Fiscal Specialist

Commonwealth of Massachusetts•Woburn, MA

13d

About The Position

The Fiscal Specialist is part of the Administrative & Finance team at the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office (MDAO) and is primarily responsible for daily encumbrance, procurement, accounts payable, and accounts receivable functions. The role uses MOSAIC, the Commonwealth’s accounting system, and the Commonwealth’s Information Warehouse to manage expenses against the current budget, support the CFO with future budget projections and requests, and procure goods and services in accordance with applicable policies, procedures, and statutes. The position involves significant fiscal year closing and opening activities, which may affect vacation scheduling around the Commonwealth fiscal year close on June 30. The successful candidate will manage existing budget procedures, identify potential improvements for management consideration, and maintain required safeguards. The role requires attention to detail, the ability to multitask and reprioritize in a fast-paced office, sound judgment, and professional dealings with state agencies, vendors, staff, and other stakeholders. The Fiscal Specialist reports to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and works with the Payroll Analyst, other Administrative Directors, office leadership and staff, other state agencies, and outside vendors. Responsibilities may be modified to meet office needs. Limited travel within Greater Boston and Middlesex County may be required from time to time.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree.
Prior experience in a professional office environment, preferably in a fiscal role.
Customer service, written and verbal communication, and organizational skills.
Ability to assess and address complex issues and matters in a timely fashion.
Strong character, integrity, judgment, and maturity in handling sensitive and confidential matters.
Outstanding interpersonal skills and professional workplace etiquette.
Excellent organizational and project-completion skills with strong attention to detail.
Ability to multitask, refocus, and reprioritize in a high-volume, fast-paced environment.
Proven ability to meet firm deadlines.
Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
Understanding of the role of a modern prosecutor’s office within the criminal justice system and community.
Sincere interest in public-sector work and the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office.
Strong computer skills, including Microsoft Office Suite applications: Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
Valid Massachusetts driver’s license; limited travel within Greater Boston and Middlesex County may be required from time to time.
Ability to maintain confidentiality and exercise sound judgment.
Ability to manage vacation and leave time so as not to interfere with significant budget activities.

Nice To Haves

Experience with the Commonwealth’s MMARS system and its Information Warehouse.
Three to five years of prior budget and fiscal experience.
Prior Commonwealth agency fiscal experience or equivalent.
Experience working with database queries, such as Access queries.
Experience with MOSAIC and a data warehouse system.
Experience creating and running Access data queries.
Demonstrated ability to accurately and timely manage accounts payable and budget management processes.

Responsibilities

Verify that expenses are tracking to the current budget; work with the CFO on budget adjustments; analyze fiscal reports; input approved budget changes; and contribute to monthly fiscal reports.
Receive, verify, and process invoices; prepare accounts payable documents for review and approval; research past-due issues; maintain vendor files; and coordinate staff reimbursements.
Support accounts receivable procedures and checks and balances, including deposits and the positive pay interface.
Prepare and manage encumbrances for expenditures under the CFO’s direction, and update vendor attributes consistent with State Comptroller requirements and safeguards.
Coordinate purchasing of approved goods and services, including contract management, OSD commodity pricing and procurement procedures, bid procedures and files, purchase orders, and funding-source encumbrances.
Arrange authorized travel and related arrangements.
Run and review reports to verify accounts payable, accounts receivable, account balances, spending, and encumbrances; reconcile errors and provide information to the CFO.
Review MDAO Access reports against data warehouse information to check payroll, accounts payable, and accounts receivable data across daily, biweekly, and fiscal year opening and closing payroll operations.
Respond to staff and vendor inquiries about budget policies and related questions, and refer questions to the appropriate manager when needed.
Ensure vendor paperwork is completed through procurement, receipt of goods and services, payment, and payment-file stages.
Assist in reviewing, revising, implementing, and managing budget policies and procedures and the MDAO Internal Control Plan.
Raise issues and questions with the supervisor in a timely manner, and notify the supervisor and employee of payroll or Time & Attendance issues that may affect payroll.
Manage employee reimbursements and approved procurement requests in a timely manner.
Assist with grant-related purchasing, encumbrances, payments, tracking, and reporting.
Evaluate systems and procedures to improve efficiency while maintaining safeguards.
Prepare the State Police Weekly Overtime Report and assist with office-wide inventory.
Manage vacation and leave time so it does not interfere with significant budget activities, and maintain confidentiality and exercise sound judgment.