Financial Operations Analyst II

Brandwatch • Chicago, IL

13d

About The Position

At Cision, we believe in empowering every individual to make an impact. Here, your voice is heard, your ideas are valued, and your unique perspective fuels our collective success. As part of our global team, you'll thrive in an environment that champions curiosity, collaboration, and innovation, all while making meaningful contributions to the brands we accelerate. Join us in shaping the future of communication and building authentic connections that matter. Whether you're solving complex problems or driving bold innovations, your growth is our success, and together, we’ll create the conversations of tomorrow. Empower your impact at Cision. Be seen, be understood, be you. The position is responsible for driving cloud cost efficiency and financial accountability across the organization by enabling cost visibility, analyzing usage patterns, and partnering with cross-functional teams to embed cost-aware practices into planning, architecture, and operations. The role advances showback/chargeback disciplines, optimizes cloud spend, and supports forecasting and budgeting to ensure scalable, sustainable growth.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Computer Science, or equivalent practical experience.
• 3 + years experience in FinOps, cloud cost management, or adjacent roles analyzing and optimizing cloud spend in AWS/Azure/GCP.
• Proficiency with cloud billing models and cost structures (e.g., on-demand vs. reserved, SPs/committed use).
• Strong analytical skills with advanced Excel and experience in BI/FinOps tools for cost analysis and visualization.
• Familiarity with cloud cost platforms and native tools (e.g., AWS Cost Explorer, Azure Cost Management, Google Billing).
• Effective communicator able to translate technical and financial concepts for engineering and finance stakeholders; collaborative, outcomes-focused working style.

Nice To Haves

• FinOps Certified Practitioner (or similar cloud financial management certification).
• Experience scripting/automating cost data collection and reporting (e.g., Python, provider APIs).
• Experience implementing showback/chargeback, unit cost metrics, and KPI frameworks (e.g., cost per customer, per environment, per feature).
• Exposure to contract/vendor negotiations and rate optimization strategies (e.g., RIs, Savings Plans, committed use, enterprise agreements).
• Knowledge of sustainability metrics (e.g., workload efficiency, scheduling) as part of cost optimization.

Responsibilities

• Increase visibility of cloud spend through clear, insightful reporting and dashboards (e.g., service, environment, team, and product views).
• Analyze usage, trends, and unit economics to identify optimization opportunities (e.g., rightsizing, reservations/savings plans, scheduling, eliminating waste).
• Partner with Engineering and Finance to integrate cost considerations into design decisions, capacity planning, and quarterly/annual budgeting cycles.
• Implement and tune alerts/monitors for spend anomalies; investigate spikes and drive corrective actions with owners.
• Develop cost forecasts and scenarios to inform contracts, vendor negotiations, and growth planning.
• Establish and maintain tagging, allocation, and showback/chargeback standards to improve accountability and decision-making.
• Recommend and operationalize toolsets and automations (e.g., Cost Explorer/Azure Cost Management/GCP Billing, BI tools, scripting) to scale FinOps practices.
• Educate stakeholders on cloud economics, unit metrics, and best practices; cultivate a culture of cost awareness.
• Perform other duties and responsibilities as required to support business needs.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level