VP, Head of Technology Cost Management

Jefferies Financial Group•New York, NY

2d•$175,000 - $200,000

About The Position

The Head of Technology Cost & Expense Management is the Technology organization’s single-point owner for expense discipline, cost optimization, and savings delivery. This role is exclusively focused on reducing Technology spend; challenging assumptions, surfacing inefficiencies, eliminating waste, optimizing consumption, and improving vendor economics to drive durable run-rate reductions. Operating as an independent cost challenger, the role establishes a measurable cost-management operating rhythm, builds executive-ready transparency into spend drivers, and partners with IT leaders, Procurement, and Finance to ensure savings are real, realized, attributable, and sustained. This is not a traditional FP&A or budget administration role; it exists internal to Technology to interrogate spend, pressure-test value, and convert insight into measurable cost outcomes.

Requirements

Significant experience in technology expense management, cost optimization, financial governance, procurement/COO functions, preferably in financial services
Demonstrated track record of delivering realized savings through vendor and consumption optimization
Strong commercial judgment and comfort challenging vendor economics and internal assumptions
Highly analytical; able to isolate cost drivers, quantify leakage, and build defensible savings cases
Executive-ready communicator; translates spend detail into crisp decisions and actions
Able to operate with independence and authority in a matrixed environment, driving accountability without direct ownership

Nice To Haves

Experience in investment banking/capital markets Technology organizations
Familiarity with Tech spend constructs and taxonomies (run/change, capex/opex, managed services, licensing, consumption models)
Experience with major spend categories: cloud/infrastructure, software licensing/SaaS, market data, telecom, managed services
Experience operating in regulated environments with strong governance and audit expectations

Responsibilities

Technology Expense & Cost Optimization Own the Technology cost optimization agenda end-to-end, with accountability for: Pipeline management (idea intake → sizing → business case → execution → realization tracking) Expense visibility and cost-driver transparency Savings tracking, validation, and sustainability control
Conduct recurring deep-dive reviews across all major Tech spend categories, including: Run vs. change spend, Managed services / outsourcing / consultants, Vendor contracts, software licensing, SaaS, Infrastructure/cloud consumption (compute, storage, network) Non-compensation operating expenses
Proactively identify and remediate: duplication, excess capacity, under-utilized services, shelfware, fragmented vendors, idle environments, low-value subscriptions, and structural waste
Establish and monitor cost drivers, unit economics, and consumption metrics (where applicable) to enable fact-based challenge of spend levels
Drive run-rate reduction initiatives with clear owners, milestones, and realized outcomes (not just cost avoidance)
Spend Transparency & Executive Management Reporting Build and maintain clear, executive-ready views of Technology spend by: Domain, product/service, platform Vendor/contract, category, run-rate Cost center, run vs. change
Produce monthly executive reporting that highlights: Run-rate movements, key drivers, exceptions, and actions required Savings pipeline health (planned vs. in-flight vs. realized) Top cost risks, emerging pressure points, and decision points
Translate complex cost data into decision-ready narratives that drive action, accountability, and prioritization (not reporting for reporting’s sake)
Financial Governance & Expense Controls (Cost-Focused) Serve as the Technology expense governance lead (in partnership with Tech Finance), ensuring spend is: Intentional, justified, and optimized Evaluated against lower-cost alternatives and reuse options Aligned to cost reduction objectives and standards to prevent proliferation
Own a monthly operating cadence for expense discipline, including: Non-compensation expense deep dives and variance explanations Vendor run-rate reviews, renewal/true-up readiness, and accrual accuracy checks (expense-focused) Corrective action plans for run-rate creep and emerging cost risks
Implement/strengthen key controls where appropriate (e.g., approval workflows, purchasing standards, “no PO/no pay”, renewal calendars, usage validation)
Vendor & Third Party Cost Optimization Partner with Procurement and Technology leadership to improve vendor economics through contract renegotiation, consolidation, and usage optimization. Act as a senior review point for major vendor spend and commercial decisions.
Continuous Cost Improvement Drive ongoing identification of cost optimization opportunities and recommend structural changes that prevent spend re accumulation. Promote sustained expense discipline through repeatable review processes and accountability.