Budget Analyst

United States Attorneys' Offices; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts, is seeking a Budget Analyst to support financial operations in the Administrative Division.

The role focuses on funds management, budget planning, and financial reporting for the district, with responsibilities in the Finance Unit located in Boston. Qualified applicants will have experience in financial data analysis, budget execution, and preparing reports for audits, with related education or experience in government accounting.

Qualifications

• Experience gathering, extracting, and verifying financial information and data for budgets and programs.
• Ability to cross-check accuracy and consistency of budget and financial data.
• Experience preparing financial reports and supporting audits with documented records.

Responsibilities

• Prepare and route local travel vouchers, review travel authorizations and vouchers, and assist with foreign travel packages.
• Enter invoices, obligations, amendments, delivery and other actions into the official financial system.
• Monitor and track obligations and expenditures for the district.
• Verify that obligations and expenditures occur on a timely basis.
• Gather and consolidate data for use in compiling budget requests, audits and reports.

Skills

Financial data gathering

Budget data verification

Financial reporting

Auditing support

Education

Bachelor's degree in Finance/Business

Job description

SummaryThe U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts represents the entire state and its 6.8 million residents. Of the 94 U.S. Attorneys' Offices throughout the United States and its territories, the District of Massachusetts is one of the busiest, prosecuting a broad range of cases including national security, white collar crime, public corruption, cybercrime, narcotics and money laundering, organized crime and gang violence, and civil rights violations.

Duties

Help This Budget Analyst supports the office's financial operations by helping manage funds, process financial transactions, prepare budget information, and maintain accurate financial records. The position also assists with budget planning, financial reporting, audits, and other programs that support the office's day-to-day operations.

If selected for this position, you will join a well-respected team that is responsible for providing Budget Analyst support in the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts, Administrative Division, Finance Unit located in Boston, Massachusetts, focusing in the areas of Budget and Financial Operations, Budget Planning and Funds Management, and Financial Reporting and Program Support.

Typical Work Assignments Will Include

• Preparing and routing local travel vouchers, reviewing travel authorizations and vouchers, and assisting with foreign travel packages.
• Entering invoices, obligations, amendments, delivery and all other actions into the official financial system.
• Monitoring and tracking obligations and expenditures for the district.
• Verifying that obligations and expenditures occur on a timely basis.
• Gathering and consolidating data for use in compiling a variety of budget requests, audits and reports.

Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.

This position is also being announced to all US Citizens and Nationals under 26-MA-13057902-DE.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

• You must be a United States Citizen or National to apply for this position.
• Selective Service: Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service.
• All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
• Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory pre-employment adjudication. This includes fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing. Continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation.
• A probationary period may be required.
• If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application.
• Must provide resume and supporting documents (See required documents).
• Time-in-Grade: Current or former Federal employees applying under merit promotion considerations must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements for consideration within 30 days after the closing date of this announcement.
• You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days after the closing date of this announcement and before placement in the position.
• As needed, additional selections may be made using this announcement.
• Superior Qualification Incentive may be authorized in accordance with applicable regulations.

Qualifications

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

To Qualify At The GS-07 Level, You Must Possess

Specialized Experience: At least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors) performing at least three (3) of the four (4) duties listed below:

• Gathering, extracting, and verifying a variety of financial information and statistical data.
• Cross-checking the accuracy and consistency of budget and financial program data.
• Comparing figures in current estimates of funding needs by budget category to verify availability of funds.
• Preparing financial reports and supporting audits by reviewing records, verifying data, and providing required documentation.

OR

Education: One (1) full year of graduate level education in a field (e.g., Business Administration, Accounting, Finance Management, Economics, Finance) which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position; OR Superior Academic Achievement: Successful completion of all the requirements for a bachelor's degree with Superior Academic Achievement. In order to be creditable under this provision, Superior Academic Achievement must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled. Superior Academic Achievement is based on:

• Class Standing - Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses; OR
• Grade-Point Average (G.P.A.) - Applicants must have a grade-point average of either (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on your official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.; OR
• Honor Society Membership - Applicants may be considered eligible based on membership in one of the approved national scholastic honor societies listed by the Association of College Honor Societies (https://www.achsnatl.org/).

OR

Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) by 18. Add the two percentages.

To Qualify At The GS-09 Level, You Must Possess

Specialized Experience: At least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors) performing at least three (3) of the four (4) duties listed below:

• Monitoring obligations, expenditures, invoices, and available balances to ensure funds are accurate, properly documented, and within approved limits.
• Analyzing financial and budget data to identify trends, funding needs, errors, or problem areas.
• Assisting with budget formulation and execution by reviewing funding requests, preparing budget estimates or justifications, and recommending allocation of funds.
• Reviewing budget and program data for accuracy and preparing financial documentation for audits.

OR

Education: Two (2) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree; OR two (2) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; OR LL. B or J.D., in a related field of study to the position (e.g., Business Administration, Accounting, Finance Management, Economics, Finance). Education at the graduate level must be in an accredited college or university and must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of the position. (You must provide supporting transcripts)

OR

Combination of Experience and Education: Graduate level education can be used if, when combined, are equivalent to 100% of the qualification requirement. Only graduate level education in excess of the first full year can be used in this calculation. To calculate your percentage of graduate education, first determine the total number of graduate level hours that exceed 18 semester hours (or your school's definition of one year of graduate study), then divide the total number of your excess graduate semester hours by 18 (or your school's definition of one year of graduate study). To calculate your percentage of specialized experience, divide the total number of months of qualifying experience by 12. Now, add the two percentages together. The sum of the percentages must equal at least 100%. (You must provide supporting transcripts)

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here.

TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENTS: Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible.

One year at the GS-05 is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-07 level.

One year at the GS-07 is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-09 level.

• You must submit your SF-50 that shows Time-in-Grade eligibility and reflects your title, series, and grade. No award SF-50 will be accepted; recommended SF-50s include promotions and step increases (within grade increases).

Education If you are claiming education as any part of your qualifications for this position, you must submit an official transcript, unofficial transcript, or a list including courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned.

All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, see https://www.ed.gov/

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. Failure to provide such documentation with your application will result in lost consideration. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.In addition, when reviewing applicant's transcripts, assumptions will not be made. Applicants MUST state which coursework is relevant.

Additional information Payment of relocation expenses will not be authorized.

Background Investigation: To ensure the accomplishment of its mission, the Department of Justice requires each and every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully complete a background investigation for a clearance as a condition of placement in this Moderate Risk position. This review includes financial