Education Finance Specialist 1, Education Finance Specialist Trainee 1 (NY HELPS) (Multiple Positions), Box State Aid EFS 1

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) is seeking candidates for multiple Education Finance Specialist 1 positions in the Office of State Aid and the Fiscal Analysis and Research Unit (FARU). These units are responsible for the calculation, payment, verification, and projection of over $31 billion in State Aid distributed annually to school districts and BOCES in support of public elementary and secondary education in New York State. Data that supports these activities is currently collected from over 700 school districts and 37 BOCES via the State Aid Management System (SAMS), a custom web-based software system. Data from other State agencies and other offices within NYSED is also collected, analyzed, and used to calculate and project State Aid.

Duties of these positions may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Assist in the annual update of data collection forms, automated edits, aid calculations and testing of programmed changes;
• Use the web-based SAMS software program to perform the annual review of school district State Aid claim submissions to ensure reasonability of data for use in aid calculations and projections, payments, and reporting;
• Assist in research of outliers in state aid data and calculations for the Legislature, Governor, Bureau Chief, and others when questions arise, to ensure data and aid payments and/or projections are accurate;
• Assist in the quarterly update of the datafiles required for State Aid Projections;
• Analyze data such as expenditures, revenue, and pupil counts, to identify trends, outliers and understand the impact of changes to the calculation or collection of these figures
• Assist in the development, implementation of guidelines and procedures, and risk-based analysis for post-edit claim verification projects;
• Process revisions to school districts’ prior year aid claims to ensure correct aid is paid and overpayments of aid previously paid to districts are recouped;
• Provide technical assistance to school administrators and other agency staff based on aid formulas, payment formulas, statute and regulations;
• Assist in the review of enacted legislation and determine appropriate action related to aid calculations and payments;
• Participate in the ongoing business process re-engineering and enhancement of SAMS, including the incorporation into SAMS of remaining paper and ancillary processes;
• Assist in the development and implementation of training and informational material for school districts and BOCES;
• Prepare reports using a variety of software tools for transmission to school districts and BOCES, NYS agencies and SED offices;
• Assist in unit duties and special projects as needed, including but not limited to using various databases to review and extract data and correct errors.

Minimum Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

Ny Helps

This title is part of the New York Hiring for Emergency Limited Placement Statewide Program (NY HELPS).

For the duration of the NY HELPS Program, this title may be filled via a non-competitive appointment, which means no examination is required but all candidates must meet the minimum qualifications of the title for which they apply. At a future date (within one year of permanent appointment), it is expected employees hired under NY HELPS will have their non-competitive employment status converted to competitive status, without having to compete in an examination. Employees will then be afforded with all of the same rights and privileges of competitive class employees of New York State. While serving permanently in a NY HELPS title, employees may take part in any promotion examination for which they are qualified.

Non-Competitive Minimum Qualifications:

To be considered for appointment through NY HELPS, or 55 b/c, candidates must meet the open-competitive minimum qualifications for this position. The qualifications are:

• Appointment to Education Finance Specialist Trainee 1: Candidates must have a bachelor's degree or higher.
• Appointment to Education Finance Specialist Trainee 2: Candidates must have a bachelor's degree or higher AND one year of professional work experience in an educational agency or facility regulated under federal or New York State education laws, rules, or regulations performing one or more of the following activities: calculating financial support, reviewing criteria and authorizing payments, auditing/reviewing fiscal transaction.*
• Appointment to Education Finance Specialist 1: Candidates must have a bachelor's degree or higher AND two years of professional work experience in an educational agency or facility regulated under federal or New York State education laws, rules, or regulations performing one or more of the following activities: calculating financial support, reviewing criteria and authorizing payments, auditing/reviewing fiscal transaction.*

*Substitution – A Juris Doctor, master’s or higher degree in a related field can substitute for one year of specialized experience.

All candidates that have taken and passed the most recent Professional Career Opportunities (PCO) exam are encouraged to apply.

Competitive Minimum Qualifications:

Reassignment: Candidates must have one year of permanent competitive or 55b/c service as an Education Finance Specialist

1.

Eligible List Appointment: Candidates who are reachable on the New York State Education Department’s Public Administration Trainee Transition (PATT) eligible list or the Professional Career Opportunities (PCO) or the Professional Career Opportunities (PCO) Select Titles eligible list may be considered for appointment. If you are on the Civil Service eligible list for this title, you may receive a canvass letter. You must complete and return it as instructed on the letter. For a description of the minimum qualifications that candidates must possess to be appointed from the PCO Select Education Finance Specialist 1 eligible list, please visit https://www.cs.ny.gov/pco/pco-title-details/title-info.cfm?jobcode=0213100.

Section 70.1 Transfer to Education Finance Specialist 1: Candidates must have one year of permanent competitive or 55b/c service in a title SG-16 or above deemed eligible for transfer under Section 70.1 of the Civil Service Law.

Section 70.1 Transfer to Education Finance Specialist Trainee 1: Candidates must have one year of permanent competitive or 55b/c service in a title SG-11 or above deemed eligible for transfer under Section 70.1 of the Civil Service Law.

Section 70.4 Transfer to Education Finance Specialist Trainee 1: Candidates may be eligible for nomination for transfer under Section 70.4 of the Civil Service Law to Education Finance Specialist Trainee 1 if they are a current NYS employee with one year of permanent competitive or 55b/c service in a title SG-11 or higher AND have standing on the Professional Career Opportunities (PCO) eligible list or the Public Administration Traineeship Transition (PATT) eligible list AND possess a Bachelor’s degree.

Section 70.4 Transfer to Education Finance Specialist 1: Candidates may be eligible for nomination for transfer under Section 70.4 of the Civil Service Law to Education Finance Specialist 1 if they are a current NYS employee with one year of permanent competitive or 55b/c service in a title SG-16 or higher AND have standing on the Professional Career Opportunities (PCO) eligible list or the Public Administration Traineeship Transition (PATT) eligible list AND possess a Bachelor’s degree.

Section 52.6 Transfer: Candidates must have one year of permanent competitive or 55b/c service in a title allocated SG-16 or higher eligible to transfer under Section 52.6 of the Civil Service Law.

For information regarding the transfer options of your current title, please visit the Civil Service Career Mobility Office Website. https://careermobilityoffice.cs.ny.gov/cmo/gotit/title-search/index.cfm.

55b/c Appointment Education Finance Specialist 1: These positions are eligible for 55b/c designation and are subject to verification of applicant eligibility. Candidates must possess a current 55b/c eligibility letter and the following minimum qualifications:

• A bachelor’s degree or higher AND two years of professional work experience in an educational agency or facility regulated under federal or New York State education laws, rules, or regulations performing one or more of the following activities: calculating financial support, reviewing criteria and authorizing payments, auditing/reviewing fiscal transaction.

55b/c Appointment Education Finance Specialist Trainee 1: These positions are eligible for 55b/c designation and are subject to verification of applicant eligibility. Candidates must possess a current 55b/c eligibility letter and the following minimum qualifications:

• A bachelor’s degree or higher