Budget Analyst

Summary

The Budget Analyst position is responsible for providing budget and resource planning support to an assigned Program Office. The Budget Analyst provides subject matter expertise regarding budget forecasting, execution, analysis, and reporting requirements to support their assigned Program Office. The Budget Analyst is responsible for providing technical and administrative support to the Senior Budget Officer to further Program Office objectives and activities. Key duties of this position include: (1) Program Office Budget Formulation Support; (2) Program Office Budget Execution Support; (3) Program Office Budget Analysis Support; and (4) Program Office Budget Reporting Support. To ensure proper segregation of duties, positions in this labor class support a specific Program Office but take day-to-day administrative direction from the Senior Budget Office in the Program Office’s parent bureau. The Budget Analyst reports directly to the Senior Budget Officer in the Program Office’s parent bureau.

Essential Functions

Budget Analyst- General

• Budget Formulation: The incumbent supports formulation, justification, and presentation of financial plans and projections related to Program Office Activities. In this role, the incumbent plans and informs regular evaluation of the Program Office’s financial planning process.
• The incumbent ensures that the supported Program Office properly prepares, documents, defense, and submits detailed budget estimates.
• Ensures the overall accuracy and validity of data used to justify budget estimates, the effectiveness of narrative justifications, and the pertinence of background materials used to defend the Program Office budget submissions.
• The incumbent performs and assists in budgetary planning and analysis functions for assigned areas of responsibility.
  • To this end, the incumbent interprets budget policy, coordinates and plans budget services, management of resources and forecasts budgetary trends and activities.
• The incumbent serves as project manager for specific budget-related projects, as assigned, related to short- and long-range resource programming for the Program Office.
• The incumbent prepares draft Program Office budget proposals and justifications for financial estimates and the analysis and review of budget submissions, ensuring that they are consistent with Bureau and Department policies, plans, and priorities.
• Ensures that proposed justifications for program increases or other changes in the prior year’s budget submissions and fully supported.
• The incumbent ensures compliance with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulatory guidelines and processes.[i]

Budget Execution

• The incumbent keeps current on emerging and changing requirements within the supported Program Office’s worldwide activities, and assists in forecasting resource requirements needed to address these challenges.
• The incumbent receives all action documents for assigned budget support areas and develops plans for resolution.
• The incumbent prepares and provides special studies for the Program Office through the bureau’s Senior Budget Officer, concerning resource impacts, complex financial areas and related bureau-wide budget planning systems. Guidelines used in accomplishing work consist of such items as broad policy statements, basic legislation, laws, tax regulations, and agency goals that originate with more than one Federal department or agency.
• They may require extensive interpretation to effect Department and Bureau-specific policy statements, regulations, and instructions that are free of ambiguous and conflicting or incompatible goals and objectives.

Budget Analysis

• The incumbent monitors projects to ensure all budgetary elements, plans, and schedules are in concert with stated objectives and requirements.
• The incumbent conducts research, identifies, and analyzes trends in the use of funds, and recommends adjustments in program spending that require the rescheduling of program workloads.
• The incumbent develops cost factors, ratios, tests, and other means of evaluating the status of funds for assigned areas of responsibility.
• The incumbent develops long-range budget concepts and procedures, and informs the development of funding policies and appropriate cost factors to be used in various financial considerations.
• The incumbent informs the interpretation of legislative and regulatory guidance and the development and implementation of bureau and Program Office-level guidance applied to the analysis of program requirements.
• The incumbent gathers, compares, and correlates prior year and current year expenditures and conducts trend analysis to establish baseline budgetary data for inclusion in the budget estimating process.
• The incumbent makes recommendations as to forecasting future year program levels and funding sources based on current-year budget analysis.
• The incumbent identifies and analyzes changes in budgetary and/or financial policies, regulations, constraints, objectives, and available funds that affect the accomplishment of program objectives.
• Recommends adjustment to written supporting documents based on intended audience at various stages of the budget cycle.
• As necessary, the incumbent suggests improvements where possible to increase the overall quality and effectiveness of the Program Office’s financial planning process.

Budget Reporting

• The incumbent is responsible for the development of reports related to commitment, obligation, and liquidation of funds from multiple types of appropriations.
• Applies advanced analytical techniques to program data expressed in financial terms which include detailed review of budget requirements for specific appropriations as well as coordination and control of the estimates and funding for the appropriation, consolidating estimates for incorporation in the overall Bureau Resource Requests.
• The incumbent ensures that requests for special information, explanations, and clarifications of budget estimates received from Departmental, OMB, and Congressional reviewers are answered in a responsive manner and in the correct written format.
• The incumbent briefs the supported Program Office on the status of Congressional hearings and budget deliberation

Capabilities

The duties described in this labor class most closely align with work covered by the OPM Position Classification Flysheet for the Budget Analysis Series, GS-560, as described in the OPM Job Family Standard for Professional and Administrative Work in the Accounting and Budget Group, GS-500. The primary purpose of this position is to perform analytical evaluative work in all four phases of the budgetary process (Formulation, Execution, Analysis, Reporting) (FEAR). The incumbent is responsible for providing authoritative guidance on a complex Program Office segment of the parent bureau’s overall portfolio. This is characteristic of non-supervisory budget analyst positions and the position is, therefore, analogous to the GS-560 series. The position’s grade level is evaluated by reference to the OPM Job Family Standard for Professional and Administrative Work in the Accounting and Budget Group, issued December 2000. Comparison of the job’s characteristics to the Job Family Standard’s Factor Evaluation System (FES) factor level descriptions for each of the nine factors totals 3420 points, placing the position within the FES point range for grade GS-13, (3155 – 3600), at approximately Step 5 on the General Schedule. Vendor personnel supporting the work described in the labor class must meet the following qualifications: Minimum Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Finance, Budget, Accounting, or a related field.

Supervisory Responsibility

None required for this position

Work Environment

This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

• Must be able to remain in a stationary position 75% of the time.
• Occasionally moves about inside the office to access file cabinets, office machinery, etc.
• Constantly operates a computer and other office productivity machinery, such as a calculator, copy machine, and computer printer.
• Expresses or exchanges ideas by means of the spoken word.  Those activities in which they must convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately, loudly or quickly.
• Frequently moves standard office equipment up to 25 pounds.
• Must be able to work indoor conditions 90% of the time.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle or feel; and reach with hands and arms.

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work

This is a full-time position. Typical days and hours of work are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  Evening and weekend hours required, as required by business need.

Travel

Travel is primarily local during the business day, although some out of the area travel and overnight may be expected

Experience

• At least six (6) years of providing budget support duties like those described in this labor category, with at least one (1) year of experience performing such duties in direct support of an organization within the U.S. Department of State.
• The incumbent must further have working knowledge of the Global Financial Management System (GFMS) or the Regional Financial Management System (RFMS) prior to beginning work on this requirement.
• The incumbent must also have experience in researching appropriations and fiscal law via the GAO Red Book and other authoritative sources.
• Incumbent must possess working knowledge of office software and IT systems, to include: (a) Microsoft Word; (b) Microsoft Excel; (c) Microsoft Power Point; (d) Microsoft Access; (e) Microsoft SharePoint; (f) Microsoft Outlook; and (g) Adobe Acrobat
• The incumbent must have excellent written and verbal communications skills.

Education

Bachelor’s degree in finance or similar

Additional Eligibility Qualifications

None for this position

Security Clearance

Ability to obtain a Top Secret clearance is required top secret preferred.

Drug Free Workplace

All Native Group is a Drug Free Workplace. It is our policy that all new hires must successfully complete a pre-employment drug screen as a condition of employment.  In addition, all employees are subject to random drug screens throughout the term of their employment with All Native Group.

AAP/EEO Statement

All Native Group is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants are considered without regard to age, sex, race, national origin, religion, marital status or physical disability. However, preference may be extended to persons of Indian descent in accordance with applicable laws.

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

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