Budget Research Analyst

About the Office

The Office of the New York City Comptroller serves as the City's chief fiscal steward, working to promote the financial health, integrity, and effectiveness of New York City government. It aims to strengthen trust, secure a thriving future for all New Yorkers, and build a more just, equitable, and resilient city. Led by an independently elected citywide official, the Comptroller’s Office provides checks and balances to hold City government accountable for budgeting wisely, investing responsibly, operating efficiently, acting fairly, and addressing long-term challenges.

The Bureau of Budget evaluates New York City’s fiscal, cash, and economic position by analyzing revenue collections, expenditures, the capital program, and the local economy. It promotes transparency and accountability in financial reporting and budgeting, reviews the City’s Financial Plans, issues reports on cash balances and debt capacity, oversees independent actuarial audits of pension assumptions, and conducts assessments of the City’s economic outlook and revenue performance.

About the Role

Reporting to the Assistant Director of Budget Oversight, the Budget Research Analyst will support both quick turnaround projects and longer-term research, monitoring, and reporting on topics impacting the City of New York’s budget. The role promotes transparency about City spending, revenues, and the fiscal impact of policies.

Responsibilities

• Create and publish data products, including reports, dashboards, charts, graphs, models, and databases regarding various aspects of the City’s budget.
• Update, maintain, and improve the Bureau’s existing databases, dashboards, analysis tools, and reports.
• Monitor New York City’s expense budget, with a focus on assigned issue areas and agencies, including the Department of Sanitation (DSNY), the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR), and the Department of Correction.
• Analyze technical budget documents and spending reports.
• Assist in writing assigned sections for Charter-mandated reports on the City’s budget, identifying potential risks and unaccounted costs.
• Follow current events, policy, and legislative proposals to identify timely and salient issues for analysis and research.
• Work collaboratively with other members of the Budget Bureau and other Bureaus within the Office.
• Engage with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and other City agencies.
• Perform other related assignments and special projects as required.

Requirements

• BS/BA degree in Economics, Finance, Accounting, Public Policy Analysis/Administration, or a closely related field and one (1) or more years of professional experience in data research and analysis, budgetary planning/management, financial analysis, public policy analysis, and/or administration in a government agency or non-profit organization; or
• Combined education and/or experience equivalent to the above.

All applicants are required to submit a cover letter with their application.

Preferred Skills

• Ability to analyze and distill large data sets in Excel and/or other analytic programs and effectively communicate findings.
• Experience building, maintaining, and improving data pipelines and/or automated workflows using common data analysis languages (Python, R, SQL, etc.).
• Experience documenting and structuring data processes and workflows so they can be maintained or transferred by others.
• Experience designing, developing, and maintaining dashboards or data projects for stakeholders with varying degrees of technical knowledge using common BI software (Power BI, Tableau, etc.).
• Knowledge of database management and engineering principles, such as relational database design, data normalization, and connecting to and querying server databases.
• Experience building novel and longitudinal datasets from disparate, non-standard, and/or multi-year source files (PDFs, PNGs, Web tables, etc.), including developing repeatable ETL processes for ongoing updates.
• Experience using New York City’s Financial Management System (FMS) or other financial systems.
• Knowledge of and experience with publicly available government data.
• Strong interest in fiscal and public policy and desire to promote more effective and equitable government services and policies.
• Exceptional writing and verbal communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal, organizational, and communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently or as part of a team.
• Openness to learning new data tools and new subject matters.

Additional Information

New York City residency is generally required within 90 days of appointment. However, City Employees in certain titles who have worked for the City for 2 continuous years may also be eligible to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, or Orange County.

As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website.