Budget Analyst/Accountant

Posting Date:                         January 25, 2024

Vacancy Number:                 BA-124                                                                                                           

Position Title:                        Budget Analyst                                   

Salary Range: CL 27/Step 1 $59,426-Step 61 $96,607 with Future promotion potential to CL28/Step 1-$71,224-Step 61 $115,798 without further competition.

Position Location:                 St. Louis, MO

Closing Date:                        Until filled

Position Summary

This position is located in the District Court headquarters office in St. Louis, MO. The Budget Analyst performs in a consolidated administrative services department providing support to the District Court Clerk’s Office, Chambers, Probation and Pretrial Services and reports to the Chief Deputy of Administration and Shared Services. The Budget Analyst assists in the formulation of the annual Clerk’s/Probation/Pretrial Offices budget and associated spending plans and assists with policy development regarding budgetary matters. The incumbent develops and justifies budget requirements and executes approved and appropriately documented budget requests. The Budget Analyst prepares, updates, and analyzes budget records and other ad hoc reports. The incumbent maintains oversight of funding allotments and associated spending and recommends and makes appropriate adjustments as required. The incumbent performs as a project manager, may conduct internal reviews and audits, and develop recommendations regarding procedures for improvements.

Summary of Representative Duties and Responsibilities

• Formulate, evaluate, and implement approved policies, procedures, and protocols related to budget plan execution throughout the Clerk’s/Probation/Pretrial Services offices. Provide input to the Court Unit Budget Organization Plan (CUBOP) and certify annually. Advise executives and judges on budget matters. 
• Assist in the development of an annual spending plan and identify amounts required to pay personnel and to maintain basic mandatory operations, as well as amounts needed to support desired enhancements. Perform data analysis and conduct modeling based on different scenarios. 
• Execute approved budget plans. Review spending and fund balances routinely and recommend and execute reprogramming actions to cover projected shortfalls. Ensure allotment levels are not exceeded and obligations are not made in advance of an appropriation, allotment, or reprogramming transaction. Participate in advance review and approval of major purchases. 
• Enter adjustments to allotments into JIFMS and submit each unit’s respective Status of Funds through InfoWeb. Enter reprogramming transactions to move funds from one BOC to another within a fund or from one fund to another in both the financial system and the Status of Funds reports. 
• Review treatment services expenditures, projections and payments to ensure appropriate spending and budget oversight is maintained.
• Track temporary duty assignments for staffing salary reimbursement and budget projections.
• Review and manage oversight of specific bills as needed to maintain accurate budget projections.
• Maintain oversight and approval documentation of annual budget call requests, appeals to allotments, supplemental funding requests, and intra-fund and inter-fund reprogramming requests. 
• Prepare and electronically submit each units’ Electronic Status of Funds reports on a monthly basis, as required. Maintain approved Electronic Status of Funds reports and any supporting documentation in a chronological file by fiscal year. 
• Provide budget forecasting reports to the unit executives on a monthly basis in order to track spending priorities and ensure that the total court unit allotment will not be exceeded. 
• Serve as project manager on special organizational initiatives. Perform internal reviews of administrative and operational areas to ensure compliance with judiciary policies and procedures and internal controls. Prepare documents to identify findings and develop written recommendations for changes. 
• Develop a variety of reports based on historic and current data, including statistics on staffing, spending patterns, expense projections, and similar information. 
• Respond to requests for information and clarification from department representatives regarding the budget. Review expenditures of departments to ensure compliance with budget. Collect, review, analyze and maintain records of actual operating expenses and revenues to compare with estimated budget. 
• Ensure appropriate internal controls for disbursement, transfer, recording, and reporting of monies are followed. Review purchase requests related to proposed expenses for appropriateness of procurement and sufficiency of funding. 
• Collaborate with information technology staff to develop or customize programs or systems to assist with budget and recordkeeping. Participate with a team reviewing compliance of internal controls, policies, and procedures. 
• Prepare, update, examine, and analyze a variety of regular and non-standard reports. Design, develop, and maintain spreadsheet formats and programs for analyzing budgetary information. 
• Use a wide variety of manual and automated accounting systems and cash management tools and assist other court employees in the use of these systems and tools.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications and Educational Requirements

Qualifications must be met at the time of application. The successful candidate must possess the following:

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting or business-related field preferred. 
• Prior experience in accounting, finance or budgeting preferred.
• Consistent, high quality past job performance demonstrating sound ethics and judgement.
• An attendance record that indicates reliability and commitment.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills (grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc.)
• Excellent organizational skills.
• Ability to take initiative, manage multiple tasks, respond to requests on short notice and meet deadlines.
• Ability to be tactful and work cooperatively with others, including judicial officers, the bar, the public and colleagues.
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Excel and Word, in conducting internet searches, in the use of computer file structure and other computer applications.  Proficient in developing spreadsheets and the ability to research system issues from a user perspective.
• General knowledge of the functions and procedures of the court unit. 
• Knowledge of accounting procedures, reports and automated equipment. 
• Ability to understand relationships among accounts, reconcile accounts, recognize errors and their probable causes and the impact of proposed actions and/or recommend alternatives. 
• Knowledge of internal controls. 
• Skill and accuracy in working with numerical transactions. 
• Skill and knowledge in financial accounting software packages and Microsoft Excel to track and record accounting transactions. 

To qualify for the CL27 a minimum of one-year specialized experience equivalent to work at a CL-26 level required. Specialized experience is defined as: progressively responsible clerical or administrative experience that provided knowledge of the rules, regulations, practices, and principles, of financial administration and/or accounting; and involved the routine use of automated financial and accounting systems or other computer-based systems and applications such as word processing, spreadsheets or databases.

Benefits

Judiciary employees serve under excepted appointments (not civil service). Excepted appointments are at will and can be terminated with or without cause. 

11 Paid holidays                                                                     Health Insurance Benefits (variety of plans)

13 Sick days per year accrued                                                Life Insurance

13 Paid Vacation days for less than 3 years of service           Long Term Care Insurance

20 Paid Vacation days for 3 to 15 years of service                 Flexible Benefits

26 paid Vacation days 15 or more years of service                Federal Employee Retirement Plan

Family Medical Leave Act Provisions                                    Thrift Savings Plan with Investment Options

Position is subject to mandatory Electronic Funds Transfer participation for net pay.

Background Investigation Requirements

This is a High Sensitive position within the Judiciary. Employment will be considered provisional pending successful completion of an OPM background investigation and credit check and a favorable suitability determination. Investigative updates are required every five years. A social media inquiry may also be a condition of employment. 

Application Procedure and Information

Applicants must be United States citizens or eligible to work in the United States. Appointment is contingent upon providing proof of United States citizenship or proof of authorization to work in the United States as required by the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Applicants selected for interviews must travel at their own expense and relocation expenses will not be reimbursed. Applicants may be asked to participate in proficiency tests.

Please email the below required documents to the attention of HR reference BA124 to Moed_employment@moed.uscourts.gov

• Letter of interest
• Current resume
• A completed, signed Federal Judicial Branch Employment Application (AO78) which can be located at www.uscourts.gov 
• The names and contact information for three professional references 

Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. The Court reserves the right to modify the conditions of this job announcement or to withdraw the announcement, any of which may occur without prior written or other notice.  In the event that a position becomes vacant in a similar classification, within a reasonable time of the original announcement, the Clerk of Court may elect to select a candidate from the applicants who responded to the original announcement without re-posting the position.  Employees are required to adhere to a Code of Ethics and Conduct, which is available to applicants for review upon request. 

Equal Opportunity Employer