THE OPPORTUNITY:

The City of Brownsville is in a transformative period driven by significant public and private investments such as the expansion of the Brownsville-South Padre Island Airport Terminal, creation of a New Space City, the Port of Brownsville, Downtown Revitalization, and quality of life enhancements, including the Broadband Feasibility Study and Digital Inclusion plan to address internet connectivity challenges.

The ideal candidate for Chief Financial Officer aspires to be a model of innovation, inclusion and empowerment who enables bold people and ideas to thrive. The Chief Financial Officer will be a participatory leader: a results-oriented, relationship-building, self-aware team player who possesses high integrity, and politeness, who fosters trust by building relationships with tolerance, patience and support in order to provide the best value in service to the citizens of Brownsville.

The Chief Financial Officer will direct and oversee all financial operations of the City of Brownsville. This will be accomplished by developing and implementing financial policies and procedures, administering the City’s Capital Improvement Program, assisting with budget development and implementation, coordinating the annual financial audit and working with department heads to monitor each department’s budget and make recommendations.

COMPETENCIES:

• Financial Planning
• Long-range planning
• Negotiation experience with contracts, agreements and Memorandum of Understanding’s (MOUs)
• Strategic and Critical Thinking
• Leadership Skills
• Relationship Management
• Proficient with new technology
• Excellent verbal and written communication Skills
• Financial Analysis
• Change Management

KEY FUNCTIONS:

• Develop and implement financial policies and procedures, administer the City’s Capital Improvement Program, assisting with budget development and implementation, coordinating the annual financial audit and working with department heads to monitor each department’s budget and make recommendations. Manage bond and debt programs.
• Provide data from balance sheets, comprehensive annual financial reports, annual financial audits and governmental agency reports. Analyzes data for growth, financial sustainability, budget forecasting, employee benefits, long-term liabilities, and investments of capital resources, understanding of the financial markets, capital improvement projects, leveraged balance sheets, revenue and expense trends, annual financial audits and governmental agency reports. Determine financial health and opportunities for financial asset adjustments including bond rating presentations.
• Involved with internal and external relationship management with department directors, elected officials, CMO, and community partnerships. Works with the City Manager and other executives to coordinate planning and establish priorities for the planning process, will encourage people to trust judgment. The CFO applicant must know how to deal with all the business departments, must understand risks and provide options for mitigating them, work with City’s external auditors, financial advisors, and oversight agencies.
• Tracking cash flow and financial planning, ensure City is able to meet its financial commitments and manage cash flow in the most efficient way. Review bond balances, interest accounts and payments, grant reimbursements, tax notes and other financial instruments.
• Must be proficient in written and verbal communication skills, encourage active participation in decisions that impact the City, able to create concise and informative presentations, present complex data to a varied audience, and provide simplified answers of complex topics and ideas to a wide range of officials, agencies and the public.
• Provide overall financial operations of City including accounting, budgetary, audits, tax and other financial planning activities; including management of respective department heads as assigned. Working with system management to develop and implement policies and procedures, short- and long-range goals, objectives and plans. Providing financial leadership to directors that will supply support and create ownership of goal.
• Planning, promoting and conducting organization-wide performance improvement activities, should possess a strong understanding of the public service and be able to use this knowledge to provide an independent perspective and to constructively challenge the departments, ensuring that business decisions are grounded in solid financial criteria. Ability to incorporate local, regional, national, and global financial impacts into city financial plan and provide mitigation strategies to minimize negative impacts.
• Extensive knowledge of inter-local agreements and practices, inter-local agency governmental budgetary practices, and inter-local agency government purchasing laws and practices
• Directs the preparation of all financial statements, including income statements, balance sheets, comprehensive annual financial reports, annual financial audits and governmental agency reports.
• Manages bond and debt programs.
• Maintains accounting records consistent with Governmental Accounting Standards and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)
• Serves as the Budget Officer by developing, preparing, and assisting the City Administrator with the presentation and implementation of the City's annual budget. Prepares and updates long-range fiscal forecasting models for revenues and expenditures for all funds. Prepares Truth and Taxation calculations.
• Analyzes operations to identify areas in need of reorganization, downsizing, or elimination.
• Provide leadership, direction, vision, and advice to ensure the City remains fiscally responsible.
• Introduction of new programs/ strategies to meet all regulatory requirements.
• Assists with evaluating economic development projects including public-private partnerships.
• Assess capital improvement program using statistical analysis techniques.
• Serves as the City’s Investment Officer
• Serves as a member of the Emergency Management Essential Personnel Team

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS & JOB SPECIFICATIONS:

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

• Master’s degree in Business Administration, Accounting, Finance, or Public Administration from an accredited college is required or in lieu of will consider Bachelor’s degree with four (4) years minimum experience as an Assistant CFO.
• Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation.
• Eight (8) to ten (10) years of experience in financial management required in inter-local agency governmental budgetary practices and inter-local agency government purchasing laws and practices.
• Strong interpersonal skills in working with senior management and elected officials.

MINIMUM EXPERIENCE:

• Ten (10) years of applicable business experience of which eight (8) must be in a financial leadership role.
• Two (2) years of experience managing subordinates.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENT:

• Performs light work that involves walking or standing most of the time and involves exerting up to 20 pounds of force on a regular and recurring basis, or skill, adeptness and speed in the use of fingers, hands or limbs on repetitive operation electronic office machines or tools within moderate tolerances or limits of accuracy.

ADA COMPLIANCE:

• The City of Brownsville is an Equal Opportunity Employer. ADA requires the City to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. Prospective and current employees are invited to discuss accommodations.

BENEFITS:

• The City of Brownsville participates in a generous retirement plan with retirement opportunities available at 5 or 20 years of continuous service. The City has an exceptional employee and family medical and dental insurance plan. Employees may also contribute to deferred compensation plans from AXA/Equitable or supplemental insurance plans from AFLAC and Colonial Life. Full time employees have the opportunity to accumulate 10 sick days and 10 annual days per year. Additionally, the City of Brownsville observes 12 holidays annually.

EEO STATEMENT:

• The City of Brownsville does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors.

Nothing in this job description restricts management’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time in order to develop our employees; This description reflects management’s assignment of essential functions, it does not prohibit or restrict the tasks that may be assigned; this job description is subject to change at any time.