Controller

The City of Greeley, Colorado is seeking an accomplished professional to serve as its Controller.  The ideal candidate is somebody who can thrive in and build onto an already empowered environment and lead a highly technical, creative, innovative, and qualified staff.  Also, the ideal candidate will maintain and enhance communication with division, department, and citywide staff, and outside agencies.  The person hired to lead the Accounting Division is somebody who can balance their technical and management skills and who must be a collaborative team player, with high integrity and the ability to contribute as part of a team.  This includes building employee relationships and morale, being firm yet flexible, and encouraging professional and personal growth.  Greeley has earned GFOA’s Certificate of Achievement for the last 38 years and will be submitting the 2021 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) for consideration.  The ACFR consists of three major governmental and two major enterprise funds, 32 non-major governmental funds, and 10 non-major enterprise funds.

Salary Range: $94,630.47 - $141,945.70 annually

Hiring Range: $94,630.47 - $118,288.09 annually

Job Summary:

This division-head level position is responsible for the overall management of the Accounting Division.  This is highly responsible administrative and professional work in planning, organizing and directing the operations of the City’s Accounting Division.  Responsibilities include the functions of accounting (general ledger, payroll, accounts payable, accounts receivable and fixed assets), financial reporting, and external and internal auditing.  Work is performed with wide latitude for independent judgment and action within policy limits.  The Controller participates in departmental management functions and in guiding the direction and priorities of the department as a whole.  This position reports to the Deputy Finance Director.

Experience, Knowledge, Skills:

Graduation from a four-year college with major course work in accounting or governmental finance.  A minimum of five  years of governmental accounting experience .  Supervisory experience preferred.  Certification as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or Certified Public Finance Officer (CPFO) is highly desirable.

Extensive knowledge of governmental fiscal and accounting principles, procedures, and processes governing the receipt, custody, and expenditure of municipal funds.  Strong management and supervisory skills.  Extensive skills in Excel and other Microsoft Suite tools.

Thorough knowledge of integrated financial management and human resources/payroll systems.  Candidate must be able to:

• analyze and solve a wide variety of complex accounting and financial problems; with ability to troubleshoot and proposed and implement resolutions.  
• understand municipal bond and debt and the accounting transactions/reporting required to support City debt issuance
• establish and maintain effective working relationships with accounting staff, other employees, city officials, and the public
• express ideas concisely and clearly, orally and in writing 
• meet deadlines while handling multiple tasks 
• exercise considerable judgment in planning, installing, revising, and maintaining accounting procedures, and in the preparation of statements and reports
• design and implement systems, models, and procedures that are efficient, accurate and reliable
• work independently
• effectively handle multiple projects simultaneously
• research, analyze and make recommendations regarding issues that arise
• comprehend and implement complex laws, contracts, and authoritative regulations such as GASB pronouncements
• effectively communicate verbally and in writing to technical and non-technical audiences
• transform conceptual assignments into finished products, which meet desired objectives

Essential Functions:

• Plan, organize, coordinate, and direct the efforts of professional and technical staff in the Accounting Division.
• Hire, train, supervise, and evaluate Accounting Division staff.
• Develop, establish, maintain, and embrace a customer service oriented, employee empowered team-environment with all employees.
• Maintain existing accounting policies, procedures and recommend improvements. Monitor and enhance procedures for collection and safekeeping of City assets.
• Responsible for accuracy and completeness of audited financial statements; prepare work papers and supporting documentation as requested by the auditors.
• Supervise the preparation of documents related to debt and bank statement reconciliations. 
• Lead and participate in the preparation of the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report.
• Study, devise, and install revisions of accounting systems and forms (both automated and manual) to facilitate the efficient production of information, and the control of receipts and expenditures.
• Responsible for development and interpretation of accounting policies, procedures, practices, and reports in concert with administrative personnel as appropriate.  Answer questions regarding accounting problems, which raise policy or other special questions, and which do not follow prescribed patterns and procedures.
• Liaison with independent auditors. 
• Prepare budget documents and justification for the division's budget. 
• Administer special assessment and general improvement districts.
• Must possess strong judgment and decision-making skills.
• Willingness to do what is required to get the job done.

Work Environment and Physical Requirements:

• Frequent contact with public and employees in person and by telephone and Teams
• Employee is subject to working alone and/or with groups and/or attends meetings
• Employee spends extended periods of time at fixed workstation
• Employee may be required to conduct business in alternate locations within City buildings, sometimes in formal settings
• Employee may be required to work overtime, holidays, evenings, shifts, or weekends
• Employee may have frequent interruptions and be required to multi-task while having inflexible deadlines
• Employee is not substantially exposed to adverse environmental conditions; work performed is sedentary, generally in an office environment
• Environment is safe to having minimal hazards that are typically found in general office environment where there is rarely little or no exposure to injury or accident
• Requires ability to manage competing priorities with frequent interruptions
• Communication skills enough to hear and convey information to/from the public via telephone and in person;
• Operate standard office equipment requiring continuous or repetitive hand/arm movements;
• Vision enough to interpret computer screens and documents to assist the public and complete work assignments; specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus;
• Manual dexterity enough to accurately input, retrieve and verify work assignments; employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel and reach with hands and arms;
• Duties may occasionally light to moderate physical effort that includes: stooping, kneeling, crouching, crawling; frequent standing or walking; frequently lifting and/or moving up to 10 pounds and occasionally lifting and/or moving up to 25 pounds; maintaining arms and hands in the same position for repetitive tasks and frequently working with light objects and light hand tools;
• Extensive work is performed on a computer with repetitive data entry; work is primarily performed at a desk.

Conditions of Employment: Candidates must successfully complete all pre-employment screenings and employment eligibility verification. Pre-employment screenings include a drug test, a background and national sex offender search, a motor vehicle record search, and for some positions, a physical demands evaluation. For more information about City policies and practices during the recruitment process, including but not limited to EOE, Reasonable Accommodation, and pre-employment screenings, please visit our career page HERE.

Salary : $94,630 - $141,946