Budget Review Division Budget Analysis Branch
Office of Management and Budget
Budget Review Division
Budget Analysis Branch
DURATION: 4-6 months, starting between November 2016 and January 2017 (flexible start date)
DESCRIPTION: The Budget Analysis Branch of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is offering a Federal employee the opportunity to gain unique insight into the preparation, compilation, and production of the President's Budget. We track the overall deficit path for the Budget; help compile the economic assumptions that underlie the President’s Budget; and work on cross-cutting governmental issues such as receipts, grants to state and local governments, Federal debt, and Federal credit programs; among many other interesting projects.
Detailees will expand their knowledge and potentially enhance their career through this important and challenging detail. The ideal applicant would have experience with the Federal budget, strong attention to detail, and demonstrated experience analyzing and manipulating large datasets, both in spreadsheets and databases. A background check will be required prior to starting work.
The detailee will participate in developing the first Budget of the incoming Administration. Specific tasks may include analyzing agency data via automated reports, database queries, and budget database entries; producing text and tables for the various chapters of the Analytical Perspectives budget volume; updating data used in deficit/surplus projections; providing support for a variety of models run by staff; generating and editing summary tables for the main Budget volume; and assisting in the development of the Budget Briefing Book. The specific roles, responsibilities and accomplishments for this assignment would be determined by the needs of the branch and the candidate’s interest areas.
Although permanent staff members will provide training and oversight, the detailee should be self-motivated, independent, excel in a fast-paced environment, and comfortable working with large spreadsheets and databases. In our consideration of candidates, we will be looking for those who can quickly grasp complex and unfamiliar concepts, take initiative, and manage multiple tasks.
The benefits of this opportunity include detailed involvement with the concepts and structure of the overall Federal budget and the analytical processes that underlie the accurate and timely creation of the several volumes of the President’s Budget transmittal. Particularly valuable is the hands-on experience gained through day-to-day interaction with OMB staff and use of OMB budget system applications to identify and resolve technical and conceptual discrepancies in the budget materials.
Depending on the timing of budget decisions, the complexities of the issues, and requirements of the production schedule, detailees should be prepared for the possibility that their workload could be unpredictable. Different sets of challenges should be anticipated so flexibility, motivation and personal maturity are critical.
HOW TO APPLY: Candidates should submit all of the following documents no later than Monday, October 3, 2016:
- Resume; and
- Short statement of why this opportunity is of interest.
POINTS OF CONTACT: Applications, as well as any questions regarding the position or duties, should be directed to:
Payton Thomas
Payton_A_Thomas@omb.eop.gov
202-395-7868