Sr. Lead – Cloud Operations Control Business Partner

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.

Position : Sr. Lead – Cloud Operations Control Business Partner

Location : Pune
 

About the Role

We are seeking a Sr. Lead – Cloud Operations Control Business Partner to lead governance, control effectiveness, and operational alignment across enterprise cloud platforms. This role acts as a strategic bridge between Cloud Engineering, Cloud Operations, VM Operations, and Risk/Control functions, ensuring that cloud services are delivered in a secure, compliant, and audit‑ready manner.

The position is critical in driving control maturity, vulnerability governance, ITSM alignment, and operational transparency, while enabling teams to operate efficiently at scale.

Key Responsibilities

Cloud Governance & Control Oversight

• Define and drive control frameworks across cloud operations, ensuring alignment with enterprise security, risk, and compliance standards.
• Partner with Cloud Engineering and Operations teams to ensure secure, standardized, and auditable processes across cloud environments.
• Ensure adherence to policies covering ITSM, vulnerability management, access control, and platform governance.

Vulnerability & Risk Management

• Drive enterprise‑level governance for VUL/VIT/CVIT tracking, ownership alignment, and SLA adherence.
• Partner with VM Operations and application teams to improve routing accuracy, TLA ownership, and remediation accountability.
• Establish processes to reduce catch‑all assignments and improve operational ownership clarity.
• Provide executive visibility into risk posture, SLAs, and remediation progress.

Operational Controls & ITSM Alignment

• Ensure cloud operations align with ITSM processes, including incident, change, request, and problem management.
• Govern adherence to change management workflows, risk approvals, and audit traceability.
• Collaborate with operations teams to ensure consistent execution, validation, and post‑implementation controls.  

Process Optimization & Automation

• Identify gaps in current workflows and drive process standardization and automation across cloud operations.
• Build scalable mechanisms to improve:
  • Ownership identification
  • Control enforcement
  • Compliance tracking
• Partner with engineering teams to enable data‑driven insights and dashboards for operational and risk visibility.

Stakeholder Partnership & Leadership

• Act as a trusted advisor to Cloud, Risk, and Governance leadership on operational controls and compliance posture.
• Collaborate with:
  • Infrastructure Control Governance
  • Cloud Foundation Team (CFT)
  • VM Operations
  • EMS/GitHub teams
  • Application TLAs
• Drive alignment across global teams to ensure consistent operating models and accountability.

Audit, Compliance & Reporting

• Lead cloud readiness for internal and external audits.
• Ensure availability of control evidence, operational logs, and audit artefacts.
• Define and report KPIs/KRIs for:
  • Vulnerability remediation
  • Compliance adherence
  • Operational performance
• Provide executive‑level reporting on risk, controls, and remediation status.

Continuous Improvement & Capability Building

• Drive initiatives to improve operational maturity and self‑service adoption across application teams.
• Mentor teams on best practices for governance, compliance, and operational ownership.
• Promote a culture of accountability, automation, and continuous improvement.

Required Skills & Experience

Core Expertise

• Strong experience in Cloud Operations, Governance, or Control Functions with 12+ years of total experience.
• Deep understanding of:
  • ITSM processes (Incident, Change, Problem, Request)
  • Cloud platforms (Azure preferred; AWS/GCP optional)
  • Vulnerability & risk management frameworks
• Experience working with enterprise-scale cloud environments

Technical & Functional Skills

• Knowledge of:
  • Cloud security, compliance, and governance frameworks
  • Automation and workflow orchestration
  • Observability, monitoring, and operational reporting
• Familiarity with:
  • Terraform / IaC concepts (preferred)
  • ServiceNow or equivalent ITSM tools
  • CI/CD and DevOps operating models

Leadership & Soft Skills

• Strong stakeholder management across engineering, operations, and risk teams
• Ability to influence without authority and drive cross-functional alignment
• Excellent communication skills with experience delivering executive-level updates
• Strategic thinking with strong focus on outcomes, scalability, and efficiency

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in regulated environments (Financial Services preferred)
• Exposure to audit, controls testing, and regulatory compliance frameworks
• Certifications:
  • Cloud (Azure/AWS)
  • ITIL / ServiceNow
  • Security (CISSP, CISM)

Key Success Metrics

• Reduction in misrouted vulnerabilities / catch‑all assignments
• Improvement in SLA adherence and remediation timelines
• Increased automation and control coverage
• Enhanced audit readiness and compliance scores
• Clear ownership model across TLAs and operations teams

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 [email protected], 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.