Department of Justice

Budget Analyst

Billings, Montana, Great Falls, Montana, Helena, Montana Full time

Budget Analyst

Department: Department of Justice

Location(s): Billings, Montana, Great Falls, Montana, Helena, Montana

Salary Range: $50460 - $80243 Per Year

Job Summary: For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorneys' Offices, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/. As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement. This position is also being announced to applicants eligible to apply through Merit Staffing procedures under 26-MT-12908349-MS.

Major Duties:

  • At the full performance level, the Budget Analyst will be responsible for planning, implementing, and administering the full spectrum of budget and financial management services. Specific duties will include: Gathering and consolidating narrative information and statistical data needed for budget operations and financial reporting. Researching legal, regulatory, program, and budgetary information. Monitoring and tracking obligations and expenditures for the office. Verifying that obligations and expenditures occur on a timely basis in accordance with regulatory controls. Providing information based on the products of the financial management system. Analyzing expenditure data to identify variables affecting costs. Preparing annual administrative budgets and operating plans. Providing a wide variety of budgetary reports. Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.

Qualifications: GS-7: To be qualified at the GS-7 grade level in Federal service, you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions; Specialized Experience, Education, a Combination of Education and Experience, OR Superior Academic Achievement. Specialized Experience: At least one full year of specialized experience at the GS-05 grade level in Federal service, hat involved performing budget or financial management work which demonstrates a basic knowledge of commonly used budget and finance principles, practices and methods to perform a range of routine budget execution, formulation, and financial reporting. Examples of specialized experience include formulating budgetary estimates, comparing projected costs with prior expenditures, monitoring the rate and amount of expenditures for specific items, consolidating budgetary data, and researching financial regulatory material to obtain information. -OR- Education: Successful completion of one full year of progressively higher level graduate education (18 semester hours or the number of units your school uses to describe one graduate year of academic study) leading to a master's degree in a related field (e.g., Accounting, Finance, Business); or LL.B. or JD if related; which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do budget analysis work. -OR- Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of specialized experience and graduate-level education which when combined equal 100% of the requirements. To calculate your percentage of graduate education, first determine the total number of graduate hours then divide the total number of your graduate semester hours by 18 (or your school's definition of one year of graduate study). To calculate your percentage of qualifying experience, divide your total number of months of qualifying experience by 12. Now, add the two percentages together. The sum of the percentages must equal at least 100%. (Only graduate education in excess of the first full year may be used in this calculation.) -OR- Superior Academic Achievement: A bachelor's degree or expect to complete the requirements for a bachelor's degree within the next 9 months meet the requirements for Superior Academic Achievement by possessing at least one of the following provisions: 1) class standing in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision; 2) Grade-point Average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher for all completed coursework or for all courses completed in the last two full years of undergraduate work OR a GPA of 3.5 based on the average of required courses completed in a major field OR the required courses in the major field completed during the final two years of the curriculum; OR 3) membership in a national scholastic honor society. GS-9: To be qualified at the GS-9 grade level in Federal service, you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions; Specialized Experience, Education, OR a Combination of Education and Experience. Specialized Experience: At least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in Federal service, that involved performing budget or financial management work which demonstrates knowledge of budget and finance principles, practices and methods to perform budget execution, formulation, financial reporting, and internal control functions. Examples of specialized experience include gathering statistical data needed for financial reporting, reviewing the accuracy of budget and program data, monitoring obligations and expenditures, and compiling budget requests. -OR- Education: Successful completion of a Master's or equivalent graduate degree in a related field (e.g., Accounting, Finance, Business), or LL.B. or J.D if related; OR 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree. Education at the graduate level must be in an accredited college or university in a related field: -OR- Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of specialized experience and education which when combined equal 100% of the requirements. (Only graduate education in excess of one full year is creditable.) Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)- The ICTAP provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your ICTAP eligibility; 2) you apply under the instructions in the announcement; and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and receive a score of 85 or better on established ranking criteria. You must provide proof of eligibility to receive selection priority. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation personnel action form. Additional information about ICTAP eligibility is at: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)-The CTAP provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees in the Department of Justice with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your Department of Justice component has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your CTAP eligibility, 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement, and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and receive a score of 85 or better on established ranking criteria. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Additional information about CTAP eligibility is at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

How to Apply: Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of all the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 03/26/2026 the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: 1. To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button. 2. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. 3. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59PM (ET) on 03/26/2026. 4. After submitting an online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take additional online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system. This message will be delivered to you both on screen and via email notification. 5. If you are asked to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be presented with a unique URL to access the USA Hire system. Access to USA Hire is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Be sure to review all instructions prior to beginning your USA Hire Assessments. Assessments. Click here for Computer System Requirements (https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=USA_Hire_System_Requirements) 6. Note, set aside at least 3 hours to take these assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue at a later time, you can re-use the URL sent to you via email and also found on the Additional Application Information page that can be located in the application record in your USAJOBS account. To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, please click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12908350 To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account (https://usajobs.gov). There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account: https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login. All of your applications will appear on the Welcome page. The application record in your USAJOBS account provides an Additional Application Information page that provides information regarding the documentation you submitted and any correspondence we have sent related to this application. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/. Reasonable Accommodation Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire.

Application Deadline: 2026-03-26