Cloud Services Finance Operator

Allwyn UK; Watford; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Cloud Finance Operator to oversee cloud costs in a transformative journey for the National Lottery. This role is pivotal in bridging finance and technology, ensuring that cloud expenditures align with projected budgets and financial goals. You will collaborate with various stakeholders to optimize resource allocation, implement governance policies, and drive cost-saving initiatives. Join a forward-thinking organization dedicated to inclusivity and making a positive impact on society. If you are passionate about cloud technologies and financial operations, this is an exciting opportunity to contribute to a meaningful cause.

Qualifications

• 3-5+ years of hands-on experience with AWS and Azure.
• Experience in financial analysis, budgeting, and forecasting.
• Familiarity with cloud cost optimization tools and techniques.

Responsibilities

• Manage cloud budgets and perform variance analysis.
• Identify and implement cost-saving opportunities in the cloud.
• Create dashboards for utilization and cost usage.

Skills

AWS

Azure

FinOps

Financial Analysis

Budgeting

Forecasting

Data Analysis

Problem-Solving

Analytical Skills

Cloud Cost Optimization

Education

Relevant Cloud Certifications

Degree in Finance or IT

Tools

Tableau

PowerBI

SQL

Terraform

Cloudability

CloudHealth

AWS Cost Explorer

Job description

Join our journey to create a new experience for the National Lottery and help us to power change for the greater good.

ABOUT US:

We are Allwyn UK, part of the Allwyn Entertainment Group – a multi-national lottery operator with a market-leading presence in Austria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Cyprus and Italy. We are the operator of the Fourth Licence (10 year licence) for the National Lottery since February 2024.

We’ve developed ground-breaking technologies, built player protection frameworks, and have a proven track record of making lotteries better. Our aim is to create one of the UK’s most inclusive organisations – where people can bring the best of themselves, to do their best work, every day, for the benefit of good causes.

While the main contribution of the National Lottery to society is through the funds to good causes, at Allwyn we put our purpose and values at the heart of everything we do. Join us as we embark on a once-in-a-lifetime, large-scale transformation journey to build a bigger, better, and safer National Lottery that delivers more money to good causes.

ROLE PURPOSE:

As Allwyn transitions the vast majority of its technology services from on premise into a multi-cloud environment, Cloud cost control and cost optimisation becomes ever more important due to the shift from a Capex to an Opex based model and the fact that Cloud providers are not incentivised to reduce Cloud costs.

FinOps (Financial Operations) bridges the gaps between Finance, Technology and Business Operations in cloud environments.

As the Cloud Finance Operator (FinOp), you will help oversee the day to day running costs across both the Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure Cloud infrastructure.

You will work alongside your colleagues in the Cloud Centre of Excellent function to understand costs and ultimately set targets, identify best practices and provide options to drive cost savings and optimisation.

Working closely with the Director of Technology Operations, Head of Cloud, Finance partners and other business stakeholders to ensure actual spend is in line with projected targets and financial projections and on track with any agreed discount programs.

ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Financial Planning
• Develop and maintain cloud cost forecasting across AWS and Azure
• Manage cloud budgets
• Perform variance analysis of actuals Vs forecast Cost Optimisation
• Identify and implement cost saving opportunities in the cloud
• Optimize resource allocation and utilisation
• Implement resource scheduling
• Identify and remove unwanted / unused resources
• Create dashboards for utilisation and cost usage
• Develop reports for different business stakeholders
• Implement tagging for cross charging
• Create and enforce governance policies
• Implement approval process
• Implement and define charge back model
• Support contract negotiations
• Manage EDP’s
• Review and validate invoices

KEY SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

CLOUD TECHNOLOGY EXPERIENCE:

• 3-5+ years of hands-on experience with major cloud platforms (AWS, Azure)
• Understanding of cloud architecture, services, and pricing models
• Familiarity with containerization and serverless technologies
• Experience in financial analysis, budgeting, and forecasting
• Understanding of cost allocation methodologies
• Knowledge of financial reporting and accounting principles
• Proficiency in data analysis and visualization tools (e.g., Tableau, PowerBI)
• Experience with SQL and database querying
• Ability to work with large datasets and derive meaningful insights
• Hands-on experience with FinOps platforms (e.g., Cloudability, CloudHealth, AWS Cost Explorer)
• Familiarity with cloud cost optimization tools and techniques
• Basic programming skills, particularly in languages used for automation (Python, Bash)
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools like Terraform or CloudFormation
• Understanding of how cloud costs impact overall business performance
• Experience managing cost optimization projects
• Familiarity with Agile methodologies
• Experience in negotiating with cloud providers
• Understanding of cloud provider pricing structures and discount programs
• Knowledge of cloud governance best practices
• Experience in creating and presenting executive-level reports
• Experience in identifying and resolving cloud cost anomalies
• Relevant cloud certifications (e.g., AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, Google Cloud Platform Financial Management)
• FinOps Foundation Certification is increasingly valued
• Demonstrated ability to keep up with rapidly evolving cloud technologies and pricing models
• Experience in automating cost reporting and optimization processes
• Understanding of CI/CD pipelines and how they relate to cloud costs
• Knowledge of how to balance cost optimization with performance requirements
• Experience in rightsizing cloud resources
• Experience in implementing FinOps practices across an organization

KEY MEASURES OF SUCCESS:

• Highly motivated and results driven individual
• Ability to communicate complex financial and technical concepts to various stakeholders
• Delivering Solutions (Planning & Organising): Prioritises and organises own work to meet agreed upon deadlines and quality/accuracy standards
• Delivering Solutions (Continuous Improvement & Process): Highlights new opportunities to continuously improve current working practices within own team
• Impact (Decision Making): Makes decisions related to own work and the team. Receives regular but moderate advice and guidance, both from management and the architecture function.
• Impact (Influence): Provides information and advice to business customers on basic product/service offerings. Is aware of the effect of actions on external relationships.
• Ability to translate technical concepts into business value
• Ability to influence decision-making across different departments
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Ability to drive cultural changes towards cost-awareness in cloud usage
• Clear, accurate and auditable cloud finances

OUR GOAL IS TO CREATE ONE OF THE UK’S MOST INCLUSIVE ORGANISATIONS – WHERE PEOPLE CAN BRING THE BEST OF THEMSELVES, TO DO THEIR BEST WORK, EVERY DAY, FOR THE BENEFIT OF GOOD CAUSES.

Allwyn is an Equal Opportunity Employer which prides itself in being diverse and inclusive. We do not tolerate discrimination, harassment, or victimisation in the workplace. All employment decisions at Allwyn are based on the business needs, the job requirements, and the individual qualifications. Allwyn encourages applications from individuals regardless of age, disability (visible or hidden), sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships.