CLASS SPECIFICATION

M A N A G E M E N T A N D B U D G E T S P E C I A L I S T I I

DEFINITION OF CLASS:

This is developmental level staff work either providing moderately detailed analyses and recommendations concerning County Government or other County Agency operating and capital budgets, special issue and project management assignments of limited difficulty, and/or program evaluation and management analysis assignments of moderate dimensions. Work also includes the implementation and monitoring of executive level fiscal and programmatic decisions. In addition to and depending upon the needs of the Department/Agency to which assigned, some positions in this class are assigned technical support functions/duties which facilitate the work of more senior Management and Budget Specialist employees, but which functions/duties are assigned to a significantly lesser degree than the primary duties and responsibilities of this occupational class. Personal contacts are with supervisors, managers and Directors of Departments and Agencies which require communication skills to present and discuss issues, concerns and differences which employees in this class try to resolve. This class of work involves some limited negotiation with Department/Agency representatives. At this level, employees are expected to demonstrate some power of persuasion; awareness and tact are important to problem recognition and resolution. While this class of work may infrequently require employees to meet or speak before the general public and citizen groups, it does not require employees to provide direct public service or assistance on a one-to-one basis.

An employee in this class serves as a member in one of several groups of Management and Budget Specialists assigned throughout the Office of Management and Budget. Employees continue to enhance their capabilities and knowledge learned at the entry class for this occupational series. This class of work is further distinguished from the Management and Budget Specialist I class by the more diversified level and purpose of personal contacts, as well as the decreased degree of supervision received when carrying out standard assignments. At this level employees receive mostly routine and some difficult assignments with accompanying instructions concerning budget and program priorities, objectives and deadlines. Employees are responsible for planning and carrying out normal information gathering and analysis activities involving consideration and application of standard policies, procedures and regulations. Work is periodically reviewed at key stages of development and upon completion for soundness of technical treatment and conformance to basic policies. Guidelines available and used in the work take the form of laws, regulations, policies and procedures. Employees use judgment in interpreting, adapting and applying guidelines to the analysis of operating and capital budget requests and other issues, using basic analytical methods such as cost-benefit analysis. The complexity of this class of work is marked by an employee's application of basic procedural and substantive knowledge concerning the employee's areas of responsibility. In that regard, employees prepare issue papers and analytical memoranda without extensive supervisory assistance. Employees at this level are expected to discover, evaluate and otherwise bring to bear information from several sources involving mostly routine and some unique issues. Employees are simultaneously assigned different work projects and must be able to complete them in tight, often conflicting time deadlines, using sophisticated computer programs and systems to facilitate work completion. The impact of properly performed work is realized through the examination and analysis of conventional and some difficult budget issues and related matters, and the influence that work effort has upon the conclusions drawn and decisions made primarily by supervisors and managers in the Office of Management and Budget. Work is performed in a comfortable office environment which is appropriately lighted, heated and cooled. Typically employees sit comfortably to do their work, interspersed by brief periods of walking, standing, bending, carrying of papers and books, and extended periods requiring the use of computer terminals to accomplish work objectives. During extended periods each year, employees are required to work considerable overtime.

EXAMPLES OF DUTIES: (Illustrative Only)

Reviews and analyzes County Government Department/Agency Operating and Capital Improvement Project (CIP) budget requests and similar requests from other County agencies such as Board of Education, Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, and Montgomery College; determines implications (e.g., fiscal, legal, environmental, service delivery, political, etc.) of the budget requests; identifies alternative courses of action with corresponding advantages and disadvantages; and presents before OMB managers and the County Executive the most advantageous course of action.
Monitors assigned Department/Agency approved operating and capital budgets by identifying issues and problems requiring attention, obtaining and analyzing information through field audits and statistical analyses, preparing reports of findings and recommendations, providing limited guidance and assistance to Department/Agency Heads and managers, and following through on approved course of action.
Conducts studies requiring coordination among various people and Departments/Agencies, and consideration of several issues.
Meets with appropriate officials to discuss proposals, consider alternatives and modifications, and/or resolve problems.
Analyzes Department/Agency operations and staffing patterns and recommends actions to improve service delivery and attain maximum cost effectiveness.
Analyzes and recommends action to be taken concerning requests for reallocation of funds and supplemental appropriations; ensures proposed transactions comply with rules, regulations and laws, and represent most cost effective means of accomplishment.
Represents executive branch of County Government at Public Hearings, Council Committee sessions, and Council meetings by providing budgetary and programmatic information.
Prepares revenue projections, and provides recommendations for changes in revenue, including an analysis of recommended changes to tax rates.
Reviews and analyzes numerous computer reports; manipulates and reconciles data for clarity and accuracy; and creates data bases, spread sheets, and other analytic structures to analyze budgets, issues, reorganizations, etc.
Discovers, analyzes and reports on basic level issues and problems appropriate to areas of assignment.
Performs related duties.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Experience: Two (2) years of experience reviewing, analyzing and monitoring operating and/or capital budgets, including analysis of and reporting on management and programmatic issues having budgetary implications.
Education: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor's Degree.
Equivalency: An equivalent combination of education and experience may be substituted.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
Knowledge of the principles, practices, methods and techniques of budgeting and program evaluation.
Knowledge of the laws, rules and regulations governing the preparation, review and implementation of operating and capital budget requests.
Knowledge of the operation and organization of the Departments and Agencies appropriate to the affected position.
Skill in identifying, synthesizing and evaluating standard budget related issues and assignments, bringing together information from several sources, and selecting appropriate analytical approaches.
Skill in negotiating issues with Department/Agency Heads and management employees.
Skill in expressing ideas, conclusions and recommendations effectively, clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
Ability to plan, set priorities and organize work assignments to meet tight and often conflicting deadlines.
Ability to work tactfully and effectively with employees, supervisors and managers, and with elected and appointed officials and senior staff in assigned Departments and Agencies.
Ability to use automated systems technology and software as tools for analyzing operating and capital budgets and related matters.
Ability to attend meetings or perform other assignments at locations outside the office, if necessary.

PROBATIONARY PERIOD:

Individuals appointed to a position in this class will be required to serve a probationary period of twelve months and, if promoted to a position in this class, will be required to serve a probationary period of six months. Performance will be carefully evaluated during the probationary period. Continuation in this class will be contingent upon successful completion of the probationary period.

MEDICAL PROTOCOL: Medical History Review

Class Established: May 1983
Revised: May 1991 (M)
November 1994 (M)
August, 2007