VP, FinOps Program Manager

Job Description:

Role Summary/Purpose:

The VP, Cloud FinOps Program drives cloud cost optimization, transparency, and enterprise-wide governance across all public cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP). This leader operationalizes scalable FinOps processes, partners closely with VPs and business unit heads to define spend strategy, and provides expert guidance on forecasting, budgeting, and cross-functional reporting. By aligning cloud investment with Synchrony’s business strategy, this role manages financial risk and enables transformative change management as our cloud adoption accelerates.  

Our Way of Working

We’re proud to offer you choice and flexibility. At Synchrony, our way of working allows you to have the option to work from home, near one of our Hubs or come into one of our offices. Occasionally you may be required to commute to our nearest office for in person engagement activities such as business or team meetings, training and culture events.

Essential Responsibilities:

• Implement the enterprise Cloud FinOps program roadmap in partnership with Finance, Technology, and Business leaders

• Drive continuous improvement of cloud financial management practices and program maturity, supporting organizational growth and transformation goals

• Foster a culture of cost ownership, accountability, and collaboration

• Oversee regular, rigorous analysis of multi-cloud spend; identify key areas for optimization, waste reduction, and cost avoidance

• Build and own cloud showback models, implement cost allocation strategies, and ensure financial transparency for all teams

• Lead the automation and standardization of cloud spend analytics and dashboarding (native tools and third-party platforms).  Experience with Flexera preferred.

• Partner with infrastructure, engineering, architecture, and vendor management teams to provide financial insights on contract negotiations (e.g., EDPs, MAPs, commit levels)

• Prepare and deliver executive-ready presentations on cloud financial performance, investment trade-offs, and optimization strategies to senior leaders and key stakeholders

• Govern the cadence and process for showback reviews with senior leadership—ensuring actionable insights drive meaningful change; manage execution of tracked optimization recommendations.

• Guide finance and technology teams in transitioning to the variable cloud-spend model, establishing accountability across project and functional teams

• Establish and maintain best-practice governance frameworks aligned to FinOps Foundation standards (FinOps Foundation certification a plus)

• Lead and contribute to the organization’s Cloud Center of Excellence/Working Group, ensuring policies, practices, and guidelines for cloud operations and cost controls are implemented and measured (policy-as-code, WAF cost pillar standards and best practices)

• Champion FinOps culture—develop and deliver tailored training, communications, and change management plans to enable cost-conscious decision-making organization-wide

• Stay current with industry trends, participate in external FinOps communities, and disseminate relevant learnings across the organization

• Perform other duties and/or special projects as assigned.

Qualifications/Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business, IT, Engineering, or related field; and 4+ years of experience in IT finance, cloud financial management, or technical operations with cloud P&L familiarity; or in lieu of degree 8+ years’ experience in financial management, IT finance, or cloud cost management.

• Minimum 4 years of hands-on cloud spend management experience (AWS, Azure, GCP) in large, complex environments

• Demonstrated experience building and/or leading a cloud FinOps team

• Advanced proficiency with cloud financial management tools (AWS Cost Explorer, Azure Cost Management, Flexera, etc.)

• Thorough understanding of cloud architecture, chargeback/showback, tagging, and multi-cloud governance

• Strong business acumen, exceptional communication skills, and proven ability to influence senior stakeholders

Desired Characteristics:

• Master’s degree or MBA preferred

• FinOps Certified Practitioner or Professional highly preferred; cloud vendor certifications a plus (AWS Cloud Practitioner, AWS Solution Architect Associate, Azure Fundamentals, etc…)

• Experience designing, implementing, and operationalizing cloud cost allocation, tagging, and reporting standards in multi-cloud environments