FINOPS AND AI OPTIMISATION SPECIALIST

Environmental Resources Management (ERM); India; On-site; INR 3,000,000 - 6,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Environmental Resources Management (ERM) is seeking a FinOps & AI Optimisation Specialist to lead cloud and AI investments across a global enterprise. This role sits at the intersection of finance, technology, procurement, and strategy, delivering measurable business value and governance.

You will drive cost transparency, establish chargeback models, and provide data-driven insights to leaders. A strong FinOps, cloud, and AI platform background is essential to enable responsible, scalable

Qualifications

• 5+ years of FinOps, cloud cost management, or related experience.
• Strong knowledge of AWS, Azure, and GCP cost-management principles.
• Experience governing or optimising enterprise AI platforms (e.g., Copilot, OpenAI, Claude).
• Proficient in budgeting, forecasting, and cost modelling.
• Experience with Power BI, SQL, and Excel for reporting.
• Excellent analytical and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to translate complex concepts into business recommendations.

Responsibilities

• Lead FinOps practices across cloud and AI platforms.
• Monitor and report cloud and AI spending trends to identify optimization opportunities.
• Develop insights on AI tool consumption, business value, and licensing efficiency.
• Design transparent cost allocation and chargeback models.
• Collaborate with engineering and business teams to promote cost-efficient architectures.
• Ensure compliance with data governance, privacy, and responsible AI policies.
• Present insights to senior leadership and budget owners.
• Support annual budgeting and long-term investment planning for cloud, SaaS, and AI.

Skills

FinOps

Cloud cost management

Budgeting & forecasting

AWS

Azure

GCP

AI governance

Power BI

Excel

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Finance, or related quantitative discipline

Tools

CloudHealth

Apptio Cloudability

TBM

Job description

FinOps & AI Optimisation Specialist

Shape the Future of Technology Investment

As organisations accelerate their adoption of cloud technologies and AI-powered solutions, the need for strategic financial oversight has never been greater. ERM is seeking an experienced FinOps & AI Optimisation Specialist to lead the optimisation of cloud and AI investments, ensuring every dollar spent delivers measurable business value. This is a unique opportunity to sit at the intersection of finance, technology, procurement, and business strategy, influencing how cloud platforms and enterprise AI tools are governed, adopted, and optimized across a global organisation. If you are passionate about driving financial accountability, enabling innovation, and helping leaders make smarter technology investment decisions, we'd love to hear from you.

Why This Role Matters?

Cloud and AI technologies are transforming how organisations operate, innovate, and grow. As ERM continues to expand its digital capabilities, we need a trusted expert who can create visibility into technology spending, optimise costs, strengthen governance, and ensure investments generate real business outcomes. In this role, you will help shape the future of our cloud and AI strategy by balancing innovation with financial discipline, enabling sustainable and responsible technology growth across the business.

What Your Impact Is:

• Drive measurable savings and efficiency improvements across cloud platforms and enterprise AI tools.
• Increase financial transparency through robust cost allocation, reporting, and chargeback models.
• Help business leaders make informed technology investment decisions through actionable insights and forecasting.
• Establish governance frameworks that promote responsible and compliant AI adoption.
• Partner with technical and business teams to create cost-aware technology solutions without compromising innovation.
• Provide strategic recommendations to senior leaders on cloud, SaaS, and AI investments.
• Strengthen organisational accountability by improving visibility into technology consumption, adoption, and business value.

What You’ll Bring:

• Required Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Finance, or a related quantitative discipline.
• 5+ years of experience in FinOps, cloud cost management, technology financial management, or a related field.
• Strong knowledge of AWS, Azure, and GCP platforms, including cloud billing and cost-management principles.
• Experience implementing and managing FinOps practices, frameworks, and optimisation initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience governing, monitoring, or optimising enterprise AI platforms such as Microsoft Copilot, Azure OpenAI, Claude Enterprise, ChatGPT Enterprise, or similar technologies.
• Strong understanding of budgeting, forecasting, financial analysis, and cost modelling.
• Experience using reporting and analytics tools such as Power BI, SQL, Excel, or similar platforms.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, stakeholder management, and communication skills.
• Ability to translate complex financial and technical concepts into clear business recommendations.
• Experience influencing senior stakeholders and cross-functional teams without direct authority.
• Preferred FinOps Foundation certification (e.g., FinOps Certified Practitioner).
• Experience with cloud cost-management tools such as CloudHealth, Apptio Cloudability, or equivalent solutions.
• Knowledge of Technology Business Management (TBM) principles.
• Experience developing governance frameworks for enterprise AI adoption and usage controls.
• Experience within a consulting, professional services, or global matrix organisation.
• Familiarity with data governance, privacy, security, and responsible AI practices.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the implementation and continuous improvement of FinOps practices across cloud and AI platforms.
• Monitor, analyse, and report on cloud and AI spending trends, identifying opportunities for optimisation and cost reduction.
• Develop actionable insights on AI tool consumption, adoption, business value, and licensing efficiency.
• Design and maintain transparent cost allocation and chargeback models that improve accountability across business units.
• Partner with engineering and development teams to promote cost-efficient architecture and operational best practices.
• Support compliance with data governance, privacy, security, and responsible AI policies.
• Serve as the subject matter expert for FinOps and enterprise AI cost governance.
• Develop and maintain processes for AI tool selection, approval, monitoring, and lifecycle management.
• Establish controls to track approved AI tools, monitor adoption, manage spend, and identify unauthorised usage.
• Collaborate with finance, procurement, technology leaders, and business stakeholders to improve cost transparency and decision-making.
• Present spending insights, forecasts, risks, and optimisation opportunities to senior leadership and budget owners.
• Support annual budgeting, forecasting, and long‑term investment planning across cloud, SaaS, and AI platforms.
• Stay informed on emerging trends in FinOps, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence, recommending innovative approaches that drive value.
• Influence strategic technology investment decisions through data‑driven recommendations and financial insights.
• Translate complex analyses into clear, compelling business cases and actionable outcomes.
• Recommend optimisation priorities, governance controls, and investment strategies that balance cost, risk, and value.
• Escalate material cost, compliance, governance, or value‑realisation concerns with clear evidence and practical solutions.

Influence & Decision‑Making

Build trust and credibility with senior leaders, technology teams, budget owners, and business stakeholders.

Influence strategic technology investment decisions through data‑driven recommendations and financial insights.

Translate complex analyses into clear, compelling business cases and actionable outcomes.

Recommend optimisation priorities, governance controls, and investment strategies that balance cost, risk, and value.

Escalate material cost, compliance, governance, or value‑realisation concerns with clear evidence and practical solutions.

Join ERM and play a pivotal role in helping a global organisation maximise the value of its cloud and AI investments while enabling responsible innovation at scale.

At ERM, sustainability is our business. We are the world's largest advisory firm focused solely on sustainability, offering unparalleled expertise across business and finance. ERM partners with clients to operationalise sustainability at pace and scale, through our unique combination of strategic transformation and technical delivery capabilities. Our diverse global team of experts works with the world's leading organisations to help them set clear sustainability targets, measure progress and operationalise strategy through deep implementation and business transformation. With more than 50 years of experience, our ability to integrate sustainability solutions and our depth and breadth of technical knowledge are why organisations choose to partner with us as their trusted advisor. Every one of us firmly believes in the potential to create value for our clients through an integrated approach to sustainability (because we have personally seen it and professionally achieved it). Our team members are passionate about client service. We work closely with our clients to help them operationalise their sustainability goals and meet their environmental, health and safety objectives while advancing ERM’s purpose through delivering tangible progress in what the United Nations coined The Decade of Action.

Organising our people across globally integrated communities of technical and strategic talent positions ERM to be a "boots to boardroom" leader in bringing that value creation to our clients, partners, and the world. We recruit exceptional professionals with a personal and professional passion for sustainability and nurture them to even greater success as specialists. We prepare our consultants to bring integrated, innovative and sustainable solutions to our clients and provide opportunities for ongoing development across a variety of subject areas related to technical, business, and personal growth. At ERM, effort pays off and becomes career defining work that leaves a positive imprint on our planet.