BUDGET SPECIALIST

About this Job

The Louisiana Office of Community Development (OCD) administers Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery and Mitigation (CDBG-DR and CDBG-MIT) grants and other federal and state funding allocated to the State of Louisiana. These programs support long-term recovery, resilience, and mitigation for communities affected by Presidentially Declared Disasters. OCD’s grant portfolio exceeds $20 billion and encompasses multiple federal awards, each containing numerous programs, funding activities, and implementation timelines.

The Budget Specialist will support the Budget Manager in the preparation, monitoring, and analysis of budgets across multiple state and federal disaster recovery grants administered by the Office of Community Development. The position will assist with expenditure tracking, financial reporting, and reconciliation of financial data across multiple systems to ensure accuracy, compliance, and timely reporting.

This role will work closely with program managers, contracts staff, finance personnel, and grants management teams to ensure expenditures align with approved budgets, grant requirements, and federal regulations.

• Overseeing the state’s capital construction program
• Working to provide state and federal grants for community development
• Development of the state budget
• Providing technology services
• Giving agencies guidance in the state purchasing and contracting process as they seek goods and services
• Administering a program that provides federal funds to help Louisiana residents recover from a series of devastating hurricane

Minimum Qualifications

A baccalaureate degree plus two year of professional level experience in accounting, finance, budget management, financial analysis, grants management, or public sector finance.

Substitutions:

Six years of full-time professional experience in disaster recovery may substitute for degree.

A Master’s degree from an accredited college or university may substitute for one (1) year of the required experience or two (2) years for a specialized degree in related fields.

Preferred Qualifications:

Knowledge of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG-DR and CDBG-MIT) programs.

Knowledge of federal grant financial requirements, including 2 CFR Part 200.

Experience managing budgets across multiple federal and state grants and programs simultaneously.

Experience with the State of Louisiana financial systems and the state budgeting process.

Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and financial reporting tools; experience with grants management systems.

Experience supporting audits and responding to monitoring or compliance reviews.

Experience monitoring contractor, subrecipient, or vendor budgets, including reviewing invoices and tracking expenditures against approved budgets.

Experience identifying budget risks, slow spending trends, or potential funding shortfalls and assisting in the development of corrective actions.

Job Duties and Other Information

Essential Functions

(Duties are illustrative and not comprehensive. Responsibilities may vary.)

Assist in the preparation, management, and monitoring of budgets for multiple federal grants, each comprising multiple programs, funding categories, and cost objectives.

Monitor expenditures, obligations, and remaining balances across multiple funding sources.

Support preparation of financial reports for executive leadership and program management.

Track contractor and vendor expenditures to ensure alignment with approved budgets and contract limits

Develops and maintains consolidated grant-level and program-level budgets, ensuring consistency with approved Action Plans, grant agreements, and federal guidance.

Utilizes structured financial management processes to track expenditures, obligations, burn rates, and remaining balances across all programs and funding sources.

Ensures compliance with federal and state financial requirements, including HUD regulations, OMB Uniform Guidance (2 CFR Part 200), grant agreements, and OCD fiscal policies.

Assist with budget modifications, amendments, and reallocations; evaluates fiscal impacts and recommends corrective actions as needed.

Monitors contractors, subrecipient, and vendor budgets to ensure expenditures are allowable, allocable, reasonable, and within approved limits.

Supports program leadership through financial analysis, cost projections, and scenario modeling to inform program design, implementation, and closeout strategies.

Coordinates closely with program managers, grants management staff, contracts staff, and finance teams to ensure alignment between program operations and financial controls.

Develops and maintains financial tracking tools, dashboards, and reports to support transparency and executive decision-making.

Ensure timely and accurate financial reporting to federal partners, executive staff, auditors, and oversight entities.

Reporting, Analysis & Compliance

Prepare detailed budget reports for executive leadership, legislators, auditors, and federal agencies.

Conducts ongoing analysis of program financial performance, identifying trends, risks, and opportunities for improved efficiency and cost effectiveness.

Supports audits, monitoring reviews, and compliance assessments, coordinates responses to audit findings and corrective action plans.

Maintains adequate documentation to support internal reviews and external audits.

Ensures integration of financial data within grants management systems and other reporting platforms.

Communication & Coordination

Establishes and maintains effective working relationships across agencies, vendors, and stakeholder groups.

• Information to support your eligibility for this job title must be included in the application (i.e., relevant, detailed experience/education). Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of completed education and experience sections on your application. Applications may be rejected if incomplete.

Benefits for unclassified employees are determined by the individual hiring authority.