Finance IT - Techno-Functional Application Engineer, PeopleSoft (Vice President)

Company Overview

Jefferies is a leading global, full-service investment banking and capital markets firm that provides advisory, sales and trading, research, and wealth and asset management services. With more than 40 offices around the world, we offer insights and expertise to investors, companies, and governments. At Jefferies, we are committed to building a culture that provides opportunities for all employees regardless of our differences and supports a workforce that is reflective of the communities where we work and live. As a result, we are able to pool our collective insights and intelligence to provide fresh and innovative thinking for our clients.

Position Overview

Jefferies seeks a Vice President level Techno‑Functional Application Engineer to lead and evolve our PeopleSoft Financials 9.2 landscape across global legal entities for the Jefferies Nikko Joint Venture (called JV). The financials application is currently being implemented with General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Asset Management, Billing and Accounts Receivable modules configured. This role is responsible for end‑to‑end functional support, technical solutioning, stability and controls, enhancements, and continuous improvement across core finance modules. The VP will partner closely with Jefferies and Nikko stakeholders to manage workflows and processes, drive best practices, prevent recurring issues, and ensure high‑quality delivery and service continuity – especially during critical financial close cycles. The ideal candidate is an experienced, independent self‑starter with sound judgment, a proactive approach to problem solving, and the ability to partner effectively across internal and external parties including senior leadership in a hybrid work environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Functional & Technical Ownership
  • Provide end‑to‑end functional and technical consulting for PeopleSoft FSCM 9.2 solutions across GL, AP, AM, PC, Contracts, AR, Billing, and related integrations.
  • Lead requirements elicitation, fit‑gap analysis, and creation of Functional Requirement Documents (FRDs) and functional specifications; validate design assumptions and seek clarifications as needed.
  • Author, review, and validate solution designs (techno‑functional), ensuring alignment to architectural standards, controls, and best practices.
  • Oversee application configuration, set‑ups, and related changes, including AWE/workflow and approval controls as applicable.
  • Perform functional/process impact assessments for new features, PUM content, defect fixes, and enhancements.
  • Partner with Finance, Controllers, Tax, and Compliance to translate global and local regulatory and statutory requirements into PeopleSoft configurations, customizations, integrations, and control frameworks.
• Build, Quality & Release
  • Direct and participate in technical development of code components aligned to coding and quality standards.
  • Own unit testing, test design and execution, and partner with Business for UAT test script preparation and validation.
  • Drive performance testing and load testing; analyze and remediate performance bottlenecks.
  • Coordinate bundle/PUM/tool upgrades; plan regression test strategy and lead defect triage/resolution.
  • Support feature development/integration for third‑party applications via appropriate PeopleSoft interfaces.
• Run Operations, Incident & Problem Management
  • Provide daily application support for user requests/issues; ensure timely resolution of tickets with clear communication and documentation.
  • Lead and participate in production triage calls for high‑priority issues; establish workarounds and deploy fixes following established change processes.
  • Ensure Severity 1 issues receive 24x7x365 attention, meeting response and resolution targets.
  • Deliver extended coverage for critical events and weekend/off‑hours support for DR testing, upgrades, and infrastructure changes.
  • Produce monthly status reports, service metrics, and trend analysis across all support levels and resources; identify pain points and recommend best practices and automation to prevent recurrences.
• Partner & Vendor Coordination
  • Coordinate with Oracle for bug fixes using Jefferies’ service account; track SRs through resolution.
  • Manage collaboration with onsite/offsite teams; allocate and guide resources, oversee deliverables, and maintain day‑to‑day execution discipline.
  • Act as single point of contact for offshore activities; report progress and elevate risks proactively.
  • Maintain ongoing communications with the Project Managers and Jefferies/Nikko stakeholders.
• Project/Governance & Documentation
  • Drive enhancements and rollouts prioritized by the JV; lead scope and estimation with the onsite PM.
  • Maintain and update the Jefferies knowledge repository and all remediation/enhancement documentation.
  • Review and validate deliverables; provide solutioning and design guidance consistent with PM strategic vision.
  • Schedule and lead recurring governance meetings; ensure transparent reporting, traceability, and audit‑readiness.
  • Adhere to the Firm’s Change Management policy and timelines, ensuring all required change artifacts are properly prepared, documented, and approved.

Required Skills

• Ideally 10+ years of hands‑on PeopleSoft Financials experience, with 5+ years in a senior/lead techno‑functional capacity supporting Finance modules.
• Demonstrated experience with PeopleSoft FSCM 9.2, PUM cycles, PeopleTools upgrades, and end‑to‑end change management in regulated environments.
• Proficiency in PeopleTools stack and solid SQL/PL‑SQL and Oracle DB skills.
• Strong functional finance acumen and experience supporting critical close cycles.
• Proven track record coordinating with third‑party systems and building/maintaining interfaces.
• Hands‑on incident/problem/change management with ITSM tools, including Sev‑1/major incident triage and root‑cause analysis.
• Experience leading UAT, performance/load testing, and DR/resiliency testing; rigorous adherence to coding and quality standards.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills; ability to translate business needs into scalable designs and clear deliverables.
• Leadership experience managing global teams, reviewing deliverables, and driving governance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in information systems, Computer Science, Engineering, or related field; advanced degree a plus.
• Experience in capital markets / financial services environments with SOX, audit, and control frameworks.
• Familiarity with AWE/Workflow, Fluid UI, Pivot Grids, and BI Publisher reporting best practices.
• Exposure to automation.
• Oracle/PeopleSoft certifications preferred.