Director of Finance

The City of Heath is hiring a Director of Finance to provide strategic leadership and oversee the City’s financial operations. We’re seeking an experienced municipal finance professional with strong leadership skills and at least seven years of relevant experience.

Summary

The Director of Finance serves as the chief financial officer of the City and provides strategic leadership, direction, and oversight of all municipal financial operations. The incumbent is responsible for planning, organizing, directing, and administering the City's accounting, budgeting, treasury management, investments, debt administration, purchasing, financial reporting, financial planning, payroll, audit coordination, utility billing, municipal court, and other assigned financial functions. The Director of Finance serves as a key member of the executive management team and acts as the principal advisor to the City Manager, City Council, Finance & Audit Advisory Board, department directors, and other stakeholders regarding financial and fiscal matters.

Organizational Relationships:

Reports to: City Manager

Directs: Assistant Director of Finance

Other: Has contact with city department directors, City Council, Finance Board, banks, financial advisors and the general public.Assists other departments, as requested, with matters of financial procedure and internal control

Essential Job Functions & Other Important Duties:

Financial Administration

Direct, plan, organize, and evaluate all activities of the Finance Department including interviewing and selecting, counseling, disciplining, terminating, or promoting employees. Also includes planning and evaluating work and identifying training needs and resources.

Develop and implement financial policies, procedures, objectives, and internal controls.

Ensure the accuracy and integrity of all financial records and reporting systems.

Monitor the City's financial condition and recommend corrective actions and strategic initiatives.

Conduct financial analyses and prepare reports regarding revenues, expenditures, reserves, debt, and capital projects.

Advise executive leadership regarding the fiscal impact of proposed programs, policies, and legislation.

Oversee the appropriate development, management and accounting for impact fees, grant funds, donations, and other resources of the City that have external restrictions or statutorily defined use requirements.

Budget and Strategic Financial Planning

Direct the preparation, development, implementation, and administration of the City's annual operating and capital budgets.

Coordinate budget preparation activities among departments.

Develop multi-year financial forecasts and long‑range financial plans.

Monitor budget performance and prepare periodic budgetary reports.

Recommend budget amendments and corrective actions as needed.

Participate in capital improvement planning and financing strategies.

Prepare budget presentations and recommendations for City Council review and adoption.

Develop recommendations regarding property tax rates, water and sewer rates, solid waste rates and all other fees charged by the City for services provided.

Accounting and Financial Reporting

Oversee all accounting operations including general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, fixed assets, and grant accounting.

Ensure preparation of monthly, quarterly, and annual financial reports.

Direct the preparation and publication of the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR).

Ensure compliance with Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) standards and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).

Establish and maintain effective internal control systems.

Oversee financial system improvements and implementation initiatives.

Audit Administration

Coordinate and direct annual external audits.

Serve as the primary liaison with external auditors.

Ensure timely completion of audits and implementation of audit recommendations.

Treasury, Investments, and Debt Management

Manage and oversee the City's investment portfolio.

Direct cash flow forecasting and liquidity management activities.

Maintain banking and depository relationships.

Coordinate debt issuance activities.

Ensure overall compliance with the Texas Public Funds Investment Action and the Public Funds Collateral Act.

Utility Administration

Works with Assistant Director of Finance and Utility Administration Department to ensure utility bills for water, wastewater and solid waste are appropriately administered.

Monitors the billing and collection of all utility revenues.

Ensures that the Heath Way of customer service is provided to all customers of the City that interact with Utility Administration.

Performs such other related duties as may be assigned.

Municipal Court

Works with Assistant Director of Finance and Court Administrator to ensure municipal court is managed in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws, court procedures, and City policies.

Coordinate with the Municipal Court Judge, Court Administrator, City Attorney, and other staff regarding financial, budgetary, and operational matters.

Ensure the Heath Way of customer service is provided to all City customers who interact with Municipal Court.

Performs such other related duties as may be assigned.

Knowledge of:

• Administration and Management: principles and processes involved in business and organizational planning, coordination, and execution. This includes strategic planning, resource allocation, manpower modeling, and leadership techniques.
  
• Governmental Accounting: principles and practices including general ledger, accounts payable, and accounts receivable, especially as related to municipal accounting.
  
• Financial Investments: principles and practices of investment instruments, variables, and resources.
  
• Economics: principles and practices of the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of economic data.
  
• Budget Management: developing plans and budgets and monitoring them against actual activity.
  
• Internal Audit: principles and practices of internal audits of city operations.
  
• Municipal Operations: current social, political, organizational, and economic trends affecting municipal government.
  
• Municipal Purchasing: laws and procedures for municipal real property purchasing.
  
• Statistical Principles: principles and processes dealing with the collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of quantitative data.
  
• Personnel and Human Resources: policies and practices involved in personnel/human resource functions, including selection, supervision, training, performance evaluations, and termination.
  
• Financial and Office Software: financial systems, enterprise management systems, current word processing, presentation, spreadsheet, and database programs used by the city.
  
• Third Party Service Contracts : regulations and principles for developing specifications, bidding projects, managing individual contractors, and approving invoices for payment.
  
• Customer Service: principles and processes for providing customer and personal services including a desire to help customers regardless of their circumstance.
  
• Bureaucratic Systems: politics, power, and dynamics of the intergovernmental system.
  
• English Language: the structure and content of the English language, including the meaning of words and grammar.
  

Skill/Ability:

• Public Speaking: effective oral communication with an audience.
  
• Interactive Presentation: effectively presenting information to groups and responding to questions. Present technical information in a clear and concise manner.
  
• Complex Problem Solving: identifying problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate innovate options and implement solutions.
  
• Cooperation: establishing and maintaining positive working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.
  
• Maintain Current Knowledge: reading, analyzing, and interpreting professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations.
  
• Deductive Reasoning: applying general rules to specific problems to come up with logical answers. This involves deciding if an answer makes sense or provides a logical explanation for why a series of seemingly unrelated events occur together.
  
• Inductive Reasoning: combining separate pieces of information or specific answers to problems to form general rules or conclusions. This includes coming up with a logical explanation for why a series of seemingly unrelated events occur together.
  
• Judgment and Decision-making: weighing the relative costs and benefits of a potential action.
  
• Negotiation: bringing others together to reconcile differences.
  
• Effective Supervision: producing decided, decisive, and/or desired effect in the actions of those under one's direction.
  
• Time Management: managing time wisely to complete assignments on time. Managing multiple priorities under demanding deadlines.
  

Education and Experience:

Bachelor's degree in finance, public administration, business administration, or a related field, plus at least seven years of experience in municipal finance, including three years of supervisory experience.

Master’s degree in business administration, public administration, or related field preferred.

Extensive knowledge of governmental accounting, GASB standards, budgeting, debt management, investments, audit administration, and ACFR preparation required. Experience presenting financial information to elected officials and the public required.

Or

any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Certifications and Licenses Required:

Valid Texas driver's license.

Certified Public Accountant preferred

Certified Government Finance Officer preferred

Physical Demands and Work Environment

Physical Abilities:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee constantly is required to balance, carry, grasp, handle, feel, lift, listen, reach, see, sit, talk, or walk. The employee frequently is required to drive a vehicle, lift up to 10 pounds, or stand. The employee occasionally is required to kneel, lift up to 25 pounds, or stop. Rarely, the employee is required to climb, crawl, lift up to 50 pounds, pull, push or stand.

Working Environment:

The person performing the duties of the Director of Finance may encounter people exhibiting hostile or otherwise difficult behavior.

Additional Information
The City of Heath is an equal opportunity employer of qualified individuals. The above statements describe the general nature and level of work being performed as of the date of preparation and approval. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of the position. Employees holding this position will be required to perform any other job‑related duties as requested by management. The job description does not constitute an employment agreement between the employer and employee, and all requirements are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities.