Manager, IT Financial Operations

About the role

At Kirkland & Ellis, we don’t just meet the standard for legal excellence — we set it. Our culture is built on teamwork, ingenuity and an unwavering commitment to continuous growth. We tackle the most sophisticated legal challenges with bold ideas and innovative solutions, powered by the exceptional experience and ambition of our 7,000+ people, including 4,000+ attorneys, across 24 offices worldwide. Our dedicated professionals share our lawyers’ commitment to excellence and show up each day to do meaningful work that helps drive global business, investment and innovation forward.

Responsibilities

• Oversee portfolio financial models, planning trackers, and budget frameworks that maintain consistent governance and financial discipline across the IT organization.
• Monitor actual spend versus budget and forecast, deliver structured variance analysis, and identify key financial drivers, risks, and emerging trends.
• Lead operational support for reforecasting cycles, validate assumptions and ensure financial integrity of updated projections.
• Oversee development and validation of project cost estimates across labor, infrastructure, software licensing, and vendor services.
• Support and review business case financial models, ensuring assumptions are sound and aligned with governance standards.
• Maintain operational discipline in portfolio spend tracking while ensuring accurate financial visibility across projects and initiatives.
• Oversee reconciliations, maintain audit-ready financial documentation, and produce recurring reports and executive summaries for leadership.
• Support validation of vendor proposals, track vendor consumption against forecasts, and assist in financial review of contract renewals or pricing adjustments.
• Ensure project financials remain aligned with intake processes and governance workflows while identifying potential financial risks or inconsistencies.
• Lead operational execution of Financial Operations (FinOps) initiatives, including cloud spend monitoring and financial transparency across the technology portfolio.
• Enhance financial templates, trackers, and governance tools to strengthen data accuracy, efficiency, and consistency.
• Mentor analysts and provide structured financial partnership to IT stakeholders, reinforcing adoption of financial governance standards.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
• 7–9 years of progressive experience in financial analysis, budgeting, forecasting, or IT financial operations.
• Strong understanding of IT cost drivers, including infrastructure, cloud consumption, software licensing, labor, and project-based investments.
• Demonstrated experience managing budgeting and reforecasting cycles within technology organizations or IT portfolios.
• Experience supporting project financial governance, business case evaluation, and structured project review processes.
• Advanced financial modeling skills with strong analytical and modeling capabilities using Microsoft Excel and financial reporting tools.
• Experience working with financial systems and procure-to-pay (P2P) platforms such as Coupa, with familiarity using reporting tools like Microsoft Power BI.
• Experience partnering with Finance, Procurement, and Vendor Management teams on vendor proposals, contract financials, and spend tracking.
• Ability to manage competing priorities across a technology portfolio while maintaining financial discipline and data accuracy.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to translate complex financial data into clear insights for technical and business stakeholders.
• Experience mentoring or supervising analysts and supporting professional development within a financial operations environment.

Qualifications

• Preferred experience includes cloud cost management or Financial Operations (FinOps) practices, vendor proposal evaluation, exposure to structured project governance frameworks, or financial consulting within professional services environments.

Skills

• Financial Planning Leadership
• Technology Financial Expertise
• Advanced Financial Modeling
• Vendor & Procurement Collaboration
• Operational Leadership
• Analytical Communication
• People Leadership

Benefits

Compensation Range Chicago: $162,000 - $177,000

Pay

Base salary range represents the low and high end of the salary range for this position in Chicago. This range may differ based on your geographic location and cost of living considerations.

Schedule

Flexible work arrangements are available.