Chief Financial Officer

Full Job Description

NOTE: This position is eligible for part-time telework, as there may occasionally be some in-person responsibilities. If working remotely, the alternate worksite must be located in Washington state.

NOTE: Due to the essential functions of this position, a background check (including criminal history and/or credit check) may be conducted.

Information from the background check will not necessarily preclude employment, but may be considered in determining the candidate’s suitability and competence to perform the position.

NOTE: For purposes of equity and alignment with other EMS Band 3 positions on our Executive Management Team, the anticipated annual salary for this position will be $146,784.

The Opportunity:

The Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) is currently looking to fill the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) position within our Headquarters Division to lead the agency’s Finance Unit.

The position of CFO is critical to the successful completion of the OAH mission by providing agency-wide leadership and strategic direction in finance functions, serving as the chief financial spokesperson for the agency, developing policies, balancing competing agency needs, planning for the long-term financial health of the organization, and managing the Finance Unit staff.

This position reports directly to the Chief Administrative Law Judge / Agency Director of OAH and is responsible for the overall management of OAH’s Finance Unit, in support of the agency’s mission.

The Finance Unit is responsible for the agency’s billing methodology and rate structure, accounts payable, accounts receivable, budgeting, forecasting, purchasing, leases and contracts, travel, fiscal/financial/accountability/performance audits, and the fiscal note process during the legislative session.

Without proper budgeting, billing methodology, rate structure, accounts receivable, and accounts payable, forecasting, auditing, and understanding of legislative changes, OAH would be unable to cover its expenses, as we do not receive any General Fund dollars.

The CFO is the direct supervisor of all staff within the Finance Unit, which currently includes: 1 Budget Analyst, 2 Fiscal Analysts, and 1 Administrative Assistant.

About the Agency:

The 1981 Legislature created OAH to offer Washingtonians an independent, fair, and neutral forum to hold administrative hearings on disputed matters referred by state and local government agencies.

Operating out of field offices in Olympia, Tacoma, and Spokane Valley there are currently 230 employees, including 120 administrative law judges who preside over administrative hearings involving unemployment insurance benefits, child support, food assistance, medical benefits, business and professional licensing, and more.

OAH conducts hearings for more than 40 agencies and 160 programs.

Our referring agencies include the Employment Security Department (ESD), Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), Health Care Authority (HCA), Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB), Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), and others.

For more information about OAH, please visit our website at oah.wa.gov.

OAH Mission: To hear and independently resolve disputes between the public and state agencies with an impartial, quick, and easy to access process.

OAH Vision: All people of Washington can meaningfully participate in their hearing and understand the result.

OAH Values:

• Fairness and independence
• Diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect
• Performance excellence
• Integrity

OAH Goals:

• Performance Excellence: We deliver high quality, timely work.
• Convenience & Accessibility: We make it easy for people to do business with us.
• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Respect: We promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect.
• Good Stewards: We are efficient, effective, and accountable.

OAH Offers:

• Work that is important and makes a difference.
• In-house training and professional development opportunities.
• Healthy work/life balance, including remote work options.
• Comprehensive benefits package.

Requirements

As a member of the OAH Executive Management Team (EMT), the Chief Financial Officer plays a key role in developing the agency’s strategic plan, policies, budget, caseload and revenue forecasts, billing methodology and rate structure, accounting structure, facility plans, legislative fiscal note strategy, risk management, auditing approach, and long-term vision.

This position has primary responsibility for the financial well-being of the agency and leads the strategic direction of OAH’s financial operations.

The CFO oversees all staff within the Finance Unit, which is responsible for budgeting; billing structure and rates; monitoring revenue and expenditures; cash management; accounts receivable and payable; journal entries; travel; contracts; leases; and the purchase of furniture, equipment, and supplies.

This position also oversees the development and implementation of relevant training for Finance Unit staff and for staff across the agency as needed.

The CFO ensures that OAH complies with all applicable government finance laws and rules, meets the expectations of the Governor’s Office and the Office of Financial Management (OFM), and responds to inquiries from the Governor’s Office, State Auditor’s Office, OFM, legislative staff and members, referring agencies, and other stakeholders on matters within the position’s purview.

This position prepares and submits timely budget requests, allotments, agency request legislation, fiscal notes, accounting disclosures, and other required financial materials.

The CFO balances competing demands and priorities for agency resources to achieve business objectives, address stakeholder interests, and comply with OFM directives, while exercising independent judgment.

This position serves as a member of the EMT and works collaboratively with the Chief Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) and other agency leaders to provide advice, direction, cross-program continuity, and a unified approach across all agency programs.

The CFO provides leadership on strategic direction, policy and process development, and changes affecting the agency’s finances and facilities to ensure that resources are used economically and strategically.

This position supports and advances the agency’s mission and goals and builds and maintains effective working relationships with the Governor’s Office, OFM, legislative staff and members, referring agencies, other state agencies, and external stakeholders.

During the legislative session, the CFO serves as the agency’s lead on issues related to the agency’s budget and fiscal notes.

This position coordinates with EMT members and OAH program staff to track fiscal notes and, as needed, informs other agencies, the Governor’s Office, OFM, and legislative staff and members of the potential impacts of proposed legislation on OAH and the citizens of Washington State.

The CFO oversees the accounting and financial monitoring functions of the Finance Unit and provides guidance and direction in financial accounting, contracting, purchasing, travel, forecasting, analysis, reporting, cash management, and internal controls.

This position ensures that appropriate financial systems and processes are in place and serves as the business owner for the agency’s electronic time management system (NTMS), which is used to prepare billings for referring agencies.

The CFO directs, reviews, and supports the development of policies and processes related to timekeeping, cost-benefit analysis, cost and resource allocation, caseload trends and projections, staffing needs, cash flow analysis, billing practices, and billing methodology and rate setting.

This position makes recommendations and decisions to support the long-term financial health of the agency.

The CFO oversees the Budget section of the Finance Unit and provides guidance and direction in the development and administration of OAH’s biennial and supplemental budgets, including budgets for both appropriated and non-appropriated funds.

This position makes decisions and recommendations to the Chief ALJ on budget proposals that protect agency resources and support the agency’s comprehensive strategic plan.

The CFO oversees the preparation and timeliness of allotments and fiscal notes and coordinates with referring agencies as needed on the fiscal impacts of legislation.

This position directs the preparation of requested fiscal information and serves as the primary liaison with other state agencies, the Governor’s Office, OFM, and legislative staff and members on fiscal matters.

The CFO oversees periodic stakeholder meetings with referring agencies related to fiscal impacts, billings, and budgets.

This position also oversees the management and reporting of capital assets and facilities owned or leased by OAH.

The CFO hires, trains, coaches, mentors, counsels, and evaluates direct and indirect reports.

This position conducts regular one-on-one meetings with direct reports and ensures that staff complete mandatory state and agency training, review and follow policies, and receive appropriate orientation related to financial and facility matters.

The CFO provides leadership and accountability through the Performance Management Process, including the completion of annual Performance and Development Plans (PDPs).

This position directs and provides training on fiscal and legislative matters to OAH staff, as needed, and remains current on new state systems and processes, including One Washington. The CFO also participates in statewide workgroups and committees when pertinent and feasible.

Qualifications

Required qualifications:

These required qualifications are the key competencies, knowledge, skills, and abilities that candidates must successfully demonstrate through a combination of experience and/or education.

• Demonstrated ability to apply critical thinking and judgment in decision-making for both short- and long-term impact on the agency.
• Demonstrated ability to implement internal controls to ensure assets are safeguarded.

• Demonstrated ability to execute management practices, including process improvements, staff development, communication, and teambuilding.
• Effective management skills to lead, support, motivate, mentor, and train financial professional and technical staff.

• Exceptional communication skills and the ability to present complex financial information to diverse audiences, including staff, executives, legislators, external partners, and others.

• Experience with the state legislative and rulemaking processes, including researching and analyzing proposed legislation, regulations, and/or rules changes in order to determine the potential fiscal impact.

• Experience working with auditors, providing documentation and root cause analysis.
• Expert knowledge of government accounting systems, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), the Agency Financial Reporting System (AFRS), and the State Administrative and Accounting Manual (SAAM).

• Knowledge of and demonstrated ability to apply advanced principles and technologies of accounting, business and finance, financial data analytics, as well as state and federal laws, regulations, and policies.
• Professional experience with state or local government budgeting and/or accounting and financial management, including preparing state fiscal notes, and monitoring, forecasting, and projecting expenditures.

Preference may be given to candidates who have the following desired experience:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in business, accounting, or related field.
• Experience working in budget/accounting at a Washington state agency.

Statewide Equity Competencies:

• Take action to learn and grow: Curious about self and others. Takes responsibility for knowing own strengths and weaknesses. Uses their learning to make government programs and processes more efficient and effective to serve all of Washington.
• Take action to meet the needs of others: Flexible, adaptable, and customer service focused. Willing and able to empathetically respond to the unique needs of the people they work with and serve.

OAH Core Competencies:

Accountability and Dependability: Accepts personal responsibility for quality work and actions. Meets productivity standards and timeliness standards.

Produces accurate and timely work with minimal supervision. Uses professional judgment to balance quality of work with ability to meet timeliness standards.

Informs supervisor or appropriate others of problems, identifies issues and offers solutions. Gives and accepts constructive feedback.

Focuses on the situation, issue, or behavior rather than the person. Communicates and measures results accurately.

Adaptability and Flexibility: Adapts to changing business needs, conditions, priorities, and work responsibilities.

Uses customer and supervisor feedback and evaluations as a measure of quality and makes adjustments to reach goals.

Actively works to continuously problem-solve and improve job effectiveness and efficiency. Uses failure as an opportunity to learn from past results and continues to learn and grow.

Accepts personal responsibility for developing talents and knowledge. Actively acquires new skills and abilities. Seeks information and ideas from many places and learns from others.

Attention to Detail: Diligently attends to details and pursues quality in accomplishing tasks. Performs tasks with care; is thorough. Makes few errors. Checks work to ensure accuracy and completeness.

Compares observations or finished work to what is expected to find inconsistencies. Remains aware and takes care of details that are easy to overlook or dismiss as insignificant.

Communication Effectiveness: Effectively receives and conveys ideas and information both verbally and in writing, and exhibits active listening skills.

Participates in meetings in an active, cooperative, and courteous manner. Uses “plain talk” both orally and in writing. Responds timely to email, phone messages, mail, and faxes.

Composes clear, straightforward, and technically correct documents. Chooses the most effective and meaningful written form to express information.

States information as simply as possible and organizes information logically. Proofreads and edits according to accepted rules of English language. Writes effectively for the intended audience.

Ethics and Integrity: Earns others’ trust and respect by demonstrating consistent honesty, forthrightness and professionalism in all interactions.

Maintains the highest level of confidentiality at all times. Efficiently, effectively uses of work time, equipment, and resources. Follows rules and procedures. Works in a safe manner.

Relationship and Team Building: Builds constructive working relationships that reflect acceptance, cooperation, and mutual regard.

Earns the trust, respect and confidence of co-workers and customers through consistent respectful, professional, transparent interactions.

Promotes cooperation and commitment within a team to achieve goals. Maintains an open, approachable manner, and treats others fairly and respectfully.

Preserves others’ self-confidence and dignity, and shows regard for their opinions and perspectives. Sees the value of cultural, ethnic, gender and other individual differences in people.

Seeks to resolve disagreements constructively and avoids engaging in gossip and rumors.

Self Awareness and Commitment to Growth: Understands own personal identity and cultural background. Realizes all lived experience are not the same. Explores and identifies own biases.

Understands how own values and biases impact communication, working relationships, and communities served. Examines own perspectives as they relate to own personal and professional growth goals.

Position-Specific Competencies:

Analytical Skills: Identifies key facts in a range of data. Notices when data appear wrong, incomplete or need verification. Distinguishes information that is not pertinent to a decision or solution.

Determines appropriate actions or responses to information based on clear guidelines, procedures, or requirements.

Decision Making and Judgment: Makes timely, logical decisions. Evaluates relevant information to make decisions and solve problems. Prioritizes casework, assignments and projects to meet OAH standards. Pursues economy and efficiency in the use of resources.

Delivers and Drives Results: Leads by example. Demonstrates a willingness to take initiative and seizes opportunities. Creates and nurtures a performance-based culture of continuous improvement.

Provides timely, quality services that consistently meet or exceed OAH standards. Uses problem solving and analytical skills to improve processes.

Evaluates relevant information to make decisions and solve problems. Prioritizes casework, assignments and projects to meet OAH standards. Uses good judgment.

Pursues economy and efficiency in the use of resources.

Interpersonal Skills: Ability to develop, maintain, and strengthen partnership and work cooperatively with others, inside or outside the organization, who can provide information assistance and support.

Builds constructive working relationships characterized by a high level of acceptance, cooperation, and mutual regard. Adapts to and works effectively with a variety of situations and people.

Knowledge of the Authorizing Environment: Gathers knowledge and has sophisticated awareness of the authorizing environment, which may include external stakeholders, legislative committees, oversight boards and committees, rules, and regulations that govern how we conduct business.

Knowledge Retention: Ability to learn and retain new or changing information and processes regarding caseloads, office procedures, and policies.

Takes initiative to use personalized methods based on own learning style to learn and retain information that has been presented.

Ability to learn, retain and apply WACs, RCWs, and other rules to OAH procedures and processes.

Political and Legislative Process Knowledge: Possesses excellent, broad understanding of government organization and administrative procedures, governmental functions, and legislative processes.

Prioritization: The ability to effectively organize multiple assignments of a complex nature or involving competing priorities to produce work products that are accurate, thorough, and timely.

Regular and Reliable Attendance: Has minimal unplanned, unnecessary absences, has reliable attendance, and gets the job done.

Stress Tolerance: Ability to effectively manage stressful or adverse situations by making good decisions, working calmly and helping calm others; and demonstrate tact and diplomacy throughout interactions. Able to deal with highly stressful situations and emotional parties.

Supervision: Ability to interview, hire, assign and direct work, set expectations, instruct, coach, evaluate and identify training needs. Ability to hold subordinates accountable and perform corrective and disciplinary action in partnership with Human Resources.

Tact and Diplomacy: Responds to difficult, stressful or sensitive interpersonal situations in ways that reduce or minimize potential conflict and maintains good working relationships among internal and external customers.

Tactfully presents information in an objective and neutral manner. Remains calm, patient and with self-control when responding to resistance or conflict.

Seeks to learn and demonstrates respect for other perspectives. Keeps conversations positive, focusing on options, benefits, and sources of assistance.

Technology Skills: Ability to use computer and case management system to effectively process assigned work. Ability to independently produce electronic documents.

Ability to use email, telephone, and conference call systems to communicate with others.

Proficiently uses personal computers and Microsoft Applications such as Word, Excel, Outlook email and calendar, and PowerPoint to produce timely and accurate work products that fully satisfy the demands of the assignment.

Accurately enters data into a computer in a prompt and timely manner, and extracts data for reporting.

Writing Skills: Composes clear, straightforward, and technically correct documents. Chooses the most effective and meaningful written form to express information.

States information as simply as possible and organizes information logically.

Proofreads and edits information to improve its clarity, organization, content, etc., according to accepted rules of the English language.

Writes at different reading and educational levels by altering words, length of sentences and depth of explanation.

Additional Information

How to apply:

To begin the online application process, click the green "Apply" button on this announcement on careers.wa.gov or governmentjobs.com.

To be considered for this position, you must include the following information in your online application and complete the supplemental questionnaire.

Application materials must clearly show how you meet the qualifications for the position in order to be considered.

Application must include:

• An attached letter of interest describing how you meet the qualifications for this position; and
• An attached detailed chronological resume; and
• A completed online application profile that includes education and employment history; and
• Three professional references, including at least one current or recent supervisor, with current contact information.

OAH is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity diversity, age, honorably discharged veteran, veteran status, genetic information, or the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability or the use of a trained guide dog or service animal by a person with a disability.

For questions about this recruitment, or to request reasonable accommodation in the application process, please email us at OAHHR@oah.wa.gov. For TTY service, please call the Washington Relay Service at 7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6388.