Assistant Budget Director Analysis and Communications
Company Description
A best-in-class city that attracts best-in-class talent, Philadelphia is an incredible place to build a career. From our thriving arts scene and rich history to our culture of passion and grit, there are countless reasons to love living and working here. With a workforce of over 30,000 people, and more than 1,000 different job categories, the City of Philadelphia offers boundless opportunities to make an impact.
As an employer, the City of Philadelphia values inclusion, integrity, innovation, empowerment, and hard work above all else. We offer a vibrant work environment, comprehensive health care and benefits, and the experience you need to grow and excel. If you’re interested in working with a passionate team of people who care about the future of Philadelphia, start here.
What we offer
- Impact - The work you do here matters to millions.
- Growth - Philadelphia is growing, why not grow with it?
- Diversity & Inclusion - Find a career in a place where everyone belongs.
- Benefits - We care about your well-being.
Agency Description
Budgets are where the values and vision of a community get translated into programs and policies that impact people’s lives, and the Philadelphia Budget Office prepares and monitors the annual operating and capital budgets for the City of Philadelphia, which are about $12 billion per year for all funds. Additionally, the Office provides projections of the year end fund balance for the operating funds for the City, prepares the City's five-year financial and strategic plan including financial and economic forecasts and assumptions, and other budgetary reports. The Office also prepares and monitors appropriations legislation and reviews and analyzes spending and project proposals prior to implementation. In recent budget cycles, the Office has developed and run a robust community engagement initiative and embeds racial equity into the process and decision making.
Job Description
The City of Philadelphia (the City) is seeking an Assistant Budget Director for Analysis & Communications in its Budget Office. The Assistant Budget Director will report to the Deputy Budget Director for Analysis and Communications.
The Assistant Budget Director for Analysis & Communications will be an accomplished data analysis and communications professional with writing, editing, analytic, and strategic skills to ensure the Budget Office’s work continues to be the highest quality and is understood by and actionable for key stakeholders including policymakers and city management leadership, as well as the public. You’ll be evaluating policies, crunching the numbers, and then designing and delivering compelling materials to clearly convey your findings.
The ideal candidate will be skilled at data and budget analytics, and generating and conveying insightful recommendations across a broad set of policy areas. You will be blending hard quantitative skills to enable data-driven decision making with data visualization and communications chops. Your task is to ensure information and decisions are clearly conveyed, plus you’ll need the savvy to work in a political environment and navigate a large bureaucracy. The Assistant Director will be adept at handling complex and multiple responsibilities simultaneously—mixing long-term projects with urgent immediate responses to time-sensitive issues.
The Assistant Director must be a proactive strategic thinker, planner, problem solver and executer who shares the Administration’s commitment to maintaining the long-term fiscal health of the City while addressing immediate service needs of Philadelphians and achieving the long-term policy goals of the Mayor and the Mayor’s team. The Assistant Director must have excellent communication skills and be able to articulate clearly Budget’s objectives and decisions to the business, government, and nonprofit communities, as well as to media and the public. The Assistant Director must be able to work closely and collegially with the staff inside and outside the Budget Office. The Assistant Director must possess the skills to collaborate with and achieve actionable results through others, supervise and mentor staff, build strong and sustainable relationships, and interact within all levels of City government. The Assistant Director must have the demonstrated ability to deal with confidential information and act as a liaison between the organization and other constituencies, particularly high- and mid-level government professional and technical staff.
Essential Functions
- Collaborate with other in Finance, other City Departments, and the Mayor’s Office to identify, develop and implement communication plans and documents.
- Analyze capital and operating programs and initiatives throughout the City through the lens of cost effectiveness (resource allocation), overall achievement of desired outcomes, and alignment to overarching City/Mayoral priorities.
- Assist in the development and communication of the Quarterly City Manager’s Report along with corresponding infographics.
- Assist in communicating Budget Office operations and initiatives (for internal and external audiences) on the City’s intranet site (Citynet) and on social media (blog posts, etc.)
- Design and make presentations to and for internal and external audiences.
- Conceptualize, develop and produce visuals based on requirements.
- Develop, collect, and analyze departmental performance measurements to ensure accurate communication of program trends and agency goals with a strategic planning mindset.
- Analyze department sick leave and other time usage to ensure the most efficient spending of the City’s resources.
- Draft sections of the City’s Five Year Plan, the five year operating budget document that is required to be submitted to the State oversight Board on an annual basis. Responsibilities include writing, reviewing content, editing, and coordinating City Departments’ submissions.
- Responsible for communicating with operating departments to prepare them for budget hearings before the Philadelphia City Council. This includes meetings to prepare City departments for budget hearings, reviewing, advising on content, and editing all departmental testimony.
- Assist with economic indicators used for revenue forecasting.
- Assist in special projects as needed by Deputy Budget Director.
- Interaction with senior appointed and elected officials in City government.
Competencies, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
- Must be creative and goal-oriented with an appreciation for the mission of the City of Philadelphia and be interested in working in an extremely team-oriented and collaborative setting
- Ability to handle multiple tasks in a tight timeframe
- Data-oriented personality with a commitment to user engagement and human-centered design
- Data analysis skills, including proficiency with software such as Access, R, or SPSS
- Design and data visualization skills, particularly for infographics of financial data and geographic mapping and presentation. Power BI, Tableau and/or GIS experience desired.
- Demonstrated experience in fiscal, policy, and operational impact analysis
- Exemplary written, verbal, and data visualization communication skills
- Strong organizational agility: knows how to get things done both formally and through the informal network
- Effective collaborator that works well with others
- Ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of audiences, including senior government officials
- Self-motivated, with the ability to work with minimal supervision
Knowledge Of:
- Proficient in Google Docs, Microsoft Office Suite, and Adobe Creative Suite
- Bi- or multi-lingual preferred
- Experience working with performance management and strategic planning preferred
Qualifications
- Minimum of two years working in government, budget, or financial analysis and communications. Masters in Economics, City Planning, Data Science, Business Administration, Public Administration, Public Policy, or related field preferred and may be substituted for work experience.
- Bachelor’s degree or at least 3 years relevant experience required.
Additional information
TO APPLY: Interested candidates must submit a cover letter and resume.
Salary Range: $60,000 - $70,000
Did you know?
- We are a Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program qualified employer
- 25% tuition discount program for City employees (and sometimes spouses and dependents as well) in partnership with area colleges and universities
- We offer Comprehensive health coverage for employees and their eligible dependents
- Our wellness program offers eligibility into the discounted medical plan
- Employees receive paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays
- Generous retirement savings options are available
*The successful candidate must be a city of Philadelphia resident within six months of hire
Please note that effective September 1, 2021 the City of Philadelphia is requiring all new employees to present proof of vaccination against COVID-19.
The City of Philadelphia is an Equal Opportunity employer and does not permit discrimination based on race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, source of income, familial status, genetic information or domestic or sexual violence victim status. If you believe you were discriminated against, call the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations at 215-686-4670 or send an email to faqpchr@phila.gov.
For more information, go to: Human Relations Website: http://www.phila.gov/humanrelations/Pages/default.aspx