Head of Identity Security

ABOUT TIDE

At Tide we help SMEs save time (and money) in the running of their businesses by not only offering business accounts and related banking services, but also a comprehensive set of highly usable and connected administrative solutions from invoicing to accounting.

Tide is transforming the small business banking market with over 1.6 million members globally across the UK, India, Germany and France. Using advanced technology, all solutions are designed with SMEs in mind. With quick onboarding, low fees and innovative features, we thrive on making data-driven decisions to help SMEs save both time and money.

Tide facts:

• Tide is available for UK, Indian, German and French SMEs
• Over 1.6 million members: 800,000 UK and 800,000 in India and growing rapidly
• Over $200 million raised in funding
• Over 2500 Tideans globally - we’re diversity champions!
• We have offices in Central London, with a member support and technology centre in Sofia, Bulgaria, technology centres in Serbia, Romania, Lithuania and Hyderabad and offices in Gurugram and New Delhi, India

ABOUT THE TEAM

Tide's Security Engineering team is made up of three core areas: Product Security, Identity, Threat Detection & Response.

Product Security consists of application and cloud security experts. Their mission is to protect the products we build, covering everything from secure design reviews to threat modelling and penetration testing, ensuring security is embedded from the ground up.

Threat Detection & Response focuses on protecting the company by building a robust detection and automation platform. We’re proactive in our defence, constantly hacking ourselves to improve our security posture and staying ahead of emerging threats. Our goal is to make Tide resilient against the ever-evolving threat landscape.

Identity (the area this role will lead!) is responsible for Identity across Tide. Everything from managing Okta to provisioning modern access control patterns for newly deployed applications is within scope of this team. The team uses strategies like zero trust, Just-in-Time access, and granular access controls to safeguard our internal operations.

While each area has its own focus, collaboration is key – it's why we share the same Slack channel and hold our standups together as one cohesive team, ensuring alignment and seamless communication across all security functions.

ABOUT THE ROLE

As the Head of Identity, you will own Tide’s entire Identity strategy and execution. You will define how access is designed, governed, and automated across all systems, applications, and cloud environments. This is a highly hands-on leadership role, blending strategic direction with deep technical delivery across the Identity stack.

As the Head of Identity, you’ll be:

• Own and lead Tide’s Identity strategy end-to-end, ensuring secure, scalable, and automated access across all systems and environments.
• Set and enforce enterprise standards for authentication, authorisation, and access governance aligned with Zero Trust and least-privilege principles.
• Own and mature Tide’s Identity ecosystem (Okta and related tooling), ensuring strong governance and continuous modernisation.
• Integrate applications and implement advanced access controls, including just-in-time access and granular entitlements.
• Shape architectural decisions across authentication, authorisation, and identity lifecycle management.
• Deploy modern access controls (e.g., phishing-resistant MFA) and evaluate emerging identity technologies.
• Drive automation-first identity operations, eliminating manual workflows through IaC and policy-as-code.
• Partner with senior technology and business leaders to embed identity as a core enabler of security and operational efficiency.
• Lead and develop the Identity Engineering team, driving high performance and engineering excellence.
• Serve as Tide’s authority on Identity, uplifting best practices and strengthening the company’s security posture.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

• 10+ years’ experience in Identity Engineering / IAM, with a strong record of delivering enterprise-scale identity initiatives.
• Ability to define and execute Identity strategies and lead high-performing technical teams.
• Expert-level hands-on experience with modern IDPs (Okta preferred or similar), including complex integrations, federation, and platform governance.
• Deep understanding of OAuth 2.0, OIDC, SAML and strong architectural judgment across authentication and authorisation.
• Terraform expertise is essential, with the ability to design and maintain Identity infrastructure using Infrastructure-as-Code.
• Scripting/programming capability is mandatory, with experience automating identity workflows and solving complex lifecycle challenges.
• Hands-on experience implementing Zero Trust, least privilege, just-in-time access models, and granular entitlements.
• Strong leadership and mentoring capability, elevating engineering quality and team performance.
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder management, with the ability to influence senior leaders and simplify complex topics.
• A strong ownership mindset, combining strategic vision with hands-on delivery to achieve measurable outcomes.

WHAT YOU’LL GET IN RETURN

Our location-specific employee benefits are designed to cater to the unique needs of Tideans: 

• Competitive Compensation -  competitive salary and share options.
• Time Off – Generous annual leave on top of bank holidays.
• Parental Leave – Paid maternity, paternity, and adoption leave to support your family journey.
• Sabbatical – Extended unpaid and paid leave options after completing milestone years with Tide.
• Health Insurance – Private family insurance with additional OPD coverage and top-up options.
• Life & Accident Cover – Comprehensive accidental and life insurance protection.
• Mental Wellbeing – Access to therapy sessions, courses, meditations, and workshops.
• Volunteering & Development Days – Paid days annually for volunteering or personal growth.
• Learning & Development – Annual budget for books, courses, coaching, and more.
• WOO (Work Outside the Office) – Work from abroad for up to 90 days annually.
• Home Office Setup – Contribution towards setting up your home office
• Laptop Ownership – Keep your old laptop and get a new one when it’s time for a replacement.
• Snacks & Meals – Office perks with snacks, coffee, tea, and lunch (location dependent).

TIDEAN WAYS OF WORKING

At Tide, we champion a flexible workplace model that supports both in-person and remote work to cater to the specific needs of our different teams. 

While remote work is supported, we believe in the power of face-to-face interactions to foster team spirit and collaboration. Our offices are designed as hubs for innovation and team-building, where we encourage regular in-person gatherings to foster a strong sense of community. #LI-AC1 #LI-Hybrid

TIDE IS A PLACE FOR EVERYONE

At Tide, we believe that we can only succeed if we let our differences enrich our culture. Our Tideans come from a variety of backgrounds and experience levels. We consider everyone irrespective of their ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, family or parental status, national origin, veteran, neurodiversity or differently-abled status. We celebrate diversity in our workforce as a cornerstone of our success. Our commitment to a broad spectrum of ideas and backgrounds is what enables us to build products that resonate with our members’ diverse needs and lives. 

We are One Team and foster a transparent and inclusive environment, where everyone’s voice is heard.

 

At Tide, we thrive on diversity, embracing various backgrounds and experiences. We welcome all individuals regardless of ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. Our inclusive culture is key to our success, helping us build products that meet our members' diverse needs. We are One Team, committed to transparency and ensuring everyone’s voice is heard.

• Tide does not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process.
• All official Tide job opportunities are listed exclusively on our Careers Page and applications should be submitted through this channel.
• Communication from Tide will only come from an official @tide.co email address.
• Tide does not work with agencies or recruiters without prior formal engagement, and we do not authorize third parties to make job offers on our behalf.

If you are contacted by anyone misrepresenting Tide or requesting payment, please treat it as fraudulent and report it to us immediately at talent@tide.co
Your safety and trust are important to us, and we are committed to ensuring a fair and transparent recruitment process.

 

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