Analyst II - Sr. Budget Analyst

City of Wilmington•929 N. Front Street, NC

About The Position

The Sr. Budget Analyst provides complex budget, management, financial, and strategic planning analysis for city-wide governmental operations. The role supports consulting, planning, budgeting, monitoring, and evaluation, and makes professional recommendations on allocating and distributing revenues and expenditures. It connects departmental needs with the City’s strategic direction, provides budgetary and operational oversight, consults with departments on resource allocation, evaluates operations, and recommends improvements to operations, management, and budgets. The position also provides direction in financial and statistical analysis, participates in business planning, develops and monitors performance measures, and facilitates city-wide meetings. The analyst facilitates the annual city-wide budget development and monitoring process, including preparing recommended operating and capital budgets and related materials. The role researches and synthesizes information, evaluates departmental requests, develops financial models and forecasts, supports program design and evaluation, and collaborates with departments on business plans, budget requests, and strategic-plan alignment. It monitors revenues, expenditures, departmental budget performance, service levels, and performance measures, and presents findings and recommendations to stakeholders and City decision-makers. Depending on assignment, the position may support position control, compensation modeling, budget scenarios, salary interfaces, and year-end balance analyses in coordination with Human Resources. It may also track revenue trends, identify causes of changes, prepare forecasts for Council and budget publications, maintain metrics, reports, analyses, and dashboards, and support annual indirect-cost development and other data solutions. The position generally works in an indoor office setting.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or higher.
At least three years of relevant experience in government budget development and administration.
Intermediate to advanced experience with Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
Valid driver’s license.
Ability to evaluate budget requests from multiple perspectives and assess their benefits and drawbacks.
Ability to assess spending trends and resource allocation across city functions and disciplines.
Ability to develop and recommend cost-effective and efficient services, including process and resource-allocation changes.
Ability to collect and analyze data using intermediate to advanced Excel techniques.
Ability to create visuals that communicate data findings.
Ability to develop manuals and research papers and present findings to multiple stakeholders.
Ability to facilitate groups and gather input.
Strong written and oral communication skills for multiple audiences and communication styles.
Ability to perform mathematical tasks involving historical data, data models, forecasting models, and directional analysis.

Responsibilities

Facilitate the annual city-wide budget development and monitoring process.
Conduct research and data analysis on budget, performance, and policy issues to support recommendations.
Review departmental requests in light of fiscal and political realities and advise the City Manager’s Office on their validity.
Prepare recommended annual operating and capital budgets, including publications, presentations, budget-in-brief materials, and related documents.
Research and assemble information from multiple sources into usable materials such as manuals, guidelines, reports, and research papers.
Analyze trends affecting financial, programmatic, and personnel needs, and synthesize large data sets into key messages and gaps.
Assist management with program design, development, implementation, and evaluation.
Analyze service delivery and recommend improvements to resource allocation.
Develop financial models, including expenditure and revenue projections and compensation and benefit scenarios.
Collaborate with departments on business plans, budget requests, justifications, and strategic-plan alignment.
Provide analytical support for departmental improvements involving finance, processes, and communications.
Facilitate or participate in initiatives that change business practices and provide feedback on their viability.
Approve and post budget revision requests.
Develop and recommend cost-effective and efficient budgets.
Monitor revenues and expenditures for alignment with adopted operating budgets.
Present and defend findings and recommendations to stakeholders and City decision-makers.
Monitor assigned departments’ annual expenditures and budget performance while balancing departmental and city-wide needs.
Review programs and services with departments and recommend process changes and potential cost-cutting measures.
Support multi-year strategic planning and link departmental requests to the City’s strategic direction.
Assist with implementation of the City’s strategic plan and organizational performance measurement; monitor service-level output, effectiveness, efficiency, and outcome trends.
For position-control assignments, support position control management, compensation modeling, budget scenario development, salary interfaces, and year-end balance analyses in coordination with Human Resources.
For financial-trends assignments, track revenues, identify trend causes, develop forecasts and recommendations, prepare reports for Council and budget publications, maintain metrics and dashboards, and support indirect-cost development and other data solutions.

Benefits

Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance, plus other insurance options.
Retirement benefits, including a city-provided 4.5% contribution each pay period into a 401(k) account and automatic enrollment in the North Carolina Local Government Employees’ Retirement System.
Employer-paid health and wellness clinic.
Free on-site city gym access.
Paid sick and vacation leave and 13 paid holidays per year.
Six weeks of paid parental leave.
Paid volunteer and blood donation leave.
Flex schedule and telework availability, depending on the position.
Professional development trainings and leadership initiatives.
Tuition assistance.