Principal, Capital Planning & Portfolio Lead, Infrastructure Services

Principal, Capital Planning & Portfolio Lead, Infrastructure Services

About Northern Trust

As a global leader in innovative wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking services, Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS) is proud to guide the world’s most successful individuals, families, corporations and institutions.

Since 1889, we have aligned our efforts with our three guiding Principles That Endure: Service, Expertise, and Integrity. Together, they reflect the three cornerstones of business conduct which we strive to instill in our employees, whom we call partners, and to provide to our clients and the communities we serve worldwide.

With more than 135 years of financial experience and over 24,000 partners, we serve the world’s most sophisticated clients using leading technology and exceptional service.

Role Summary

The Principal Technology Portfolio Lead is a senior strategic leadership role responsible for overseeing the planning, forecasting, governance, optimization, and financial management of the organization's technology portfolio across Infrastructure, Cloud, Applications, Cybersecurity, Data Platforms, and Enterprise Technology Services.

This role serves as the critical bridge between Technology Leadership, Finance, Vendor Management, Procurement, and Business stakeholders to ensure effective management of both Capital (CapEx) and Operating Expenses (OpEx). The individual will drive financial transparency, portfolio optimization, investment prioritization, cost efficiency initiatives, and long-range technology financial planning.

The ideal candidate combines strong financial acumen with deep understanding of technology domains including cloud computing, infrastructure, applications, software engineering, software licensing, hardware lifecycle management, data center services, and managed services. They must possess the ability to influence senior leaders and drive strategic decisions through data-driven insights and innovative financial management practices.

Key Responsibilities

Technology Portfolio Financial Management

• Own and manage the end-to-end technology financial portfolio across Infrastructure, Cloud, Application Development, Cybersecurity, Data Platforms, and Enterprise Services.
• Lead annual budget planning, quarterly forecasting, monthly financial reviews, and multi-year strategic financial planning processes.
• Develop and maintain technology investment roadmaps aligned with business and enterprise technology strategies.
• Create financial models to support investment decisions, business cases, technology transformations, and modernization initiatives.
• Partner with technology executives to optimize allocation of technology spend and resources across strategic priorities.

CapEx and OpEx Governance

• Establish governance frameworks for technology capital and operating expenditures.
• Monitor portfolio performance against approved budgets and forecasts.
• Drive financial accountability among portfolio owners and technology leaders.
• Provide variance analysis, trend reporting, risk assessments, and remediation plans.
• Ensure compliance with corporate financial controls, capitalization policies, and audit requirements.

Cloud and Infrastructure Financial Optimization

• Lead cloud financial management (FinOps) practices across Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, and hybrid environments.
• Drive optimization of cloud consumption, reserved instances, licensing utilization, and infrastructure costs.
• Analyze technology spending patterns across compute, storage, networking, SaaS, platform services, and managed services.
• Identify cost reduction opportunities while maintaining service quality and operational resilience.
• Support technology modernization initiatives with robust financial analysis and return-on-investment assessments.

Hardware, Software and Licensing Management

• Develop strategic plans for hardware refresh cycles, infrastructure modernization, and asset lifecycle management.
• Partner with Procurement and Vendor Management teams to optimize software contracts and licensing strategies.
• Monitor software license utilization and ensure cost-effective licensing models.
• Evaluate vendor proposals, renewals, and technology investments from a financial and business value perspective.
• Drive enterprise-wide software rationalization and optimization programs.

Strategic Planning and Technology Investments

• Facilitate investment prioritization across competing technology initiatives.
• Support executive governance forums responsible for portfolio review and investment approvals.
• Build executive-level dashboards and KPI frameworks to measure portfolio performance.
• Develop scenario planning and financial forecasting models to support strategic technology decisions.
• Provide recommendations to optimize technology ROI and business outcomes.

Stakeholder Management

• Serve as trusted advisor to CIOs, CTOs, Technology Executives, Finance Leaders, and Business Partners.
• Collaborate with PMOs, Engineering Leaders, Infrastructure Teams, Cloud Teams, Application Leaders, Procurement, and Finance functions.
• Present financial insights, recommendations, and portfolio performance updates to senior leadership.
• Drive alignment between technology strategy, financial objectives, and enterprise priorities.

Process Improvement and Automation

• Modernize technology financial management practices through automation and analytics.
• Drive adoption of portfolio management and financial governance tools.
• Implement data-driven reporting, forecasting, and planning capabilities.
• Leverage AI, automation, and analytics platforms to improve forecasting accuracy and financial decision-making.
• Champion continuous improvement across portfolio governance and financial operations.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field.
• 15+ years of experience in technology portfolio management, technology finance, strategic planning, PMO leadership, or technology operations.
• 5+ years managing large-scale technology budgets and investment portfolios exceeding $50M+ annually.
• Strong experience managing both CapEx and OpEx within enterprise technology organizations.
• Demonstrated experience partnering with senior technology and finance executives.
• Advanced financial modeling, forecasting, budgeting, and business case development skills.
• Strong understanding of technology cost structures across infrastructure, cloud, applications, software engineering, cybersecurity, and enterprise platforms.

Preferred Qualifications

• MBA, CFA, CPA, PMP, PgMP, or equivalent professional certification.
• Experience within Financial Services, Banking, Asset Management, Insurance, or highly regulated industries.
• Knowledge of FinOps, TBM (Technology Business Management), ITFM (IT Financial Management), and Portfolio Governance frameworks.
• Experience managing global technology portfolios across multiple regions.
• Familiarity with Agile Portfolio Management and Product Funding models.

Technical Exposure

Infrastructure & Operations: Data Center / Colo, Network, Storage, Compute, DB, Resiliency, Cloud Platforms

Applications & Software: SaaS, PaaS, Licensing Models, Software Asset Management

Financial & Portfolio Tools: Apptio (TBM), ServiceNow SPM/ITBM, Power BI, Tableau, Anaplan, MS Excel Advanced, etc.

Key Competencies

• Strategic Financial Planning
• Technology Portfolio Management
• Executive Communication
• Business Partnership
• Financial Analysis & Forecasting
• Investment Governance
• Cost Optimization
• Vendor & Contract Management
• Data Analytics
• Risk Management
• Leadership & Influence
• Program and Portfolio Governance
• Negotiation & Stakeholder Management

Working with Us

As a Northern Trust partner, you will be part of a flexible and collaborative work culture, which has a strong history of financial strength and stability. Movement within the organization is encouraged, senior leaders are accessible, and you can take pride in working for a company committed to an inclusive workplace and assisting the communities we serve.

Philanthropy is deeply rooted in Northern Trust’s history and is an essential element of our culture. Employees around the world give their time and talent to work for the greater good of their communities.

Reasonable Accommodation

Northern Trust is committed to working with and providing adjustments to individuals with health conditions and disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please email our HR Service Center at MyHRHelp@ntrs.com, or alternatively you can discuss your individual requirements with the recruiter you are working with.

About Our Pune Office

The Northern Trust Pune office, established in 2016, is now home to over 3,000 employees. The office handles various functions, including Operations for Asset Servicing and Wealth Management, as well as delivering critical technology solutions that support business operations across the globe.

Our Pune team takes our commitment to service to heart. In 2024, they volunteered more than 10,000+ hours into the communities where they live and work. Learn more.

Experience Level

Senior Level