Senior Federal Budget Analyst (active Secret clearance required)

Job Description

Senior Federal Budget Analyst

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Federal Budget Execution, Resource Management & Internal Controls

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Client support: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security

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Engagement: Independent contractor (1099) | Full-time level of effort, 40 hours per week

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Compensation: $80.00 per hour; compensation is based on authorized hours worked.

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Location: Northern Virginia client environment; client-site presence as required. Specific worksite and attendance schedule will be confirmed during recruitment.

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Eligibility: U.S. citizenship and an active Secret security clearance are required.

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Position Summary

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Artisan Analytix LLC is seeking an experienced Senior Federal Budget Analyst to support federal financial and resource-management activities. The analyst will work closely with the Senior Resource Manager, Government Resource Managers, budget officials, program managers, and financial-management personnel across the full federal budget lifecycle, with particular emphasis on budget execution, financial planning, forecasting, reconciliation, funds management, appropriations analysis, and management reporting.

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The successful candidate can move between detailed financial records and executive-level decision support: explain what changed, why it changed, what funding or program risks are emerging, and what management should do next. Demonstrated working knowledge of OMB Circular No. A-123 and practical financial internal controls is required alongside strong budget-analysis skills.

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Key Responsibilities

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1. Budget planning, formulation and forecasting

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Support budget planning, formulation, justification, presentation, enactment, execution, monitoring, and year-end closeout. Develop and review annual and multi-year estimates, financial plans, spend plans, forecasts, budget submissions, and resource requirements at the appropriation, allotment, organizational, program, or project level. Build forecasts from historical execution, current activity, contract requirements, workforce assumptions, and anticipated funding actions. Perform scenario and sensitivity analysis and explain the financial effects of program, schedule, contract, and funding changes.

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2. Budget execution, appropriations and funds management

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Monitor and manage budget execution across assigned appropriations, funding sources, organizations, programs, cost centers, and/or accounts to support proper planning, allocation, commitment, obligation, and expenditure of resources. Track funding authority, allocations, allotments, commitments, obligations, expenditures, incurred costs, and available balances using the appropriate definitions and source records. Analyze plan-versus-actual, plan-versus-forecast, obligation and expenditure trends, burn rates, and variances. Identify funding shortfalls, excess funding, execution or year-end risks, and potential Anti-Deficiency Act or other financial management concerns; communicate issues and recommended actions to the appropriate Government officials. Review funding availability and appropriate use; prepare proposed funding actions, realignments, adjustments, and supporting documentation for Government review. Maintain accurate tracking of funding changes and apply applicable fiscal guidance.

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3. Reconciliation, ULOs and prior-year activity

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Reconcile financial systems, budget-management tools, spreadsheets, program records, and source documentation. Research differences involving funding, commitments, obligations, expenditures, reimbursements, and prior-year transactions. Monitor Unliquidated Obligations (ULOs) and aging balances; identify inactive or potentially invalid obligations. Coordinate with program and contracting personnel to validate outstanding balances, continuing requirements, and remaining liabilities. Analyze recoveries and upward or downward adjustments; recommend deobligation, closeout, or other corrective actions, and coordinate authorized actions with responsible officials. Maintain issue logs and supporting evidence through resolution, including periodic and year-end reviews.

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4. Contract, travel and reimbursable financial support

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Analyze financial requirements and activity associated with contracts, procurement, workforce costs, travel, and assigned programs. Track contract funding and burn rates, forecast remaining requirements, and research invoice discrepancies against supporting records and applicable terms. Support interagency agreements and reimbursable activity, including Treasury/G-Invoicing processes and FS Forms 7600A/7600B where applicable. Coordinate with program, contracting, and finance stakeholders while keeping contract ceilings, funded amounts, obligations, incurred costs, and payments distinct.

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5. OMB A-123, internal controls and audit support

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Apply OMB Circular No. A-123 and applicable agency procedures to assigned financial processes. Identify risks; perform and document controls such as approvals, segregation of duties, reconciliations, and transaction validation. Identify exceptions, retain review evidence, and recommend corrective action. Support control assessments, walkthroughs, testing, and corrective-action tracking as assigned. Help verify resolution and prepare documentation for management reviews, audit requests, and annual assurance activities. Maintain organized, audit-ready workpapers, calculations, assumptions, and source records.

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6. Management reporting, systems and process improvement

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Respond to recurring and short-turnaround budget data calls, resource reviews, and financial drills. Prepare financial summaries, funding matrices, briefing materials, dashboards, and supporting analysis for budget submissions, Congressional Notifications, leadership, and authorized oversight requests, as applicable. Explain findings clearly to financial and non-financial stakeholders. Use approved systems and analytical tools to extract, validate, and analyze data. Improve templates, trackers, reporting, forecasting, reconciliation, and data quality; coordinate with financial-system, data, application-development, and automation teams. Document business rules and procedures while preserving source-system authority and required controls.

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Required Qualifications

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Clearance and citizenship. U.S. citizenship and an active U.S. Government Secret clearance at the time of application. Candidates must maintain the clearance and satisfy applicable facility, system, and information-access requirements.

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Education and experience. Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, business administration, economics, public administration, or a related discipline, or equivalent experience where permitted by applicable contract requirements. Minimum five years of progressively responsible federal budgeting, financial management, resource management, accounting, or program financial-management experience.

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Hands-on federal budget work. Demonstrated experience supporting a federal agency’s budget formulation and execution, including financial plans, forecasts, funds tracking, variance analysis, and reconciliation. Corporate FP&A or contractor profit-and-loss experience alone does not establish these capabilities.

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Budget execution across funding structures. Demonstrated experience monitoring and managing budget execution across appropriations, funding sources, organizations, programs, cost centers, and/or accounts to ensure resources are properly planned, allocated, committed, obligated, and expended.

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Funds tracking and execution-risk analysis. Experience tracking and analyzing commitments, obligations, expenditures, and available balances, including identifying funding shortfalls, excess funding, execution risks, and potential Anti-Deficiency Act or other financial management concerns.

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ULO review and resolution. Demonstrated experience with Unliquidated Obligations (ULOs), including monitoring aging obligations, identifying inactive or potentially invalid obligations, coordinating with program and contracting personnel to validate outstanding balances, and recommending deobligation, closeout, or other corrective actions.

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OMB A-123 knowledge and application. Explain A-123’s purpose and management’s responsibilities to establish, assess, correct, and report on internal controls. Connect that knowledge to practical federal financial work, including the risk addressed, control performed or reviewed, evidence retained, and action taken when an exception occurred. Distinguish preventive and detective controls and control design from operating effectiveness. Understand the relationship to the Federal Managers’ Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA) and the GAO Green Book.

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Federal funds and fiscal guidance. Strong knowledge of federal financial management principles, budget execution policies, and applicable appropriations law, with the ability to translate financial data into actionable recommendations. Understand appropriations, apportionments, allocations, allotments, commitments, obligations, expenditures/outlays, and status-of-funds concepts. Apply relevant OMB Circular A-11, Anti-Deficiency Act, and purpose, time, and amount principles to assigned analysis; recognize issues requiring escalation.

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Excel and financial systems. Advanced Excel proficiency, including PivotTables, formulas, lookups, SUMIFS, data validation, large-dataset analysis, and reconciliation. Experience with financial-management systems or reporting outputs; proficiency with Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams.

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Analysis, communication and delivery. Independently research discrepancies, explain assumptions and findings, and follow issues through resolution. Communicate effectively with Government officials, Resource Managers, program managers, contractors, and cross-functional teams. Maintain financial accuracy while managing concurrent priorities and recurring or short-turnaround deadlines.