Cloud FinOps Manager

• Employment Type: full time continuing role as a Cloud Financial Operations ( FinOps) Manager, UNSW IT

• Attractive salary package available

• Location: Kensington campus in NSW (Hybrid Flexible Working) 2-3 days in the office

• Strategic Leadership: Provide visionary leadership and strategic direction in cloud financial operations, ensuring alignment of FinOps initiatives with UNSW's overarching IT strategy and spearheading efforts to achieve substantial financial spend reductions across all environments.

• Monitor Cloud Spending: Continuously oversee and analyse cloud spending and resource utilisation, leading efforts to identify trends and inefficiencies. Drive optimisation opportunities by ensuring precise data analysis and maintaining high levels of accuracy and timeliness.

• Cost Optimisation: Develop and implement strategies to ensure the efficient use of cloud services by creating metrics and actionable measures. Lead initiatives such as rightsizing resources, leveraging reserved instances, and eliminating waste, actively ensuring optimisation practices are adopted across all UNSW teams.

• Stakeholder Collaboration: Take responsibility for engaging with senior executives and work closely with in-house developers, faculties, research departments, and application owners to communicate and drive the implementation of cost management best practices.

• Cost Monitoring Tools: Responsible for leading cross-team collaboration to implement and enhance cost monitoring tools, ensuring clear visibility into cloud spending and driving financial accountability.

• Reporting: Develop, maintain and continuously improve automated financial performance reporting and Power BI dashboards, including cloud cost visibility, forecasting, variance analysis and optimisation tracking. Ensure reporting is accurate, timely, scalable and supported by reliable data models and repeatable processes, delivering actionable financial and strategic advice.

• Documentation and Training: Maintain comprehensive documentation of processes and provide training to promote cross-functional collaboration and skill development.

• Continuous Improvement: Stay updated with industry trends and best practices, proactively identifying and leading cost optimisation improvements.

• Vendor Management: Manage vendor relationships and negotiate multi-million dollar contracts to ensure the best terms and conditions for our cloud services.

• Developer Experience: Ensure that cost efficiency is considered as part of the end-to-end developer journey. Regularly gathering feedback from development teams to identify and address pain points and measure the impact of improvements.

• Strategic Advice: Provide strategic advice and guidance to the business to promote cost optimisation strategies and effectiveness, promoting continuous improvement initiatives relating to cloud spend.

• Compliance and Governance: Ensure compliance with UNSW's financial policies and procedures, including cloud cost visibility (allocation, tagging) to allow showback/chargeback mechanisms, cost actuals management, and developing quarterly forecasts.

• Align with and actively demonstrate the Code of Conduct and Values

• Ensure hazards and risks psychosocial and physical are identified and controlled for tasks, projects, and activities that pose a health and safety risk within your area of responsibility.

• Tertiary qualification in Computer Technology (or equivalent), with demonstrated success in an IT environment and managing multiple complex projects in a large and diverse organisation.

• Strong understanding of cloud costs and proficiency in using cloud cost management tools (e.g. AWS Cost Explorer, Azure Cost Management).

• Extensive experience in leading and implementing large-scale financial operations within cloud environments, driving significant cost efficiencies.

• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills to identify cost optimisation opportunities.

• Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills to promote cost-awareness and implement cost-saving measures.

• Demonstrated experience creating and maintaining budgets, forecasts, and financial reports related to cloud usage and expenses.

• Strong hands-on capability using Microsoft Power BI, including data modelling, Power Query and DAX, to design, build, automate, maintain and continuously improve executive and operational reporting and dashboards using multiple data sources.

• Excellent knowledge of cloud pricing models and vendor negotiation strategies.

• A continuous learning mindset to stay updated with industry trends and best practices.

• Hands-on experience with major cloud platforms (e.g. AWS, Azure) and strong technical troubleshooting skills.

• Familiarity with ITIL or other IT service management frameworks.

• Demonstrated experience in establishing cross-functional practices for cloud financial management and cost optimisation.

• Demonstrated ability to drive a culture of proactive cost management.

• Proven ability to influence and negotiate at a senior level.

• Proven ability collaborating with executive leaders to set business priorities that drive cloud cost governance and optimise cloud economics.

• Experience with tools such as Apptio's Cloudability, Datadog and Flexera.

• Advanced written and verbal communications skills, with the ability to influence and negotiate at a senior level.

• An understanding of and commitment to UNSW's aims, objectives and values in action, together with relevant policies and guidelines.

• Knowledge of health & safety (psychosocial and physical) responsibilities and commitment to attending relevant health and safety training.

• Flexible Working Options (work from home, flexible hours etc)

• Career development opportunities

• Additional 3 days of leave over Christmas period

• Discounts and entitlements (retail, education, fitness)

For further details on the benefits, please visit https://www.jobs.unsw.edu.au/lifestyle-benefits

To apply: Please submit your CV, Cover Letter and responses addressing the required Who you are criteria.

Please note: Sponsorship is not available for this role; valid Australian working rights are required on application.

Pre-Employment Checks

As part of our recruitment process candidates may be required to undergo pre-employment screening, which may include reference checks, qualification verification, right-to-work verification, and criminal history screening where relevant to the role.

Contact: Jen MacLachlan - Talent Acquisition Partner- e: j.maclachlan@unsw.edu.au

Please apply through the application portal as we do not accept direct applications to the email above.