Summary The position is in the Budget Division within the Fiscal Department of the Resource Management Directorate at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center (FHCC) in North Chicago, Illinois. The CAPT James A. Lovell FHCC is a multisite, integrated federal health care system serving military veterans, recruits, active-duty personnel, and other eligible beneficiaries across Northeastern Illinois and Southeastern Wisconsin. Responsibilities The purpose of the position is to serve as a Budget Analyst with responsibility for planning, developing, presenting, executing, and reviewing all fiscal programs assigned to FHCC. The incumbent works with the Assistant Fiscal Officer to administer the command's overall budgetary management process. The analyst provides budgetary support and consultation to management and administrative staff at all levels. The position administers a complex annual budget involving multiple direct and reimbursable funding sources; interprets and communicates budget limitations, program requirements, and applicable directives; identifies actual or potential funding issues; and recommends solutions to ensure optimal use of resources. Major Duties: Budgetary Program Planning and Implementation 40% The Budget Analyst assists in the formulation of annual and multiyear operating budgets that support FHCC goals, objectives, and mission requirements. Duties include: Analyzing facility programs, determining relative costs and benefits, and projecting annual funding needs. Forecasting resource demands based on workload, operational requirements, and historical trends. Providing guidance to leadership at all levels in developing budget requests and supporting documentation for programming and budget submissions covering the current year and outyears. Consolidating and formatting budget inputs from multiple sources in accordance with applicable regulations and directive requirements. Reviewing budget estimates to identify imbalances or duplications, reconciling estimates to current spending levels. Assessing the cost impacts of new programs, policy initiatives, or changes in mission; recommending strategies consistent with anticipated funding and command priorities. Budgetary Program Execution 35% The incumbent participates in and supports the execution phase of the budget cycle. Responsibilities include: Preparing allotments or sub allotments of funds for distribution to program managers based on timelines, project requirements, or other factors. Reviewing obligations and expenditures to ensure appropriateness, accuracy, and compliance with governing fiscal laws and policies. Monitoring the integrity of the budget administration system by evaluating key transactions, reconciliations, and resource consumption rates. Conducting ongoing reviews of existing budget programs to determine effectiveness and sufficiency of funding. Developing and maintaining reporting structures that provide accurate, timely representation of fund consumption and availability. Identifying and analyzing trends in receipts, obligations, and expenditures to ensure progress toward annual financial plan goals. Preparing and monitoring FHCC operating budgets, resource management updates, budgetary reports, briefings, and mid year reviews. Advisory and Evaluation 25% The analyst provides advisory services, technical assistance, and evaluative input for FHCC leadership and program managers. Activities include: Advising on legal and regulatory requirements governing the acquisition and use of funds for program and administrative purposes. Coordinating with directorates to ensure they understand the nature, scope, and requirements of budgetary inputs. Assisting program offices in aligning budget requests with goals and performance measures required by the annual performance plan. Consulting with leadership and program managers to resolve budgetary issues of unusual difficulty and collaboratively developing or revising justifications. Recommending or reviewing recommendations on the allocation or reallocation of funds. Identifying and helping resolve unprecedented budgetary conflicts using sound judgment and knowledge of FHCC goals, mission, and priorities. Detecting, reporting, and assisting in resolving potential or actual violations of budgetary law or fiscal regulation. Informing the supervisor of progress, significant issues, or matters of a controversial, precedent setting, or audit sensitive nature (e.g., system anomalies, potential fraudulent activity, need for supplemental appropriations, inability to meet critical deadlines). Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized Telework: Ad-Hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Budget Analyst/PD04263A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/22/2026. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Comprehensive knowledge and understanding of governing budgetary policies, procedures, and directives. Knowledge and skill to correlate and analyze large amounts of narrative and statistical material to make appropriate budget estimates, obligations, allotments, costs, manpower ceiling, and position controls. Analytical skill used in determining the impact of changes in personnel salaries, expenses and related costs on levels of program effort for current and future year's budgets. Develop documents for presentations, memos, reports, justifications and narrative statistical information utilizing spreadsheets and databases. Detailed knowledge and understanding of accounting reporting systems and database systems is required to extract, analyze, and interpret reports as they pertain to budgetary functions for the Medical Center and for the VISN. Provides advice on all aspects of the interpretation and application of guidelines for the budget program to fund control point and management officials. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Analytical Reasoning Communication Financial Management Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: Work is sedentary and is accomplished at a desk or table. Some walking and standing is required and carrying light objects such as briefcases, notebooks, and reports is required. Work is performed in an office setting, which Is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. Education There is no educational substitution at this grade level. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
