IT Financial Operations Analyst

About Kirkland & Ellis

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 23 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.

What You'll Do

Are you a finance professional who enjoys turning complex technology spending into clear, actionable insights?

As an Analyst, IT Financial Operations, you'll play a key role in supporting the financial planning, analysis, and operational governance of the firm's technology portfolio. Reporting to the Associate Director within the Information Technology (IT) organization, this role helps ensure financial transparency, disciplined spending, and accurate reporting across technology initiatives.

You'll collaborate closely with IT leadership, Vendor Management, Procurement, and Firm Finance to support budgeting, forecasting, project investment analysis, and financial reporting. By maintaining strong financial models, validating assumptions, and identifying risks, you'll help stakeholders make informed decisions about technology investments while improving financial processes and governance across the portfolio.

Technology Financial Planning - Maintain portfolio financial models, planning trackers, and budget files that support consistent governance and accurate financial planning across IT initiatives.
Budget Tracking & Variance Analysis - Monitor actual spend versus budget and forecast, prepare structured variance analysis, and highlight key financial drivers and trends.
Forecasting Support - Contribute to reforecasting cycles by gathering inputs, validating financial data, and updating models to ensure planning accuracy.
Project Financial Analysis - Develop project cost estimates across labor, infrastructure, software licensing, and vendor services while supporting business case development and investment analysis.
Investment Evaluation - Assist in evaluating financial implications of project alternatives and ensure financial data aligns with governance and project intake processes.
Portfolio Spend Oversight - Maintain accurate tracking of technology portfolio spend, commitments, and reconciliations while ensuring documentation remains audit-ready.
Financial Reporting - Produce recurring reports and summaries that communicate technology financial performance clearly to both technical and business stakeholders.
Vendor Financial Coordination - Validate vendor financial documentation, track vendor spend against forecasts, and support financial review of contract renewals and adjustments.
Financial Governance & Controls - Monitor spend patterns, flag irregularities, and help maintain strong financial controls across the IT portfolio.
Process & Data Improvement - Maintain standardized templates and financial governance tools while supporting initiatives that improve financial data quality and consistency.
FinOps & Cloud Cost Awareness - Assist with Financial Operations (FinOps) initiatives, including cloud spend tracking and reporting to support responsible technology cost management.
Stakeholder Financial Guidance - Provide day-to-day financial support and insight to IT stakeholders to help them understand and manage budget performance.

What You'll Bring

Education - bachelor's degree in finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
Professional Experience - 4-6 years of progressive experience in financial analysis, budgeting, accounting, or technology financial operations.
Technology Financial Expertise - Strong understanding of IT cost structures, including infrastructure, cloud services, software licensing, labor, managed services, and project-based investments.
Financial Planning & Analysis Skills - Experience supporting IT budgeting, forecasting, financial modeling, and technology portfolio financial management.
Advanced Data & Modeling Skills - Strong analytical capabilities with advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including pivot tables, VLOOKUPs, formulas, and financial modeling.
Financial Systems & Reporting Tools - Experience working with financial or procure-to-pay (P2P) systems such as Coupa, with exposure to reporting tools like Microsoft Power BI.
Governance & Process Awareness - Familiarity with project governance and intake processes, with the ability to align financial data with structured review workflows.
Vendor & Procurement Collaboration - Experience coordinating with Finance, Procurement, and Vendor Management teams on invoices, vendor spend tracking, and contract financial inputs.
Analytical Communication - Ability to interpret complex financial data and communicate insights clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Organization & Precision - High attention to detail with strong organizational skills and a commitment to maintaining accurate, reliable financial information.
Preferred experience includes exposure to cloud cost management, Financial Operations (FinOps) practices, vendor proposal evaluation, or financial consulting within professional services or legal environments.

If you're energized by the opportunity to bring clarity and financial discipline to technology investments-and enjoy partnering with cross-functional teams to drive smarter decisions-we'd love to hear from you.

Compensation

The base salary range below 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. At Kirkland & Ellis, we consider compensation more than just a base salary. We offer an exceptional range of flexible benefits including comprehensive healthcare, paid time off, and retirement. We also offer personal support and tailored learning and development opportunities all designed to help you realize your full potential both in life and at work.

Compensation Range:

Chicago: $96,000 - $106,000

How to Apply

Thank you for your interest in Kirkland & Ellis LLP. To complete an application and submit your resume, please click "Apply Now."

Don't meet every job requirement? That's okay! If you're excited about this role but your experience doesn't perfectly fit every qualification, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right person for this role or others at Kirkland.

Equal Employment Opportunity

All employment decisions, including the recruiting, hiring, placement, training availability, promotion, compensation, evaluation, disciplinary actions, and termination of employment (if necessary) are made without regard to the employee's race, color, creed, religion, sex, pregnancy or childbirth, personal appearance, family responsibilities, sexual orientation or preference, gender identity, political affiliation, source of income, place of residence, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, age, marital status, military veteran status, unfavorable discharge from military service, physical or mental disability, or on any other basis prohibited by applicable law. #LI-Hybrid #LI-LC1