OPS Financial Specialist - 31902503

State of Florida

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About The Position

The Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) plans for and responds to both natural and man-made disasters. These range from floods and hurricanes to incidents involving hazardous materials or nuclear power. FDEM is the liaison between federal, state, and local agencies. FDEM prepares and implements a statewide Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan, routinely conducts extensive exercises to test state and county emergency response capabilities, provides technical assistance to local governments as they prepare emergency plans and procedures, as well as conducts emergency operations trainings for state and local government agencies.

FDEM serves as the lead agency for the State Emergency Response Team (SERT), whose primary goal is the coordination of the state’s efforts during disaster response and recovery. This coordination is conducted within the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) in Tallahassee. Additionally, FDEM manages the State Watch Office; the 24-hour a day operation tasked with providing situational awareness to stakeholders statewide. After a disaster, FDEM conducts damage assessment surveys and advises the Governor of the State of Florida on whether to declare an emergency and seek federal relief funds. It is against this backdrop that FDEM strives to demonstrate its mission of, “Coordinate, collaborate, and communicate with our community stakeholders for a resilient Florida”, along with our vision of “Leading the Profession in building prepared and resilient communities”.

Position Overview and Responsibilities:

This position serves as a Financial Specialist in the Fiscal Operations Unit for the Bureau of Mitigation, responsible for working with the Grant Managers for FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance grants. Duties include, but are not limited to:

Perform duties in compliance with applicable federal and state laws, rules, and procedures.
Work with Mitigation’s Grant Managers and Financial Management to accurately track state management costs awarded under FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance grants.
Act as liaison between FEMA and FDEM as needed.
Assist Fiscal Operations Manager in managing and updating Mitigation’s staffing plan, including preparing for budget amendments as needed.
Compile all data in a logical and efficient format and provide reports to the Fiscal Operations Manager and Mitigation leadership. 
Work with Mitigation’s Grant Managers and federal officials to initiate applications for federal assistance, request awarded state management costs, and grant closeout procedures under FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance grants.
Review programs, services, forms, reports, and historical data and confer with management and users to identify problems and improvements.
Perform other duties as assigned.

In response to emergency events, FDEM employees may be required to work irregular hours, to work more than 8 hours per day, to work extended periods (including weekends and holidays), to work at locations other than their official headquarters, and to perform duties in addition to those outlined in the employee’s position description. Employees must be able to deploy to emergency sites with limited advance notice.

Requirements

• Ability to plan, develop, and administer comprehensive internal processes related to financial management and budgeting.
• Knowledge of FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance program rules and policies.
• Knowledge of the reimbursement of management and administrative costs specifically, as they are associated with administering the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance programs.
• Ability to independently develop timelines and deadlines for multiple projects to successfully complete work accurately and on time.
• Ability to collect, analyze, and interpret contract/grant programmatic and financial data.
• Knowledge of and ability to apply basic accounting and auditing principles and procedures.
• The ability to learn and navigate FDEM enterprise business systems.
• Skilled in the use of the Microsoft Office suite of computer software, which would include developing and manipulating spreadsheets in Microsoft Excel, drafting documents/reports in Microsoft Word on current statuses of projects/issues, and developing presentations for external and internal stakeholders.
• Ability to utilize problem-solving techniques and conduct fact-finding research.
• Ability to plan, organize, and coordinate work assignments.
• Ability to communicate effectively with others verbally and in writing.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.
• Knowledge of the fundamentals of grants management and compliance with Section 215.97 and 215.971, Florida Statutes.
• A minimum of four years’ experience in finance, accounting, contractual management (including scope of work development, vendor management accounting, budgeting, reporting, etc.) or other related fields. A post-secondary degree from an accredited institution in a related field may substitute for the experience on a year-for-year basis.
• Experience using Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, Outlook) with the ability to learn and navigate FDEM enterprise business systems.
• Florida Certified Contract Manager (FCCM) certification or have the ability and willingness to obtain within the first 12 months of employment.

Responsibilities

• Perform duties in compliance with applicable federal and state laws, rules, and procedures.
• Work with Mitigation’s Grant Managers and Financial Management to accurately track state management costs awarded under FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance grants.
• Act as liaison between FEMA and FDEM as needed.
• Assist Fiscal Operations Manager in managing and updating Mitigation’s staffing plan, including preparing for budget amendments as needed.
• Compile all data in a logical and efficient format and provide reports to the Fiscal Operations Manager and Mitigation leadership.
• Work with Mitigation’s Grant Managers and federal officials to initiate applications for federal assistance, request awarded state management costs, and grant closeout procedures under FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance grants.
• Review programs, services, forms, reports, and historical data and confer with management and users to identify problems and improvements.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees