Head of Identity and Access Management

Job Description

aberdeen plc is one of Europe’s largest investment companies, and we are built on a long-standing culture of caring about the future and making a positive impact.

Together we invest for a better future. We do it to make a difference to the lives of our clients and customers, our employees, society, and our shareholders. Our business is structured around three distinct areas focused on our clients' changing needs. 

• aberdeen Investments – a leading investment management business looking after £368bn of assets for Institutional, Wholesale and Insurance clients 

• aberdeen Adviser – one of the UK’s largest providers of platform services to financial advisers with £75bn in assets across our Wrap and Elevate platforms 

• interactive investor – the UK’s most trusted investment platform for individual investors with 430,000 customers who have invested almost £75bn with us  

Our strategy is to build a vibrant and value-creating purpose-led organisation, with the current and future needs of our stakeholders at the heart of all we do

About the Department

The Identity and Access Management (IAM) team at Aberdeen plays a crucial role in ensuring the security and integrity of our systems and data. This team is responsible for designing, implementing, and delivering controls that protect against threats while supporting business growth.

About the Role

We are seeking a Head of Identity and Access Management to lead, manage, and develop a team of IAM professionals. The successful candidate will provide strategic leadership, mentorship, and expertise in IAM, while being involved in large-scale enterprise initiatives. This role requires a senior individual who can balance strategic vision with hands-on technical involvement.

Key Responsibilities

• Expertise in IAM: Provide expertise in Identity & Access Management, serving as the primary point of contact and escalation point for IAM capacity within the business.

• Transformation Leadership: Lead transformations across identity governance, privileged access, and customer identity access.

• Team Management and Development: Develop, manage, and lead a team of staff, creating a positive working environment, building relationships with team members, and developing others.

• Strategic Initiatives: Engage in large-scale and enterprise-level initiatives while remaining in touch with the technologies and market surrounding IAM.

About the Candidate

The ideal candidate will possess the following:

• Extensive IAM Experience: Essential experience working within Identity Access, IDAM, IAM, PAM, etc.

• Team Management Experience: Proven experience managing, developing, and mentoring teams of technology staff.

• Adaptability: Experience working in environments of change with a strategic mindset and ability to take a macro/enterprise-level view.

• Strong Communication Skills: Strong people and communication skills are essential.

• Hybrid Work Arrangement: Ability to work on a hybrid basis, with 2-3 days per week in the Edinburgh office.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Committed employer. Therefore, if you have a disability and would like to apply to one of our UK roles under the Disability Confident Scheme, please notify us by completing the relevant section in our candidate questionnaire and one of our team will reach out to support you through your application process.

Our benefits

There's more to working life than coming home with a good salary. We have an environment where you can learn, get involved and be supported.

When you join us, your reward will be one of the best around. This includes 40 days’ annual leave, a 16% employer pension contribution, a discretionary performance-based bonus (where applicable), private healthcare and a range of flexible benefits – including gym discounts, season ticket loans and access to an employee discount portal. You can read more about our benefits here.

Our business

Enabling our clients to be better investors drives everything we do. Our business is structured around three distinct areas – our vectors of growth – focused on our clients’ changing needs. You can find out more about what we do here.

An inclusive way of working

Whatever way you like to work, if you have the talent and commitment to join our team, we’d like to hear from you.

At aberdeen we’ve adopted a ‘blended working’ approach. This approach combines the benefits of face-to-face collaboration, coaching and connecting in our offices with the flexibility of working from home. It enables colleagues to find a balance that works for their roles, their teams, our clients and our business.

An inclusive culture, where diverse perspectives drive our actions, is at the core of who we are and what we do. If you need assistance with your application, or a reasonable adjustment to your interview arrangements – for example, because you are neurodivergent, or have a physical, sensory, cognitive, mental, visible or invisible disability – please let us know and we’ll be happy to help.

We’re committed to providing an inclusive workplace where all forms of difference are valued and which is free from any form of unfair or unlawful treatment.  We define diversity in its broadest sense – this includes but is not limited to our diversity of educational and professional backgrounds, experience, cognitive and neurodiversity, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, religion or belief and ethnicity and geographical provenance.  We support a culture that values meritocracy, fairness and transparency and welcomes enquiries from everyone.If you need assistance or an adjustment due to a disability please let us know as part of your application and we will assist.