VP, IAM User Operations (L14)

Role Title: VP, IAM User Operations (L14)

Company Overview:

Synchrony (NYSE: SYF) is a premier consumer financial services company delivering one of the industry’s most complete digitally enabled product suites. Our experience, expertise and scale encompass a broad spectrum of industries including digital, health and wellness, retail, telecommunications, home, auto, outdoors, pet and more.

• We have recently been ranked #2 among India’s Best Companies to Work for by Great Place to Work. We were among the Top 50 India’s Best Workplaces in Building a Culture of Innovation by All by GPTW and Top 25 among Best Workplaces in BFSI by GPTW. We have also been recognized by AmbitionBox Employee Choice Awards among the Top 20 Mid-Sized Companies, ranked #3 among Top Rated Companies for Women, and Top-Rated Financial Services Companies.
• We offer Flexibility and Choice for all employees and provide best-in-class employee benefits and programs that cater to work-life integration and overall well-being.
• We provide career advancement and upskilling opportunities, focusing on Advancing Diverse Talent to take up leadership roles.

Organizational Overview:

The Identity and Access Management (IAM) team at Synchrony, led by the Head of IAM reporting to the CISO, oversees key security functions. Direct reports specialize in authentication, authorization, privileged access management, special programs, and federated controls governance. This structure ensures comprehensive management of identity and access processes to maintain robust security and compliance across the organization.  This role will be a direct report into the Head of IAM.

Role Summary/Purpose:

The Synchrony Identity and Access Management (IAM) team is seeking an experienced IAM Operations leader to oversee and drive the operations and support of End User IAM Services. This role will lead a team responsible for delivering secure, efficient, and seamless identity and access management experiences for our end users across the organization. Acting as a critical bridge between technology, security, and business stakeholders, you will ensure operational excellence of IAM solutions, streamline user lifecycle processes, and enhance service delivery aligned with our digital transformation goals.

Key Responsibilities:

The ideal candidate for this role will embrace the exciting blend of technical expertise, program management, engagement ability and leadership that is required to be successful.

Specifically,

• Lead and manage the IAM Operations team focused on End User Services, including IAM automation engineers, administrators, and support specialists.
• Oversee day-to-day operations of user identity lifecycle management, access provisioning/de-provisioning, access reviews, self-service workflows, and password management tools.
• Drive continuous improvement in IAM operations by optimizing automation, workflows, and integration with IT service management (ITSM) platforms.
• Collaborate closely with IAM Solution Architects, Security, IT infrastructure, and business partners to ensure operational readiness, platform health, and scalability of IAM solutions.
• Develop and enforce operational standards, SLAs, and KPIs to monitor service performance and user experience quality.
• Lead incident management, root cause analysis, and problem resolution efforts related to end-user identity and access issues.
• Ensure compliance with security policies, privacy regulations, and audit requirements (SOX, GDPR, PCI, NIST).
• Champion adoption of best practices around zero trust, privileged access, and identity governance in daily operations.
• Provide leadership, mentorship, and professional development opportunities for the operations team.
• Partner with automation and DevSecOps teams to deploy and maintain infrastructure-as-code and automated IAM provisioning processes.
• Facilitate communication and training for end-users and support teams to improve IAM awareness and compliance.
• Stay current with emerging IAM operational technologies, tools, and industry trends to continuously enhance the IAM service portfolio.

Required Skills/Knowledge:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Security, or related field; Master’s degree preferred with 10+ years of IT experience with a minimum of 8 years focused on IAM operations and end-user services management.
• Proven experience leading or managing teams responsible for IAM service delivery, identity lifecycle management, and end-user access support.
• Strong communication skills and executive presence needed.
• Knowledge of IAM tool platforms used for standard and privileged access management as well as authentication (ie. Delinea, Okta, SailPoint IIQ)
• Strong working knowledge of IAM tools such as SailPoint, Okta, CyberArk, Delinea, Microsoft Entra ID, and directory services like Active Directory.
• Experience managing identity provisioning, password resets, authentication services, and access governance activities at scale.
• Solid understanding of identity protocols (SAML, OAuth2, OIDC, LDAP, SCIM) in operational contexts.
• Familiarity with cloud IAM models (AWS, Azure, GCP) and integrating hybrid IAM ecosystems operationally.
• Knowledge of automation tools and DevSecOps principles applied in IAM environments (Terraform, Ansible, CI/CD).
• Strong analytical, organizational, and communication skills with proven stakeholder management experience.
• Demonstrated commitment to exceptional customer service and continuous operational improvement.
• Experience working within regulatory frameworks affecting IAM operations such as SOX IT-404, GDPR, PCI, and financial industry controls.

Desired Skills/Knowledge:

• Industry certifications such as CISSP, CISM, CISA, Okta Certified Administrator, SailPoint IdentityIQ Engineer, or similar.
• Experience managing large-scale IAM operational teams in financial services or regulated industries.
• Knowledge of Zero Trust principles as applied to IAM operations.
• Self-starter, able to adapt and thrive in a fast-changing, dynamic environment.

Eligibility Criteria:

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Security, or related field; Master’s degree preferred with 10+ years of IT experience with a minimum of 8 years focused on IAM operations and end-user services management.

Work Timings: 2:00 PM - 11:00 PM IST

(This role qualifies for Enhanced Flexibility and Choice offered in Synchrony India and will require the incumbent to be available between 06:00 AM Eastern Time – 11:30 AM Eastern Time (timings are anchored to US Eastern hours and will adjust twice a year locally). This window is for meetings with India and US teams. The remaining hours will be flexible for the employee to choose. Exceptions may apply periodically due to business needs. Please discuss this with the hiring manager for more details.)

For Internal Applicants:

• Understand the criteria or mandatory skills required for the role, before applying
• Inform your manager and HRM before applying for any role on Workday
• Ensure that your professional profile is updated (fields such as education, prior experience, other skills) and it is mandatory to upload your updated resume (Word or PDF format)
• Must not be any corrective action plan (First Formal/Final Formal, LPP)
• L12+ Employees who have completed 18 months in the organization and 12 months in current role and level are only eligible.
• L12+ Employees can apply

Level/Grade 14

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