Buncombe County Finance is hiring for two (2) Financial Analyst positions within its Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) team. These positions will report to the FP&A Manager and work closely with Finance leadership and County departments. The FP&A team consists of two Financial Analysts, one Business Systems Analyst, and one FP&A Manager, within a Finance Department of approximately 20 employees. These are full-time positions (40 hours per week) with a flexible hybrid work arrangement (approximately 50/50 in-office and remote). 

The primary focus of these positions is to support the County's financial planning, analysis, and forecasting efforts, including debt, cash flow, capital projects, and investments. Responsibilities also include assisting with debt issuance, cash management, financial reporting, compliance, and the preparation of public-facing dashboards. These positions will collaborate with internal and external stakeholders, to support sound financial planning and decision-making.

Purpose of the position:  

The primary purpose of this position is to work in partnership with the Finance Director, Financial Planning & Analysis Manager, and Finance Department Leadership to develop financial plans, conduct complex analyses, create financial forecasts, communicate financial data, detect anomalies, trends, and deviations, and to introduce strategies for improvement.

Minimum Education, Training and/or Experience (required at time of hire):  Bachelor’s degree, in accounting, finance, or related field, and five (5) years administrative experience involving participation in the planning and management of a business or governmental program; or an equivalent combination of training and experience.

Essential Functions of the position:

• Ensure all fiscal regulations and policies are implemented and all internal and external administrative matters are accomplished per fiscal, legal and policy regulations.
• Assist in the administration and implementation of annual operating, multi-year, and special budgets by supporting maintenance, collection, and consolidation of relevant data including information related to capital project financing.
• Manage and improve the execution of financial analysis and forecasting within the Finance department.
• Assist Finance Department Leadership with the preparation and communication of financial data, including development of internal and external reports, dashboards, and presentations.
• Assist County departments in evaluation of internal control frameworks and performance of routine monitoring activities to ensure departmental operations are conducted effectively and securely.
• Support County departments in the execution and monitoring of contract and grant elements for audit, fiscal and performance compliance.
• Support and assist County departments and/or programs in the area of financial analysis, forecasting, monitoring, and improvement.
• Industry monitoring and reporting activities to strategically support department/program operations, revenue potential, and best practices.
• Assist Department Directors & Division Managers with financial matters, regulatory matters, operational performance monitoring, process improvement, etc. 
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

• Knowledge of and ability to plan and implement budgetary, procurement, and accounting practices and procedures.
• Knowledge of fiscal/budgetary theories and methodology.
• Knowledge of the organization and structure of federal, state, and local government and nonprofit agencies. 
• Knowledge of organizational culture and resources, both internal to Buncombe County and in the community.
• Knowledge of the principles and practices of public and business administration. 
• Knowledge of the principles and applications of project planning and evaluation processes; identification, analysis, and documentation of data.
• Knowledge of other county, state, federal and private agencies whose work impacts the County, with which the County partners, or with which the County may be benchmarked, along with a high degree of resourcefulness and judgment in determining applicability of the guides in unusual or non-recurring circumstances.
• Knowledge of the laws, regulations, compliance and monitoring requirements, funding streams, and policies that govern County programs.
• Knowledge of federal and state grant compliance requirements. 
• Knowledge of project management methodology and tools, data analysis and query tools, financial management systems, and forecasting methodologies. Ability to plan and direct fiscal and business services. 
• Ability to plan and initiate administrative procedures and to evaluate the effectiveness of these procedures and the ability to interpret obscure regulations and place into practical application.
• Ability to assess business operations and management data needs; Ability to create systems that support effective and efficient workflow.
• Ability to communicate project/program objectives, plans and evaluation methods, results of data analyses, financial and service level impacts, recommendations, reports, and other work deliverables.
• Ability to collect, analyze, and interpret data and draw conclusions from the analysis pertaining to the evaluation of project/program objectives.
• Ability to assess the accuracy and integrity of data.
• Ability to function within defined guidelines and procedures to resolve routine issues, and to make independent logical decisions and/or recommendations.
• Ability to exercise judgment and discretion in applying and interpreting policies and procedures.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Power BI, SQL Management Studio, or other similar data query and analysis tools and related function enhancements.

Buncombe County Government realizes the importance of a diverse professional workforce and the need to foster a responsive and innovative organizational culture, one that fully engages all of our employees, honoring and building on each employee's unique experiences, opinions, and perspective.

It is the policy of Buncombe County to provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all persons regardless of race, natural hair or hairstyles, ethnicity, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin or ancestry, marital or familial status, pregnancy, veteran status, religious belief or non-belief, age, or disability or any other legally protected class under federal or NC State law. EEO practices and employment decisions regarding recruitment, hiring, assignment, promotion and compensation shall not be based on any of these protected classes. In addition, the County expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment or discrimination.