Budget and Policy Analyst

Role overview

Duties and responsibilities

• Prepare budget requests by projecting resource needs from expenditure, caseload, and other available cost information.
• Prepare documentation for the current-year spending plan, maintenance funding estimate, and next-year budget request.
• Analyze and report estimated cost impacts of policy and regulatory changes and the effectiveness of existing programs.
• Prepare fiscal and policy impact analyses of proposed management, legislative, and regulatory changes, using clear methodologies and documenting assumptions.
• Collaborate with senior staff to develop programs and policies and pursue agency goals.
• Present written or verbal fiscal and policy analyses to department, executive office, and legislative decision makers.
• Update and report spending projections monthly.
• Track, analyze, and report program expenditures and savings to identify potential funding issues early.
• Review contracts, requests for responses, and other procurement documents for budgetary implications.
• Align funding in the Mosaic state accounting system with projected expenditures.
• Support a collaborative Budget Unit by communicating, sharing information, and assisting colleagues with technical skills and analysis.

Required qualifications

• Strong analytical, mathematical, and statistical skills.
• Ability to communicate and write effectively.
• Ability to collect, extract, and manage complex data sets while maintaining data integrity.
• Ability to synthesize complex data sets into non-technical collateral.
• Experience with large databases and forecasting and analyzing data sets using Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, and other data analysis software.
• Knowledge of the health and human services industry.

Preferred qualifications

• A graduate degree focused on public policy, statistics, research, or business is preferred.
• Knowledge of laws, rules, regulations, policies, procedures, specifications, standards, and guidelines governing budget unit activities is preferred.
• Knowledge of DTA’s organizational structure and functions and familiarity with the Massachusetts state budget process are preferred.
• In-depth knowledge of BEACON, Mosaic, HRCMS, and other back-end databases is preferred.
• Advanced SQL is preferred.
• Oracle databases and tools, including development, automation, and scheduling of data extraction reports, are preferred.
• Knowledge of data warehousing, database version control, data extraction, and business intelligence theories is preferred.

About the department

Application and pre-hire

• Applicants are asked to upload a resume and cover letter; first consideration is given to applicants who apply within the first 14 days.
• A criminal background check is conducted for the recommended candidate, and education, licensure, and certifications are verified.