Budget Analyst (Supporting NOAA)

ASRC Federal Advanced Research (AFAR), a subsidiary of ASRC Federal Holding Company, is currently recruiting for a remote Budget Analyst to support a federal government client located in Silver Spring, MD.  

Key Role:

Provide budget planning, budget execution, and grant management support for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/National Ocean Service (NOS) client. Assist in creating and maintaining the spreadsheets, tools, forms, templates, and instructions to support various monthly and quarterly reports and meetings. Work with various branches to ensure that the new and existing financial processes are understood and implemented correctly. Integral to the role is the ability to analyze data to understand trends, forecast potential budget issues, and to plan and take corrective actions. Track NOS grants as they move through planning, funding, and execution. Provide analyses, assessments, and recommendations relating to financial management activities, among other duties as assigned.

This is a remote position. The selected candidate will work from their home office.

The duties for this role include, but are not limited to:

• Provide budget execution support to a NOS Financial Management Center (FMC) or Headquarters.
• Become adept at pulling reports from the NOAA financial systems, including the Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS), Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW), and the Financial Management Data System (FMDS)
• Summarize quantitative data for monthly commitment, obligation, and contract status reports as well as a variety of complex payment reports
• Assist with creating and monitoring monthly and annual obligation plans.
• Track funds transferred in from other NOAA or NOS Financial Management Centers
• Understand the various types of accounting codes (i.e., program, project, and tasks codes) being used and the business rules that govern them.
• Process documentation for financial corrections.
• Conduct variance analysis by comparing planned obligations to actual obligations; justify the reason behind variances to FMC leadership and NOAA headquarters.
• Create and utilize tracking tools to monitor NOS grants as they move through planning, clearance, funding, and execution.
• Transform accounting system data into Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations.
• Produce, maintain, and update templates, forms, process documents, and slides for NOS reviews.
• Respond to data calls from other FMCs, NOS or NWS Headquarters, NOAA Headquarters, the Department of Commerce, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and/or Congress.
• Enter data, as requested, into the Financial Management Data System.

 Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree plus 5 years' experience in federal budgeting or related industries (e.g., finance, budgeting, accounting or other highly quantitative field). Four years of relevant experience may be used as a substitute for a Bachelor's Degree. A Master’s Degree may be used as a substitute for 2 years of experience.
• Ability to transform data and findings into concise, user-friendly spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations.
• Excellent oral presentation skills with the ability to brief findings and materials to management.
• Ability to communicate effectively in groups of senior leaders, knowing when to speak up versus deferring to management.
• Work proactively to anticipate management’s questions and meet their needs before being asked
• Sift through large amounts of data and reports to find answers to management’s questions in a timely manner
• Strong interpersonal skills, including customer service skills, to properly manage customer expectations and respond to customer requests
• Knowing when to ask for help to be able to meet assigned deadlines

Preferred Experience:

• Experience with the NOAA accounting system is a plus.
• Experience with government financial systems and terminology is preferred.
• Passion for the NOAA mission is a plus.