Finance and Risk Manager

Position Summary

The Finance and Risk Manager is responsible for managing finance operations, specifically in the areas of Finance, Investments, Debt, Insurance and Business Risk, and Utility Rate Management.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

MANAGEMENT/SUPERVISION

• Accomplish staff results by communicating job expectations; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results; coaching, counseling, and disciplining employees; developing, coordinating, and enforcing systems, policies, procedures, and productivity standards.
• Promote a positive work environment and encourage teamwork to accomplish results.
• Review and approve purchases and payroll time entry for department.
• Attend managers' meetings and report appropriate information to direct reports.
• Ability to communicate effectively in both verbal and written form.
• Ensure personnel are safety conscious and adhere to NBU safety guidelines and practices at all times.
• Establish strategic goals by gathering pertinent business, financial, service, and operations information; identifying and evaluating trends and options; choosing a course of action; defining objectives; evaluating outcomes.
• Maintain professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops, reviewing professional publications, establishing personal networks, benchmarking state-of-the-art practices; participating in professional societies.
• Accomplish financial objectives by forecasting requirements; preparing & monitoring annual O&M expenses, capital expenses, and personnel budgets; scheduling expenditures; analyzing variances; and initiating corrective actions.
• Perform other related duties as necessary, including training new team members and/or back-ups.

FINANCE

• Manage financial agreements, including Letters of Credit, Surety Bonds and Guarantees.
• Manage administration of Antenna Lease Agreements.
• Manage reconciliation and tracking of impact fee revenue.
• Manage the calculation and maintenance of NBU reserve funds.
• Manage the solicitation of finance and risk related items with NBU's Purchasing Department.
• Manage the collection of information and communication with Rating Agencies.
• Coordinate communication with NBU's Financial Advisor regarding debt issuance, reporting, and compliance.
• Provide upper management with concise summaries of industry specific news, rating agency reports, and market updates.
• Serve as administrator for various cash management software programs
• Attend various meetings and communicate outcomes.
• Prepare monthly and quarterly reports, board reports and presentations.
• Review and monitor adherence to NBU's financial policy.
• Provide financial analysis of projects

INVESTMENTS

• Manage investment portfolio to include purchasing and monitoring of investments.
• Participate in bi-annual required training for investment officers.
• Participate, prepare, and present at investment committee meetings, as well as recommend any changes needed to the Investment Policy to reflect current processes, personnel, etc.
• Stay abreast of financial market in order to analyze investment data and make portfolio decisions.
• Review quarterly investment report and present to NBU Board.
• Monitor funds and make sure proper transfers are made on restricted accounts.
• Review and verify annual continuing disclosure report.
• Review and monitor adherence to NBU's investment policy.

DEBT

• Manage the issuance of long-term debt financings.
• Manage debt compliance of restricted funds.
• Manage coordination of issuance of new debt by serving as the point of contact between internal and external parties throughout the issuance process.
• Manage post-issuance activities for debt.
• Manage the periodic review of bond arbitrage calculations.

INSURANCE AND BUSINESS RISK

• Manage the administration of claims against NBU.
• Manage the administration of claims NBU has against 3rd parties.
• Review reports on status of all claims.
• Manage insurance program and make annual recommendations.
• Manage emergency preparedness including preparation of emergency plans.
• Review, analyze and monitor insurance coverage plans.
• Manage P-card administration.
• Manage the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Program

UTILITY RATE MANAGEMENT

• Manage the rates and fees of the utility.
• Manage cost of service studies for electric, water and wastewater.
• Manage utility fee studies to find and compare applicable fees across the utility.
• Review and present on short-term and long-term forecasts of rates for line of business to Executives and/or the Board.
• Review and present on scenario analyses to inform Executive and/or Board decision-making.
• Assist Customer Service Department in conveying any rate changes to the customers.
• Manage research and analysis of complex customer data to identify trends and create recommendations to assist management team in decision making.
• Provide assistance in wholesale contract negotiations and contract administration for special projects, including re-use water, etc.
• Manage coordination with wholesale customer advisory groups regarding financial, budgetary, and contractual matters.
• Manage review of monthly stats and unbundled reports to ensure rate accuracy and coordinate with Accounting/Billing departments on any discrepancies.
• Review areas in rates and fees where issues may arise, and formulate a plan that can help resolve these issues.
• Manage coordination with Data Strategy team periodically to identify data needs.
• Manage coordination with Marketing and Communication Department to ensure that rate tables are updated correctly before being released to the public.
• Manage the ratemaking budget process to ensure that proposed rate adjustments help the utility meet its revenue requirements in the financial operating plan.
• Provide presentations as needed to articulate rates and fees included in the rate plan.
• Participate in the annual financial audit, providing any data needed to the Accounting department.
• Recommend and implement process improvements.

ADDITIONAL DEPARTMENT SUPPORT

• Assist various department managers throughout annual budget preparation process on items relating to cash management, investments, debt management, other income/expense, capital project funding sources and other areas as needed.
• Manage department participation in annual financial audit.
• Recommend and implement process improvements.
• Perform other related duties as necessary, including training new team members and/or back-ups.
• Additional tasks or special projects as required.

GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Maintain regular attendance; leave schedule should be managed so as to not interfere with ability to accomplish tasks, including special projects and assignments with deadlines or negatively affect direct reports' ability to do their jobs when applicable.
• Adhere to NBU policies and procedures, as well as safety guidelines and practices at all times.
• Maintain a clean and safe work area, office, field site and vehicle as applicable.
• Maintain strict confidentiality of business, employee and customer information in written and oral communications and safeguard sensitive documents.
• Develop & maintain effective customer service skills for communications with co-workers, customers and the public in general.
• Exemplify NBU Core Values.
• Participate in and support initiatives to reach annual NBU Strategic Goals.

Formal Education and Work Experience Requirements

Degree/Diploma Obtained: Bachelors

Work Experience Time Frame: Three Years or More

Field of Study: Finance

Other: Bachelor's degree (BA) in Finance, Business, Math or a related field

Certification and Licensures Requirements

PFIA Training Certificate or must be obtained within 6 months of employment.

Other Minimum Qualifications

- Experience with the majority of the following is preferred: public investments, financial and statistical analysis, public debt issuance and financial reporting.
- Prior management experience preferred.