FinOps Expert – Cloud Financial Management

Samaha Consulting; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Job summary

Samaha Consulting seeks a FinOps Expert to drive cloud financial management across the organization, delivering cost visibility, control, and optimization to enable data-driven spending decisions. You will lead governance, forecasting, budgeting, chargeback/showback, and collaborate with engineering, finance, and business teams while translating cloud usage into financial insights for leadership.

Experience with AWS/Azure/GCP, Terraform, and cost-management tools is essential; a proven ability

Qualifications

• Strong hands-on experience with AWS / Azure / GCP cost management.
• Deep understanding of cloud pricing models (compute, storage, networking).
• Experience with container, Kubernetes, and serverless cost optimization.
• Familiarity with Terraform, ARM, CloudFormation (desirable).

Responsibilities

• Establish and mature FinOps practices across cloud platforms.
• Monitor and optimize cloud spend across AWS, Azure, and/or GCP.
• Define governance frameworks, policies, and guardrails.
• Enable budgeting, forecasting, and variance analysis for cloud consumption.
• Develop showback / chargeback models for accountability.
• Create and automate dashboards and reports using FinOps tools.

Skills

AWS cost management

Azure cost management

GCP cost management

Cloud pricing models

Container/Kubernetes cost optimization

Tools

CloudHealth

Apptio

Finout

Kubecost

Harness

Job description

The FinOps Expert is responsible for driving cloud financial management practices across the organization. This role ensures optimal cloud cost visibility, control, and optimization while enabling engineering, finance, and business teams to make data-driven spending decisions. The individual will lead FinOps governance, cost optimization initiatives, forecasting, budgeting, and chargeback/showback models.

Role Summary

The FinOps Expert is responsible for driving cloud financial management practices across the organization. This role ensures optimal cloud cost visibility, control, and optimization while enabling engineering, finance, and business teams to make data-driven spending decisions. The individual will lead FinOps governance, cost optimization initiatives, forecasting, budgeting, and chargeback/showback models.

Key Responsibilities

FinOps & Cloud Cost Management

• Establish and mature FinOps practices (Inform, Optimize, Operate) across cloud platforms.
• Monitor, analyze, and optimize cloud spend across AWS, Azure, and/or GCP.
• Identify cost-saving opportunities through rightsizing, reservations/savings plans, storage optimization, and architectural improvements.
• Implement and maintain cost allocation, tagging, and charging models.

Governance & Financial Controls

• Define cloud financial governance frameworks, policies, and guardrails.
• Enable budgeting, forecasting, and variance analysis for cloud consumption.
• Develop showback / chargeback models to promote accountability.
• Ensure compliance with internal financial controls and audit requirements.

Stakeholder Collaboration

• Partner with Engineering, Architecture, Finance, Procurement, and Business teams.
• Act as a financial advisor to cloud engineering teams.
• Translate technical usage into financial insights for leadership.

Reporting & Analytics

• Create and automate dashboards and reports using tools like CloudHealth, Azure Cost Management, AWS Cost Explorer, Power BI, or FinOps tools.
• Provide executive-level insights on cloud spend trends, anomalies, and ROI.
• Track KPIs such as unit economics, cost per service, and efficiency metrics.

Tools & Automation

• Work with Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) and CI/CD teams to embed cost controls.
• Enable automation for alerts, cost anomaly detection, and budgets.
• Evaluate and onboard FinOps tools as required.

Required Skills & Qualifications

Technical Skills

• Strong hands-on experience with AWS / Azure / GCP cost management.
• Deep understanding of cloud pricing models (compute, storage, networking).
• Experience with container, Kubernetes, and serverless cost optimization.
• Familiarity with Terraform, ARM, CloudFormation (desirable).

Financial & Analytical Skills

• Strong background in financial analysis, budgeting, forecasting, and variance analysis.
• Ability to interpret usage data and convert it into financial insights.
• Experience in IT financial management (ITFM) or technology cost modeling.

Tools

• FinOps tools: CloudHealth, Apptio, Finout, Kubecost, Harness, or similar
• Reporting tools: Power BI, Tableau, Excel (advanced)