Budget & Finance Manager

DEFINITION:

Under administrative direction, to provide financial and budget leadership working in collaboration with County departments, the County Executive Officer, and their staff; to prepare the single or multi-year budget models with budget assumptions, forecasts, estimates and narrative justifications, budget presentations/enactments, and implementation; to provide expert level authority and consultative services on budget and fiscal issues to elected officials, department heads, and departments' managerial, budget, analytical, and accounting staffs;

and to do related work as required.

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS

The Budget & Finance Manager is a single position classification within the County Executive Office that operates under broad administrative and policy direction from the County Executive Officer. The role provides high-level technical oversight to professional and management staff involved in countywide budget development, budget administration, and financial forecasting, and may directly supervise analysts, technical personnel, and clerical support assigned to the County Executive Office.

This position requires exceptional independence, judgment, and expert-level proficiency in interpreting and applying complex budget-related laws, regulations, policies, procedures, and analytical methods while leading the County's most complex financial and budgetary functions. It is distinguished from the Deputy County Executive Officer, which assists with overall County policy, operations, and human resources activities, and from the Principal Administrative Analyst, which performs complex analytical work across a variety of functional areas for the County Executive Office.

EMPLOYMENT AT-WILL

This is an at-will position. The incumbent is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the County Executive Officer and may be removed at any time, with or without cause, and without any right of appeal.

EXAMPLES OF DUTIES:

(The following is used as a partial description and is not restrictive as to duties required.)

* Establishes and directs the preparation implementation and evaluation of the County's budget models in conjunction with proposed and final budgets.

* Develops budget assumptions, forecasts, detailed estimates, and narrative and statistical justifications.

* Develops and submits proposals and recommendations for appropriations, re-apportionments, deferrals, rescissions, and borrowing.

* Develops and implements County specific budget policy statements, regulations, instructions, financial reporting standards, analytical methods, regulatory procedures, and monitoring systems for mandatory use.

* Analyzes and consolidates budget estimates received from departments and other budget units into the final annual budget document to create the County's balanced, single or multi-year budget with revenue sources and funding needs.

* Plans and conducts complex budgetary, financial, and operational analyses and studies; develops recommendations while dealing with uncertainty due to short and rapidly changing program and financial/budgetary deadlines and objectives, gaps and conflicts in program and financial/budgetary information, lack of predictive data, conflicting program and financial/budgetary objectives, and changing guidelines.

* Monitors and reviews operations of departments for fiscal, operational, and political implications.

* Adjusts and modifies long-range budget plans to reflect feedback from the budget execution process and in accordance with changes in the goals of County's projects and programs.

* Provides technical authority expertise and services to line departmental staff to analyze, advise, and recommend specific solutions to budget formulation, justification, presentation, and execution issues related to multi-year appropriations and other budgetary processes.

* May represent the County in meetings with public officials, other public agencies, and civic groups in order to gather input, assess needs, develop priorities, and implement and maintain effective countywide projects and programs.

* Presents findings and recommendations to line management, labor organizations, media, community groups and the public in lay terms and responds to questions.

* Other duties as assigned.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Any combination of training and experience which would likely provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the required knowledge and abilities would be:

Education:

A Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with major course work in public administration, business administration, accounting, finance, or a related field. Additional qualifying experience may be substituted for the required education on a year-for-year basis,

Experience:

Five (5) years of broad responsible experience for the budgetary process of a California County or a complex public agency including independently performing budget analyses, preparation, and control and analyses and development of…