Planning Strategist

HM Note: This hybrid contract role is two (2) days in office. Candidate resumes must include first and last name, email and telephone contact information. Looking for a Senior Cloud Cost Forecasting Strategist to take a lead role in shaping and driving our cloud financial strategy. This role will lead the forecasting and financial planning of our cloud spend across cloud platform (Azure). Drive outcomes from FinOps tools by turning cloud cost data into insights, and insights into strategic actions that reduce spend, improve forecast accuracy, and align investments with business priorities.
Design and implement a comprehensive cloud tagging strategy to ensure full visibility of cloud spend across departments, applications, environments, and projects.
Collaborate with engineering, DevOps, and operations teams to enforce tagging compliance through automation, tooling, and policy frameworks.
Maintain documentation and training to ensure ongoing awareness and adoption of tagging best practices.
Forecasting & Planning
Analyze historical cloud usage trends to project accurate future spend across cloud providers.
Develop models for cost attribution, showback/chargeback, and unit cost analysis
Leverage platforms like Apptio (Cloudability), Azure Cost Management, and Power BI for reporting and analysis.
Implement tagging and resource management policies to ensure accurate data collection for forecasting and accountability.
Oversee the implementation and onboarding of the FinOps tool, ensuring data accuracy, role-based access, and reporting alignment with organizational goals
Education Completion of a diploma in Computer Science, or a related discipline – or a combination of education, training and experience deemed equivalent
Experience developing & designing roadmaps, implement strategies & transformation plans for clients. Customer Service Teamwork Initiative

~ Quality & Safety Engaged in the Business

Technical Competencies
Strong knowledge of Azure, billing structures, and optimization levers.
Demonstrated experience in cloud tagging implementation, governance, and remediation.
Advanced skills in Excel and Power BI; Excellent communication skills with the ability to translate financial data into actionable insights for technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Prior experience in large-scale cloud transformations or hybrid cloud environments.
Experience creating tagging policies via Azure Policy or custom enforcement scripts. Familiarity with Infrastructure as Code (IaC), CI/CD pipelines, and cloud cost tagging best practices.
Background in cloud architecture, infrastructure engineering, or DevOps a strong plus.
3+ years experience Driving outcomes from FinOps tools by turning cloud cost data into insights, and insights into strategic actions that reduce spend, improve forecast accuracy, and align investments with business priorities.