Budget Analyst

The Budget Analyst serves as a core professional resource within the County’s financial operations, executing routine and advanced analytical duties to review, prepare, administer, and monitor the overall organizational budget. Working under the direct guidance of senior analysts or managers, the incumbent coordinates the annual budget lifecycle by distributing structural templates, establishing timeline benchmarks, and assisting internal divisions with revenue forecasting, expenditure projection, and line-item cost verification. To ensure rigorous fiscal oversight, the role coordinates monthly cost-management reporting processes, builds standard and ad hoc templates to analyze operational variances, and designs data presentations that help senior leadership resolve programmatic issues. Beyond regular reporting, the position actively monitors macroeconomic, legislative, and grant-related risks, researching past budgets and collaborating with senior staff to propose corrective spending adjustments that protect public resources. Additionally, the Analyst provides critical foundational accounting support—including processing journal vouchers, performing general ledger reconciliations, and tracking contract expenditure while maintaining full compliance with statutory laws and local guidelines

Formulating and Coordinating the Budget Process

Coordinate the annual budget process by distributing templates, establishing internal timelines, gathering submissions from departments and assisting departments in formulating their budget requests including forecasting revenues, estimating and projecting expenditures.

Facilitate budget forecasts and projections by analyzing historical spending patterns and compiling baseline revenue and expense trends.

Provide consultation and support to management and division leaders to identify operational needs and assist in the preparation of official budget requests.

Verify line-item costs and mathematical accuracy of department estimates to ensure conformance with established procedures and instructions.

Analyzing and Reporting Financial Performance

Produce and analyze various reports detailing the ongoing status of operational budgets, capital allocations, and actual financial results.

Coordinate the monthly cost management reporting process to verify expenditure controls and identify significant account deviations.

Develop standard and ad hoc budget and financial reporting templates to address sudden information requests from internal or external stakeholders.

Prepare presentation materials and summaries for analysis by senior leadership to assist in programmatic problem resolution.

Monitoring Risk and Resolving Problems

Monitor potential changes to the budget environment, including legislative adjustments, grant funding fluctuations, or macroeconomic shifts, and inform management of potential operational impacts.

Identify areas of unexpected variance or potential fiscal mismanagement and collaborate with senior staff to propose alternative funding methods or spending adjustments.

Research past budgets and external economic variables to safeguard public resources and maintain long-term financial stability.

Executing Supporting Accounting Functions

Execute and support related accounting functions, including processing journal vouchers, performing general ledger reconciliations, and monitoring contract spend.

Maintain comprehensive audit trials and verify financial records to ensure adherence to statutory laws, local regulations, and standard accounting principles.

Other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Governmental Fund Accounting: Knowledge of public sector accounting principles, including fund balances, revenue tracking, indirect cost allocation, and statutory financial regulations.

Budgetary Cycles & Forecasting: Knowledge of the phases of municipal budget preparation, baseline expense forecasting, operational allocations, and capital planning.

Risk & Macroeconomic Variables: Knowledge of external financial influencers, including legislative changes, grant funding mechanics, and economic shifts affecting local government revenue.

Compliance & Audit Standards: Knowledge of local, state, and statutory laws governing public funds, financial records retention, and internal audits.

Advanced Microsoft Excel: Mastery of data manipulation tools, financial formulas and pivot tables to analyze complex quantitative datasets.

Financial Reporting & Analysis: Skill in extracting raw data from enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to generate cost-management, variance, and ad hoc reports.

Technical Presentation Development: Skill in translating complex financial spreadsheets into clear visual summaries, narratives, and presentations for leadership.

General Ledger Reconciliation: Skill in executing core accounting support tasks, including processing journal vouchers and monitoring contract expenditures.

Cross-Functional Collaboration: Ability to provide consultative support and clear financial guidance to diverse internal department heads and division leaders.

Dynamic Communication: Ability to communicate dense, highly technical financial concepts clearly and effectively to stakeholders at all organizational levels.

Prioritization Under Pressure: Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously while meeting strict, non-negotiable statutory timelines and deadlines.

Critical Thinking & Problem Solving: Ability to identify unexpected budgetary variances, spot potential fiscal mismanagement, and proactively propose alternative funding strategies.

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Accounting, Finance, or a highly related quantitative discipline.

Knowledge of local government financial and management concepts such as fund accounting, indirect cost allocation, program evaluation, strategic planning, performance measurement, personnel compensation and benefits and risk management.

Considerable proficiency with Microsoft Excel (including familiarity with formulas, pivot tables, and data manipulation tools) and basic exposure to enterprise financial management systems.

NCLGBO certification will be expected within three years of the hire date.