PD12.1: Financial & Budget Management Analyst (Affordability & Cost) – Expert    

Description: As a principal expert, this analyst provides strategic-level cost analysis and affordability assessments to guide the agency's most complex and high-value investment decisions. This role focuses on the "cost" element of the cost-schedule-performance trade space, developing sophisticated financial models and data-driven analyses to ensure that programs and portfolios are affordable and fiscally sustainable over their entire lifecycle. 

Duties May Include: 

• Leading the development of complex, data-driven affordability analyses for entire portfolios to inform the agency's annual budget build and long-range strategic investment plans. 
• Architecting and maintaining intricate cost models to conduct deep what-if scenarios and sensitivity analysis related to new programs, changing requirements, and budget fluctuations. 
• Serving as the lead author and analyst for the financial sections of formal business cases, Analysis of Alternatives (AoAs), and cost-benefit analyses that are presented to senior leadership and governance boards. 
• Serving as the agency's top subject matter expert on cost estimating methodologies and financial modeling, providing guidance and quality assurance to program offices. 
• Researching and proposing innovative, enterprise-wide solutions to address systemic funding shortfalls and optimize resource allocation across competing priorities. 

Required Skills: 

• A minimum of 12 years of experience in federal financial management, with a clear concentration in cost analysis, cost estimating, or affordability assessment. 
• A Bachelor's degree in a relevant quantitative field such as Finance, Economics, or Mathematics. 
• Advanced proficiency with relational databases and Microsoft Excel, including the ability to build complex, multi-variable financial models from scratch. 
• Demonstrated experience developing and presenting formal affordability analysis and cost-benefit analysis to senior executive-level leadership. 

Desired Skills: 

• Master's degree in a business or quantitative field. 
• A professional cost-estimating certification, such as the Certified Cost Estimator/Analyst (CCEA)®, or a financial certification like CDFM or CGFM. 
• Experience working with modern data visualization and statistical analysis tools (e.g., Tableau, R, Python, Crystal Ball).