Assistant Deputy - Finance

Assistant Deputy - Finance

The Assistant Deputy - Finance provides strategic leadership and hands-on execution across all fiscal operations and supporting information systems for the Register of Wills (ROW) office. This role oversees budgeting, cash management, receipting, revenue reconciliation, audit readiness, and financial compliance related to probate filings, office fees, and the office's role as agent for the Commonwealth in the collection and transmission of Pennsylvania inheritance tax. Concurrently, the role serves as the office's IT Analystadministering cashiering and e-filing systems, ensuring data integrity and security, building dashboards, and coordinating with county IT on integrations, upgrades, and cyber/PCI controls that underpin reliable public services in probate, Orphans' Court, and inheritance tax receipting.

1) Financial Strategy & Budgeting

• Lead annual budget planning, forecasting, and mid-year reforecast; align staffing and operational spend with service demand (probate, filings, receipting).
• Prepare monthly, quarterly, and annual fiscal reports and narratives for the Register of Wills, county finance, and auditors.
• Monitor revenue/expense trends; recommend fee collection improvements, digital payment enhancements, and cash-handling efficiencies.

2) Revenue, Receipting & Cash Management

• Oversee daily receipting of office fees and probate-related charges, ensuring accurate reconciliation to the general ledger and county treasury.
• Manage inheritance tax receipts and transmissions: verify documentation completeness, deposit controls, issuance of receipts, batching, and timely remittance to the PA Department of Revenue per statutory timelines and Department guidance (e.g., REV-1500 workflows, discount periods, postmark policies where adopted).
• Maintain strict segregation of duties, dual controls, armored transport/bank deposits, and exception handling; oversee cash drawers, remote capture scanners, and safes.

3) Compliance, Controls & Audit Readiness

• Design, implement, and test internal controls covering receipting, refunds, voids, adjustments, check handling, ACH/credit card exceptions, and daily close.
• Ensure compliance with county fiscal policies, GAAP/GASB, and recordkeeping standards applicable to probate and Orphans' Court matters (e.g., accounts filings, guardianships, marriage licenses where the office serves as Clerk of the Orphans' Court).
• Coordinate external and internal audits; prepare schedules, reconciliations, and management responses; track remediation actions.
• Maintain retention schedules for financial records consistent with court/office practice and county directives.

4) Reporting & Transparency

• Produce daily cash reports, deposit summaries, variances, and exception logs; deliver monthly revenue statements and KPI dashboards to leadership.
• Publish required fiscal statistics and assist with court-advertised Estate Notices listings in collaboration with Orphans' Court administration.

5) Systems, Process & Data Governance

• Administer financial systems (cashiering/POS, credit card machines, e-filing payment integration, ERP), including role-based access and audit logging.
• Partner with IT on cyber/PCI controls; document workflows/SOPs; train staff on receipting standards and fraud prevention.
• Drive continuous improvement (e.g., e-payments expansion, e-filing alignment, customer receipts, refund timeliness).

6) IT Analyst & Systems Administration

• Own finance-related systems (ERP/GL, cashiering/POS, e-filing payment integrations) including role-based access, audit logging, and SOX-lite control documentation.
• Data Integrity & ETL: Design data validation checks, reconcile system-of-records, and build ETL pipelines or scheduled jobs to standardize imports/exports between ROW systems and county finance/treasury.
• Analytics & Dashboards: Build and maintain reporting in BI tools (e.g., Power BI/Tableau); automate daily close, deposit, and variance dashboards; create ad-hoc analyses for leadership.
• Security & Compliance: Coordinate with county IT on cyber/PCI compliance, MFA/SSO, network segmentation, vulnerability management, and incident response affecting payment and records systems.
• Vendor & Project Management: Manage relationships with software vendors; lead upgrades, patch cycles, and feature rollouts; develop test scripts, pilot plans, and end-user training.
• Documentation & SOPs: Author technical runbooks, SOPs, and continuity-of-operations plans for cashiering, inheritance tax remittance, and e-filing payment flows.

7) Intergovernmental & Stakeholder Coordination

• Liaise with the PA Department of Revenue on inheritance tax remittance, receipts, discount treatment, and policy updates; ensure transmissions meet schedule and format requirements.
• Serve as the financial liaison between the Register of Wills and other county departments.
• Present financial data and recommendations to department leadership and county officials.

8) Leadership & Talent Development

• Supervise finance/cashiering staff; set goals, coach performance, and provide training on statutes, policies, and customer service.
• Foster a culture of accuracy, integrity, and empathy in a public-facing office that serves grieving families and the legal community.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Public Administration, or related field; CPA or CGFM preferred.
• 5+ years of progressively responsible finance experience, including 3+ years in a supervisory role; government finance or court/row office experience strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated expertise in budgeting, cash management, bank reconciliation, and audit support; strong control design and testing skills.
• Knowledge of PA governmental accounting practices and court-related financial workflows (probate filings, fees, and inheritance tax receipting/transmittal).
• Proficiency with ERP/finance systems, cashiering/POS, and spreadsheet/reporting tools; data analysis and dashboarding skills.
• Familiarity with Pennsylvania inheritance tax processes and timelines (REV-1500, discount window, delinquency at nine months) and probate/Orphans' Court financial workflows.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Mastery of cash-handling controls, reconciliation, and variance analysis; ability to diagnose root causes and implement corrective actions.
• Familiarity with inheritance tax timelines and procedural interfaces between county ROW offices and the PA Department of Revenue (e.g., REV-1500, 9-month due date, 3-month discount window). [pa.gov]
• Clear, diplomatic communication with the public, attorneys, fiduciaries, auditors, and county leadership.
• High ethical standards; ability to manage sensitive fiscal records within a judicial/records environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a Pennsylvania Register of Wills / Orphans' Court office or similar judicial records setting.
• Prior work integrating e-filing payments, cashiering systems, and county ERP; experience with change management and user training.

Physical Demands

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 is regularly required to stand; walk; sit; and talk and hear. The employee is occasionally required to use hands to finger, handle or feel objects, tools or controls; reach with hands or arms; and stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision and depth perception.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential function.