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Utility Analyst

Employer
City Of Alexandria Virginia
Location
Alexandria, VA
Salary
$46,758.92 - $76,858.11 Annually
Closing date
Jul 9, 2019

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Job Details

Utility Analyst

The City of Alexandria is located in northern Virginia and is bordered by the District of Columbia (Potomac River), Arlington and Fairfax counties. With a population of approximately 150,000 and a land area of 15.75 square miles, Alexandria is the seventh largest city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Alexandria has a charming waterfront and is a unique and historic place to live and work. About one-quarter of the City's square miles have been designated as a national or local historic district. We proudly embrace our rich history and seize the endless opportunities that lie ahead. If you are interested in working for the vibrant City of Alexandria, we invite qualified candidates to apply for our Utility Analyst position.

An Overview
The City of Alexandria's Finance Department is looking for an experienced, detail-oriented, and collaborative Utility Analyst to join our team. As a member the Administration Division, the Utility Analyst supports the day-to-day operation of all City facilities by administering the Citywide utility billing program. The City of Alexandria operates more than 80 facilities in the course of providing public services for our community, many of which are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All of these facilities require utility services to keep warm in the winter and cool in the summer, to keep the lights on and the water running, and the City actively manages facility and utility usage to save energy and drive down costs. A critical portion of this active management is the utility billing program.

A collaboration between the Finance Department and the General Services Department, the utility billing program is directly administered by the Utility Analyst. The City has almost 500 individual utility accounts which generate an annual spend of almost $6 million. These costs arrive monthly in the form of utility bills that the Utility Analyst will review, reconcile, and pay, in coordination with the Accounting Division. The Utility Analyst then uses the corrected invoices to populate the City's energy management system (Energy CAP) to provide data for the Energy Manager to utilize to generate insights into the City's energy usage. This work requires skill with the complex financial software systems, speed and accuracy in data entry, and tenacity working with utility companies to correct invoices as quickly as possible. The Utility Analyst performs their work under the general supervision of the Admin Division Chief.

What You Should Bring
The ideal candidate is a detail-oriented self-starter who is eager to play an important role in helping the City optimize its energy usage. Additional skills and abilities include:
  • Knowledge of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP);
  • Knowledge of utility usage in a large organization with multiple physical locations;
  • Skill performing accurate, timely data entry;
  • Skill with complex financial software systems;
  • Skill with Microsoft Excel, including tables, SUM functions;
  • Skill creating clean and logical reports for a variety of audiences;
  • Ability to regularly reconcile a large number of accounts in an accurate, complete, and timely manner;
  • Ability to effectively manage and prioritize one's time;
  • Ability to maintain logical, well-organized files, both paper and electronic.


The Opportunity - Examples of Work
  • Utilizes the City's energy management accounting and database system (Energy CAP) to audit and pay the City's utility bills;
  • Coordinates with utility companies to resolve billing errors, establish service installation, and communicate utility outages at City operations;
  • Assists Deputy Finance Director and Energy Manager in development of Citywide energy and utility financial and operational management plans;
  • Creates accurate and timely cost and energy usage reporting for Energy Manager, facility managers, and department heads;
  • Utilizes City's ERP system (Munis) for financial research, analysis, and reconciliation
  • Develops utility forecasts and budgets and tracks utility expenditures;
  • Performs related work as required.


About The Department
The City of Alexandria's Finance Department is a fast-paced, diverse, and customer service focused operation that serves both members of the public and the other departments of the City itself. The Finance Department has seven divisions and in fiscal year 2019 is operating with a total budget of $13.5 million and 104.25 FTE positions. The main responsibilities of the Finance divisions are as follows:
  • The Revenue Division assesses personal property (car tax), meal sales, transient lodging and other taxes, as well as issuing business and professional licenses;
  • The Treasury Division bills, collects, invests, and manages all City monies;
  • The Real Estate Assessments Division appraises each parcel of real estate in the City, the value of which is used to bill for the real estate tax;
  • The Purchasing Division is responsible for centralized City procurement;
  • The Accounting Division maintains records on the financial operations of the City and prepares the City's monthly and annual financial reports;
  • The Pension Division manages pension plans for City employees; and
  • The Administration Division provides executive-level strategy and direction via the Director and Deputy Director and also administers the department's budget, human resources, and performance management. This division also provides risk management services for the City and manages the City's enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, Munis.


Minimum & Additional Requirements

Two Year College Degree with coursework in accounting or financial management; at least three years of progressive experience in the field of accounting and financial management; at least one year of work experience involving public accounting or public financial administration; or any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities.

Preferred Qualifications

Four Year College Degree; experience utilizing complex financial software systems; experience utilizing energy or utility management software; experience coordinating with utility companies on billing and service-related issues.

Notes

This position requires the successful completion of pre-employment background checks including but not limited to drug testing, criminal background.

Company

The City of Alexandria is an award-winning, innovative, and progressive local government that brings together elected leaders, residents, businesses, and staff to foster a thriving community.  We are an independent, full-service city, providing the services typically operated by both counties and cities in areas such as public safety, transportation, human services, parks and recreation, planning, and administration. We offer a wide range of exciting career opportunities in a variety of fields, with the resources and expertise to succeed.  In Alexandria, employees are our most important asset, and we work hard to create and support a culture that delivers excellence through the shared values of respect, integrity, teamwork and continuous improvement.

Our employees have access to excellent medical, dental, vision, life insurance and other benefits.  Alexandria provides a defined-benefit pension and offers six weeks of paid parental leave to employees who become parents through birth, adoption or foster care.

We offer a robust wellness program, interdepartmental rotation program, tuition assistance funding and professional development program that helps employees obtain the knowledge, skills, qualifications and experience to enhance their professional and personal growth.

With a population of approximately 160,000 and a land area of 16 square miles, Alexandria is the seventh largest city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Located on the Potomac River across from Washington, D.C., Alexandria is known for its beautifully preserved 18th- and 19th-century architecture, charming waterfront, high-tech economy, vibrant retail and restaurant corridors and diverse neighborhoods. We are a unique and historic community, and we continue to innovate for the 21st century.

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