AVP, FinOps Program Leader (L10)

Job ID: 2500733

Job Description:

Role Title: AVP, FinOps Program Leader (L10)

Company Overview:

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.
• Synchrony celebrates ~51% women diversity, 105+ people with disabilities, and ~50 veterans and veteran family members.
• 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 AVP, FinOps Program Leader is part of the Synchrony Technology and Operations Governance Team, serving as the cloud cost program leader and providing management of multi-cloud platforms, services, systems, and best practices at Synchrony. The candidate would have an engineering position focused on delivering critical/key enterprise cost control data and insights. The candidate is expected to have knowledge of cloud architecture principles, operational models, and technical workflows as well as financial planning and analysis (FP&A), cloud budgeting, forecasting, and optimization.

Role Summary/Purpose:

The AVP, FinOps Program Leader is responsible for helping drive the optimization of cloud computing costs within the organization, bridging the gap between the finance team and engineering by analyzing cloud usage data to identify cost-saving opportunities and key insights. The role requires strong process leadership and cross functional collaboration with Finance, Engineering, Operations, IT, and various business stakeholders to help implement industry standard FinOps practices. This role will support and manage cloud spending and help align cloud financial strategies with organizational goals and regulatory requirements.

Essential Responsibilities:

• Monitor and analyze cloud spending across different services and teams to identify areas for cost optimization. 
• Develop accurate cloud cost forecasts and budgets based on historical usage data and future projections. 
• Create insightful reports and dashboards to communicate cloud costs and usage trends to relevant stakeholders. 
• Drive the implementation of systems to allocate cloud costs accurately across different teams and projects. 
• Help establish and manage cost allocation models and dashboards that aligns cloud financial management with business objectives to ensure transparency.
• Collaborate with cross functional teams including Finance, Engineering, Operations and Technology teams to drive cost optimization initiatives.
• Provide governance for cloud spending, analyze spend patterns and trends, identify opportunities for cost optimization, and implement industry standard best practices for financial accountability.
• Develop automation to identify and eliminate unused or idle cloud resources.
• Partner with technical and financial teams to promote cost awareness and ensure cost optimization strategies are implemented effectively.
• Support the creation and delivery of cost training programs to educate teams and stakeholders on FinOps methodologies and cost awareness.
• Provide communications to stakeholder groups based on their needs and expectations.
• Define, track, and monitor key performance indicators and metrics to track costs and drive efficiency.
• Create heat maps to visualize computing demand and identify potential cost-saving opportunities.
• Identify variances and provide insights, analysis and recommendations that inform strategic decision-making.
• Provide detailed financial reports, updates and presentations of modeling forecasts to senior management and key internal and external stakeholders.
• Perform other duties and/or special projects as assigned. 

Qualifications/Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, IT, Business Administration, Engineering or related field and a minimum of 5+ years of experience in financial management, IT finance, or cloud cost management.or in lieu of degree 7+ years’ experience in financial management, IT finance, or cloud cost management.
• Minimum 2+ years of experience operating in a cloud environment, specifically AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), or similar programs.
• Minimum 3+ years of experience with finance and IT systems, ERP systems (SAP, Oracle, etc.), and financial reporting systems.
• Proficiency with financial planning and analysis (FP&A), cloud budgeting, and forecasting.
• In-depth understanding of cloud architecture principles, operational models, and technical workflows.

Desired Characteristics:

• Ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment. 
• FinOps Certified Practitioner industry standard experience.
• Experience with cloud cost management tools (e.g., AWS Cost Explorer, Azure Cost Management, Google Cloud Billing, or third-party solutions like Flexera, Cloudability, etc.).
• Cloud Certifications: AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Microsoft Azure Fundamentals, Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect.
• Experience implementing and optimizing cloud cost allocation and transparency models.
• In-depth understanding of cloud governance and compliance principles. 

Eligibility Criteria:

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, IT, Business Administration, Engineering or related field and a minimum of 5+ years of experience in financial management, IT finance, or cloud cost management.or in lieu of degree 7+ years’ experience in financial management, IT finance, or cloud cost management.

Work Timings:

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, PIP)
• L8+ Employees who have completed 18 months in the organization and 12 months in current role and level are only eligible.
• L08+ Employees can apply

Grade/Level: 10

Job Family Group:

Information Technology