At the State of Minnesota, employees play a critical role in developing policies, providing essential services, and working to improve the well-being and quality of life for all Minnesotans. The State of Minnesota is committed to equity and inclusion, and invests in employees by providing benefits, support resources, and training and development opportunities.
This position exists to manage daily financial operations of the MDA, including accounting, budgeting, fund management, annual spending plan development and implementation, fiscal notes, financial reporting, and contracts and procurement business functions. This position also has primary management responsibility for the Accounting Operations and Central Services Units. This position supervises core financial activities and provides innovative financial and managerial accounting and reporting to internal and external audiences. This person is responsible for backing up the Chief Financial Officer in their absence.
This person directly serves the agency’s chief financial officer to advise, counsel, and recommend financial strategies as well as manage all ongoing operations of financial service system, and reporting functions. This position may serve as a manager of the Finance and Budget Division for accounting and other staff as appropriate. This position may serve as a manager of the Finance and Budget Division for accounting and other staff as appropriate.
This position is responsible for developing and managing accounting policies and procedures that ensure proper financial and procurement controls for the agency and its affiliated organizations. It oversees financial reporting for the Department of Management and Budget, the Agricultural Fund, and Rural Finance Authority funds. The role includes managing system security, implementing control measures, training staff, and serving as backup to the Chief Financial Officer.
This position is located in St. Paul and may be eligible to telework up to 50% of their scheduled work hours.
Minimum Qualifications
To facilitate proper years of service crediting, please ensure that your resume clearly describes your experience in the areas listed and clearly indicates the beginning and ending month and year for each job held.
Four (4) years of experience in budget development and management, financial reporting, funding strategy, revenue/cost-forecasting, risk management and internal controls.
Two (2) years of leadership, supervisory or managerial experience. Leadership experience may include team or project lead for a division or section, or completion of a State leadership development program such as Emerging Leaders Institute (ELI) or Senior Leadership Institute (SLI) or completion of a similar or equivalent leadership development program through another organization.
A bachelor’s degree in business, Accounting, Finance, Public Administration or Policy, Economics, or related field may substitute for one (1) year of experience, OR a master’s degree in business, Accounting, Finance, Public Administration or Policy, Economics, or related field may substitute for eighteen (18) months of experience.
Additional required experience includes:
- Knowledge of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) sufficient to direct accurate and timely financial transactions and reporting.
- Ability to recognize risks and address them through policies or other changes.
- Skilled in data analysis, financial planning and forecasting sufficient to project budget issues before they arise
- Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with managers and key contacts within the department, at other state departments, other units of government and private entities.
- Ability to celebrate diversity and a strong commitment to a respectful and inclusive work environment.
Preferred Qualifications
- Knowledge, skills, and abilities in the principles of supervision sufficient to effectively hire, lead, motivate, develop, foster teamwork, assign work, evaluate, discipline, reward, and manage direct reports.
- Experience with the State’s Accounting and Procurement System (SWIFT), the state’s budgeting and fiscal notes systems (BPAS, FNTS) and/or the state’s HR and Payroll System (SEMA4) or other large governmental accounting systems.
- Ability to instill continuous improvement ideas/practices.
- Develop shared understanding with others to implement strategic goals and objectives and measure progress in the implementation of goals.
- Knowledge of the principles and practices of public administration/management and an understanding of state and federal laws, rules, and regulations as they apply to financial services.
- Ability to interpret policies and regulations and to adapt, apply and enforce them.
Additional Requirements
A job offer will be contingent upon successfully passing a background check. It is the policy of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, as part of its hiring procedures, to conduct background checks on the finalist(s) for positions within the agency. The background check may consist of the following components:
- SEMA4 Records Check (applies to current and former state employees only)
- Employment Reference Check
- Conflict of Interest Review
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture will not sponsor applicants for work visas. All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the US.
