Senior Budget & Performance Analyst

First 5 Alameda County is seeking a Senior Budget & Performance Analyst for our Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) team. This is a new team that will partner with stakeholders across First 5 to conduct strategic financial planning, budgeting, cost modeling, forecasting, and performance analysis. The team’s work will guide organizational decision-making, fiscal sustainability, operational performance, and the impact of major initiatives serving children and families across Alameda County.

The ideal candidate is adaptable, curious, and eager to develop new approaches, tools, and processes in collaboration with the FP&A team and organizational partners.

Financial planning and analysis

Develop agency-wide budgets, forecasts, financial models, and fiscal analyses to support strategic planning, resource allocation, and executive decision-making

Partner with Program, Fiscal Policy, Data, and other teams to assess the financial and operational implications of program and policy options throughout design, implementation, and refinement

Analyze funding requirements, cost drivers, and revenue and expenditure patterns to inform budgets, forecasts, and revenue maximization strategies

Performance monitoring

Monitor the financial and operational performance of programs and contracts, including expenditures, spend rates, budget variances, unit costs, and utilization

Design and maintain dashboards, analytical tools, and performance-reporting systems that improve transparency, accountability, and program alignment

Identify trends, risks, opportunities, and analysis gaps requiring additional study

Reporting and recommendations

Translate complex analyses into clear, actionable recommendations for agency leadership and other stakeholders

Prepare executive-level reports and presentations that clearly communicate findings and recommendations

Process improvement

Improve budgeting, forecasting, reporting, and analytical processes to support accuracy, consistency, and efficiency

Develop data-driven solutions that enhance agency-wide financial and operational performance

Minimum Qualifications Any combination of training and experience that would provide the required knowledge, skills, and abilities is qualifying. Experience and/or education can be substituted to meet qualifications. A typical way to obtain the required qualifications would be:

Five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in roles involving budgeting, financial analysis, forecasting, or public sector finance, including at least one (1) year of experience involving project management and cross-functional coordinationA bachelor’s degree
* in Public Policy, Public Administration, Business Administration, Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related field
* A degree is not required and relevant experience may substitute for education requirement.

Knowledge of:

Principles and practices of budgeting, forecasting, financial planning, cost modeling, and quantitative analysis

Advanced techniques in Microsoft Excel Tools for building and managing reporting dashboards (e.g., Excel, Power BI, Tableau)
Early childhood systems

Public agency funding structures, revenue sources, government budgeting, public policy, and grant requirements

Social impact and equity principles

Ability to:

Analyze financial and other data Build and maintain budgets and financial models with attention to detail

Blend varied financial, programmatic, and other data to meet analysis needs

Ground analysis in relevant policy context

Conduct quality checks for accuracy

Build and maintain data dashboards

Use AI tools to support analysis (or an eagerness to learn)
Manage projects with independence and flexibility

Manage multiple analytical work streams and deliverables

Work independently with a high degree of…