PDFinancial & Budget Management Analyst; Affordability & Cost – Expert

PD12.1:
Financial & Budget Management Analyst (Affordability & Cost) – Expert

As a principal expert, this analyst provides strategic-level cost analysis and affordability assessments to guide the agency's most complex and high-value investment decisions. This role focuses on the "cost" element of the cost-schedule-performance trade space, developing sophisticated financial models and data-driven analyses to ensure that programs and portfolios are affordable and fiscally sustainable over their entire lifecycle.

• Leading the development of complex, data-driven affordability analyses for entire portfolios to inform the agency's annual budget build and long-range strategic investment plans.
• Architecting and maintaining intricate cost models to conduct deep what-if scenarios and sensitivity analysis related to new programs, changing requirements, and budget fluctuations.
• Serving as the lead author and analyst for the financial sections of formal business cases, Analysis of Alternatives (AoAs), and cost-benefit analyses that are presented to senior leadership and governance boards.
• Serving as the agency's top subject matter expert on cost estimating methodologies and financial modeling, providing guidance and quality assurance to program offices.
• Researching and proposing innovative, enterprise-wide solutions to address systemic funding shortfalls and optimize resource allocation across competing priorities.

• A minimum of 12 years of experience in federal financial management, with a clear concentration in cost analysis, cost estimating, or affordability assessment.
• A Bachelor's degree in a relevant quantitative field such as Finance, Economics, or Mathematics.
• Advanced proficiency with relational databases and Microsoft Excel, including the ability to build complex, multi-variable financial models from scratch.
• Demonstrated experience developing and presenting formal affordability analysis and cost-benefit analysis to senior executive-level leadership.

• Master's degree in a business or quantitative field.
• A professional cost-estimating certification, such as the Certified Cost Estimator/Analyst (CCEA)®, or a financial certification like CDFM or CGFM.
• Experience working with modern data visualization and statistical analysis tools (e.g., Tableau, R, Python, Crystal Ball).