Manager, Accounting II

The Ventura County Probation Agency is charged by the courts with the direct supervision of approximately 9,000 adult offenders and 2,500 juvenile offenders on probation, as well as performing two mandated functions: the preparation of sentencing reports for the courts and the operation of the Juvenile Facilities.  

Under general direction, performs working supervisory accountant functions which are highly complex in assigned fiscal program area; functional areas of responsibility may include the supervision and direction of staff performing professional or technical accounting work in an assigned department or agency fiscal program area; non-supervisory, expert-level responsibility for planning, organizing and directing a major department finance program or function; and directing and supervising fiscal staff and operations within smaller department settings.

The ideal candidate will have a thorough knowledge and understanding of accounting and auditing procedures/practices, and methodologies and tools used for forecasting, projecting, analyzing; experience in supervising professional staff, monitoring staff performance, coaching, training and mentoring staff; experience working in a rapidly changing work environment with multiple field offices and helping employees adapt to changes in policies, procedures, work assignments, and locations; experience in identifying and implementing quality assurance/control, internal controls and continuous process improvements; experience with presenting and making recommendations to staff, executives and various stakeholders; proficient in the use of Microsoft and accounting and payroll applications; superior organizational, time management, interpersonal, collaborative and communication skills; extensive experience in preparing and analyzing complex accounting transactions; sound experience in grant claiming, monitoring and reporting; and experience in governmental accounting and working with law enforcement agencies is desired.
 
NOTE:  The Manager, Accounting II is a Management exempt classification and is not eligible for overtime compensation. Incumbents in this classification are eligible for benefits at the MB3 level.
 
The eligible list established from this recruitment may be used to fill current and future Regular, Temporary, Fixed-term, Intermittent, or Extra Help vacancies. There is currently one (1) Regular vacancy with the Probation Agency.

Incumbents in this position may receive an educational incentive of either 2.5% for an Associate degree, 3.5% for a Bachelor degree, or 5% for a post graduate degree that is not required to work in the classification. Incumbents may also be eligible for bilingual incentive depending upon operational need and certification of skill.

The following duties are considered characteristic but not all-inclusive, and are examples only.  Specific assigned duties may differ depending on the needs of the department/agency.

• Plans, organizes and directs the fiscal operations and activities in support of an agency or department; directs and manages the development of fiscal goals, objectives, policies and procedures; ensures appropriate actions are taken to maximize stable long term resource to support the agency or department's mission and long term goals;

• Develops and implements financial objectives, policies and procedures designed to maximize revenue reimbursement, utilization, and compliance with applicable local, state, and federal laws, rules and regulations, and County and agency or department guidelines;

• Provides highly complex technical and policy advice to executive management regarding agency or department-wide financial, contracting and fiscal service issues having a significant impact on agency or department operations;

• Directly and through subordinate staff, selects, trains, and supervises professional, technical, and clerical accounting staff; assigns and reviews work, establishes performance standards and evaluates work; provides or coordinates staff training; conducts performance evaluations; implements discipline procedures; ensures the provision of a high performing finance operation to serve the needs of the department, agency and County;

• Plans, organizes, directs, supervises and coordinates the preparation of the agency or department budget requiring significant justifications and consideration of funding and service level/delivery alternatives; manages and controls the agency or department budget to assure conformance with revenue expectation and expenditure plans;

• Manages and leverages the County General Fund provided to the agency or department to maximize the long term draw down of federal, state and private grant funding; assumes responsibility for instituting fiscal best practices and business process improvements that lead to organizational, operations and human resource efficiencies;

• Oversees the development and implementation of short- and long-range fiscal strategic planning initiatives to ensure that current and future  fiscal/financial needs are clearly identified and addressed; develops and recommends operating policies and procedures to meet the agency or department's financial goals and objectives; participates with members of the Executive Team in assisting the agency or department director with the development of current and long-range objectives, plans, policies and overall management of the agency or department;

• Serves as the fiscal/financial subject matter expert for the agency or department and provides direction to resolve the most difficult, complex and operationally impactful financial issues;

• Plans, organizes, directs, supervises and coordinates the production of various comprehensive financial, management and statistical report for agency and department executives, and the County Executive Office;

• Represents the agency or department's interests at local, state and federal levels for all financial matters; serves as an advocate for maximum long-term funding for agency program at all levels of government;

• Serves as agency or department representative at various local and state work groups, committees and task forces;

• Analyzes the agency or department's overall fiscal data requirements for its various divisions and directs the development and implementation of systems and procedures to meet those requirements;

• Reviews and assesses the impact of changes in the agency or department's funding streams and stays abreast of new regulations and program developments to ensure the long-term maximization of agency or department resources; develops and implements fiscal programs and procedures needed to qualify the agency or department for a variety of federal and state revenues;

• Conducts studies of operating issues, automation systems, procedures, work assignments and forms, and recommends changes to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of agency or department operations;

• Oversees the development of and adherence to fiscal policy consistent with County established policy and in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB); ensures internal control policies and procedures are implemented and followed;

• Monitors and evaluates the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery methods and procedures; recommends, within agency or departmental policy, appropriate staffing levels; assesses and monitors work load, administrative and support system, and internal reporting relationships; identifies opportunities for process improvement; directs implementation of change;

• Analyzes new legislation and changes in regulations in order to determine impact on agency or department's finances and operations; advises managers and executives accordingly, and devises strategies for coping and complying with changes; and

• Performs other related duties as required.

These are entrance requirements to the examination process and assure neither continuance in the process nor placement on an eligible list.

EDUCATION, TRAINING, and EXPERIENCE

Extensive education and experience which has led to the acquisition of the required knowledge, skills and abilities. An example of qualifying education and experience includes:
Bachelor's degree with at least eighteen (18) semester units of college-level accounting coursework, including one (1) semester of Managerial Accounting and one (1) additional upper division business related course, AND:

Five (5) years of progressively responsible professional accounting or auditing experience of which four (4) years must be at a supervisory or management level with responsibilities for unit operations, program development or project management; OR two (2) years as a Manager, Accounting I for the County of Ventura.

NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

• Intermediate skill with Microsoft Excel.
• Must possess a valid California driver license.
• Must be willing and able to work in a law enforcement agency/environment.
• Must be willing and able to travel regularly throughout Ventura County and California.

• Experience with governmental accounting.
• Master's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Accounting or related field and/or Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license.
• Experience working with law enforcement agencies.
• The ability to communicate effectively in large group settings with staff, executives and various stakeholders.
• Experience with leading continuous process improvements, i.e., Lean Six Sigma.

• A Master's degree in Business Administration (MBA) degree; 
• Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license;
• Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) designation; or a
• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification 

FINAL FILING DATE:  This is a continuous recruitment and may close at any time; therefore, apply as soon as possible if you are interested in it.  Your application must be received by County of Ventura Human Resources in Ventura, California, no later than 5:00 p.m. on the closing date.

To apply on-line, please refer to our web site at www.ventura.org/jobs.  If you prefer to fill out a paper application form, please call (805) 654-5129 for application materials and submit them to County of Ventura Human Resources, 800 South Victoria Avenue, L-1970, Ventura, CA  93009.

Applicants must provide sufficient information under the Education/Work Experience portion of the application and supplemental questionnaire in order to determine eligibility.  A resume may be attached to supplement your responses in the above-referenced sections; however, it may not be submitted in lieu of the application.

SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE - qualifying:  All applicants are required to complete and submit the questionnaire for this examination AT THE TIME OF FILING.  The supplemental questionnaire may be used throughout the examination process to assist in determining each applicant's qualifications and acceptability for the position.  Failure to complete and submit the questionnaire will result in the application being removed from consideration.

APPLICATION EVALUATION - qualifying:  All applications will be reviewed to determine whether or not the stated requirements are met.  Those individuals meeting the stated requirements will be invited to continue to the next step in the screening and selection process.

NOTE:  If there are a high number of qualified applicants, a comparative screening will be conducted to determine which of the applicants will be selected for invitation to the oral examination.  Applications will be evaluated and ranked according to criteria that most closely meets the needs of the department, so it is essential that applicants provide as much detail as possible and answer all parts of the application and supplemental questionnaire.

ORAL EXAMINATION - 100%:  A job-related oral examination will be conducted to evaluate and compare participating candidates' knowledge, skills, and abilities in relation to those factors which job analysis has determined to be essential for successful performance of the job.  Candidates must earn a score of seventy percent (70%) or higher to qualify for placement on the eligible list.

If there are three (3) or fewer qualified applicants, an oral examination will not be conducted.  Instead a score of seventy percent (70%) will be assigned to each application, and each applicant will be placed on the eligible list.

Candidates successfully completing the examination process may be placed on an eligible list for a period of one (1) year.

BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION:  Applicants may be subjected to a thorough background investigation which may include inquiry into past employment, education, criminal background information, and driving record.

For further information about this recruitment, please contact Judy Larson by e-mail at judy.larson@ventura.org or by telephone at (805) 677-5153.