcomes.  

• Reuse rate and adoption of IAM assets/standard approaches.  

• Successful, measurable conversion path from IAM projects into Identity MSS.  

 

.