Cloud FinOps and Analytics Specialist – Virtual

“This role supports services provided to the federal government or federal government contractor and therefore requires US Citizenship. Proof of citizenship status will be required at time of hire.”

Collect and analyze data to provide financial and operational insights critical to the success of the organization. This will include monitoring cloud usage and spending data to identify cost-saving opportunities. With a heavy focus on the cloud, you will work with a wide range of stakeholders to promote a culture of cost accountability and awareness around cloud consumption. This role will provide financial modeling, budgeting, and forecasting, consumption analysis including KPIs, show back, analytics, and capacity.

You’ll accomplish this through the use of:

• Financial Analytics: Utilize analytical techniques to present information which supports business decisions. Undertakes formatting and communication of results, using textual, numeric, graphical and other visualization methods appropriate to the target audience.
• Financial accountability: Advises on financial planning and budgeting. Directs financial plans and forecasts. Monitors and manages IT expenditure, ensuring that all IT financial targets are met, and examining any areas where budgets and expenditure exceed their agreed tolerances. Advises on the definition and operation of effective financial control and decision making, cloud spending cost models and the allocation and apportionment of all incurred IT costs. Manages actual expenditure, explains variances, and advises on options in use of available budget.
• Cloud Services: Leverage technical expertise to analyze operational systems related to cloud FinOps strategies. Leverage enterprise management tools to assess performance statistics and offer guidance on capacity planning.

Key Functions and Responsibilities:

• Development and Enhancement of Governance Framework: Evolve the cloud financial management framework and governance processes, along with associated toolsets.
• Cloud Cost Optimization: Keep up with the latest cost optimization strategies and technologies.

• Formulate insights and new strategies for cloud optimization, presenting viable solutions to the leadership team.

• Drive FinOps value by aiding customers in understanding their cloud spending aligned with business goals and budget.
• Financial Reporting and Tracking:

• Generate and maintain month-end and quarter-end reports, aligning cloud costs with financial budgets and forecasting.
• Monitor and track customers at risk, initiating the necessary escalation processes.

• Resource Reporting and Optimization

• Provide comprehensive reporting on Azure and AWS resources, furnishing actionable intelligence for optimization efforts.

• Contribute to aligning cloud costs with overall financial budgets, forecasting, and actuals.

• Collaboration and Partnership:

• Work on effective design, analysis, and remediation of control measures in partnership with the global governance team.

• Offer guidance, assess control standards, and procedures.

• Identify emerging risks, threats, and deficiencies in key controls, raise awareness and propose solutions.

Additional Responsibilities:

• Develop dashboards using cloud native tooling and reports to analyze, monitor, and report on Alight’s consumption of Cloud and related services to proactively identify opportunities for optimization.
• Monitor cloud consumption to detect, investigate, manage anomalies alerts and unplanned spikes.
• Work with various stakeholders to help them understand their cloud spend and optimize it based on their unique architecture and desired business outcomes.
• Analyze, report, and produce meaningful insights within cloud platforms and tools, CMDB, and other asset inventories as applicable.
• Support in developing a team with skills required to transition Alight into an organization which has best-in-class approach to technology vendor/partner management.
  Development of and adherence to policies and procedures to ensure all work is executed to a high standard.
• Communicate across multiple internal customer partners, from Product Teams to Finance partners and other key business stakeholders.
• Other duties assigned or required to meet the business needs.

Essentials for success:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, a related field, or applicable work experience.
• 5 years financial operation experience with specific focus on IT and cloud financial management
• 3 years working with Cloud providers to ensure adherence to governance
• Proven track record and experience of Cloud provider tools and billing mechanics.
• Experience managing cloud costing or similar cost consumption and capacity planning models within AWS and Azure
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate with internal/external customers, vendors, management in both formal and informal situations.
• Able to communicate with technical and non-technical audiences at all levels of the organization.
• Able to prioritize and execute tasks, while demonstrating poise in a high-pressure environment.
• Extremely self-motivated and directed, with keen attention to detail.
• Minimal travel required (training/conferences)