Cloud Optimisation Specialist

SUMMARY:
We are seeking a highly skilled Cloud Optimisation Specialist.

POSITION INFO:

We are seeking a highly skilled Cloud Optimisation Specialist to lead a comprehensive cloud cost diagnostic and optimisation initiative across a complex, multi-country environment.

This role will focus on analysing cloud spend, identifying optimisation opportunities, and designing a sustainable FinOps operating model that aligns technology, finance and business stakeholders.

The successful candidate will combine deep cloud platform expertise with strong financial acumen and stakeholder management skills to drive cost transparency, reduce waste, and support informed executive decision-making across the organisation.

This role is based in Cape Town, onsite and is an initial 6-month contract.

1. Cloud Spend Analysis & Financial Governance

• Analyse 12-24 months of cloud billing data across accounts, subscriptions, business units and countries.
• Build cost baselines, trend analyses, unit economics and financial models.
• Map spend to owners using tagging and allocation frameworks.
• Identify anomalies, spikes, runaway workloads and dark spend.

1. Cost Optimisation Diagnostics

• Perform compute rightsizing analysis across VMs, containers and serverless workloads.
• Assess storage usage, data tiering, snapshot policies, orphaned assets and archival strategies.
• Evaluate network and egress costs; identify avoidable inter-region and cross-AZ traffic patterns.
• Quantify savings from scheduling (non-prod), reservation/commitment strategies, platform simplification and tooling optimisation.

1. Architecture Cost Review

• Evaluate architectural patterns for resilience, scale, DR and data replication costs.
• Identify high-cost designs (e.g., oversized Kubernetes clusters, redundant pipelines, legacy platforms).
• Recommend alternative patterns and platform choices that reduce cost while maintaining performance and compliance.

1. FinOps Operating Model Design

• Define governance, RACI, KPIs and reporting structures for sustainable FinOps practices.
• Recommend dashboards for CIO, CFO, ExCo, and technical teams (tagging compliance, savings pipeline, forecast vs actual).
• Set up collaboration rhythms between Architecture, Finance, Engineering and BU owners.

1. Risk Management

• Develop a cloud financial risk register and quantify monetary exposure.
• Identify security, resilience, DR and capacity risks with cost implications.
• Recommend mitigation options and align them to risk appetite and regulatory expectations.

1. Stakeholder Management & Communication

• Lead interviews and workshops with technical and business stakeholders across RoA.
• Translate technical findings into business-ready language for ExCo and Finance.
• Facilitate prioritisation and decision-making for savings initiatives.

1. Delivery of Final Artefacts

• Prepare detailed diagnostic reports, savings catalogue and roadmap.
• Produce an executive summary and ExCo presentation.
• Support handover into operational teams.

Key Skills & Experience

Cloud Platform Expertise

• Deep hands-on knowledge of AWS, Azure or GCP billing, architecture and cost optimisation levers.
• Strong understanding of cloud compute, storage, network, containers, serverless and managed services.

FinOps Competencies

• Cost allocation, show back/chargeback models and cloud finance governance.
• Experience using tools such as AWS Cost Explorer, Azure Cost Management, GCP Billing Explorer, Cloud Health, Cloud ability, or native cost dashboards.
• Ability to quantify savings and design commitment strategies (Reserved Instances/Savings Plans).

Architecture & Engineering Knowledge

• Strong understanding of architectural patterns: microservices, event-driven, Kubernetes, data lakes/warehouses, integration patterns.
• Understanding of how resilience, DR strategies and data replication impact cost.
• Experience diagnosing inefficient pipelines and platforms.

Data Analysis & Modelling

• Strong skills in SQL and spreadsheet modelling.
• Ability to translate raw billing data into insights, forecasts and baseline models.
• Ability to spot patterns that link technical inefficiencies to financial outcomes.

Governance & Operating Model Development

• Previous experience designing or implementing a FinOps practice.
• Familiarity with cloud governance frameworks, cost KPIs, tagging standards and accountability models.

Soft Skills & Leadership

• Excellent communication skills-able to simplify technical findings for non-technical audiences.
• Strong facilitation and workshop leadership capabilities.
• Ability to work across countries, cultures and dispersed teams.
• Highly organised with strong doc