Finance Manager

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The position is open until filled.

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Why Join MAG:

MAG is a great place to work. We offer a competitive salary, excellent benefits, and a hybrid work environment that supports flexibility, with a minimum of three days per week in the office, along with a collaborative culture where employee contributions make a real impact.

About MAG:

The Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) is a group of local governments working together on issues that touch the lives of every resident. We are a regional planning agency that develops solutions in areas such as transportation, environmental and air quality, and human services. MAG serves a thriving region of 5 million people. Our members include 28 cities and towns, three Native nations, and Maricopa and Pinal counties. Our planning area encompasses more than 10,000 square miles. MAG is the council of governments and the designated metropolitan planning organization for transportation planning for the greater Phoenix metropolitan area.

Visit www.azmag.gov to learn more.

Your Team
MAG’s Fiscal Services Division is responsible for safeguarding the organization’s financial integrity, ensuring regulatory compliance, and driving strategic fiscal health. Operating under the direction of the Finance Director, the division manages all core financial functions, including complex technical accounting, budgeting, grant compliance, procurement, and payroll. 

The Position
MAG is seeking a team-oriented Finance & Accounting professional to lead a team in the Fiscal Services Division. This is a hands-on, working manager opportunity that not only supervises seasoned fiscal staff, but actively performs complex technical accounting, financial reporting, and analytical tasks. The Finance Manager requires an all-encompassing operational knowledge of all public sector fiscal areas—including those outside of direct daily oversight, such as procurement and payroll—to ensure organizational continuity, cross-functional support, and the maintenance of internal controls. The Finance Manager is a critical member of the team and serves as a key financial advisor to executive leadership and division directors, optimizing the organization's fiscal health, grant compliance, and overall administrative workflows. 

Main responsibilities include:

• Staff Supervision & Development: Oversees day-to-day fiscal operations and drives team performance through targeted training, coaching, and personnel development.

• Direct "Working" Fiscal Operations: Processes transactions, manages multiple accounting closes, approves and posts journal entries, and prepares or reviews complex reconciliations.

• Financial Reporting & Auditing: Manages GAAP-compliant financial reports and statements, leads the annual external audit, prepares federal indirect cost allocation plans and annual Form 990 tax returns.

• Post-Award Grant Management: Oversees grant financials across the agency, monitoring revenues, expenditures, and milestones while ensuring SEFA compliance and resolving Single Audit findings.

• Cross-Functional Fiscal Support (Procurement & Payroll): Maintains functional fluency and provides technical guidance, oversight, and backup processing for payroll operations and organization-wide procurement activities.

• Budgeting & Forecasting: Directs the annual and biennial budget development process and long-range financial plans, partnering with executive leadership to analyze variances, ensure financial health, and align strategies with organizational goals.

• Systems & Major Initiatives: Provides leadership in the development, testing, implementation, and maintenance of major financial technology and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems

• Internal Controls & Compliance: Establishes and evaluates internal controls to safeguard public assets, ensuring all operations, procurements, and grant expenditures strictly comply with all applicable laws and funding requirements.

• Strategic Planning- Provides financial insights and supports the development of long-term financial strategies through optimization, resource allocation, identifying opportunities for cost savings and efficiency improvements.

The Candidate
As our next Finance Manager, you are a strategic public sector accountant who shifts fluidly between high-level division management and hands-on, detailed technical financial work. In this role, you will take full ownership of our fund accounting, budget preparation, performance auditing, and post-award grant compliance. You will use your deep analytical judgment to untangle complex ledger transactions, resolve non-routine payroll or procurement issues, and ensure strict compliance with governmental laws. Daily, you will leverage your expertise in financial systems particularly Workday Financials and advanced Excel to ensure seamless and accurate fiscal operations.

You are a natural collaborator who builds cohesive, proactive team environments focused on high productivity. You excel at breaking down complex laws or regulations into simple, understandable terms for diverse, multidisciplinary stakeholders and executive leadership. By establishing positive working relationships with internal staff, division directors, external auditors, and grantors, you will organize team efforts to meet competing project timelines effectively. Your strategic vision, backed by your extensive, progressively responsible public sector finance experience, will directly elevate MAG's strategic goals and financial integrity.

If this sounds like you, we invite you to read on to learn more about the specific skills, knowledge, and experience required for this role.

Skilled in:

• Applying principles and practices of public sector fund accounting, financial, compliance, budget preparation and performance auditing

• Analyzing, interpreting, and correcting complex financial records, grant expenditures, payroll registers, and ledger transactions and recommend effective solutions

• Applying post-award grant accounting and reporting principles, internal control practices, and required record-keeping techniques

• Implementing policies and produces in compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and professional standards related to auditing and governmental accounting

• Managing financial information systems, enterprise resource planning systems, and other fiscal applications

• Preparing clear, concise, and professional technical reports, grant reimbursement submissions, financial statements, and administrative correspondence

• Establishing and maintaining positive, cooperative working relationships with staff, management, auditors, grantors, external agencies, and the public

Ability to:

• Apply independent analytical and evaluative judgment to solve complex, non-routine financial, procurement, payroll, and grant accounting compliance problems

• Exercise sound judgement to make critical decisions

• Explain and simplify complex laws, regulations, policies, or procedures

• Maintain the confidentiality of information and professional boundaries

• Manage multiple projects with competing timelines effectively

• Organize and coordinate the efforts of multidisciplinary teams with diverse stakeholders

• Manage financial information systems, enterprise resource planning systems, and other fiscal applications

• Plan, develop, implement, and assess strategic goals and objectives

• Coach, mentor, and build a cohesive, proactive team environment focused on high productivity and accurate performance

Technology Skills

• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including the ability to build and audit complex financial models, utilize advanced formulas, manage large datasets via Pivot Tables, and ensure data integrity across cross-functional workbooks

• Functional fluency or hands-on configuration experience with Workday Financials, specifically across core modules such as General Ledger, Grants Management, Procurement, and Payroll.  Other large ERP systems are valuable as well, Workday is preferred

Experience and Education

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in Accounting, Business, Finance, or related field; master’s degree preferred

• At least seven years of applicable experience demonstrating progressively responsible public sector accounting, finance, or budgeting experience

• A Minimum of 3 to 5 years of direct supervisory or team leadership experience, specifically managing professional-level accounting or fiscal staff

• Demonstrated experience applying 2 CFR Part 200 and FTA and/or FHWA post-award grant requirements, including grant financial reporting, expenditure monitoring, indirect cost allocation, internal controls, and audit compliance

• Proven experience with post-award grant administration, governmental fund accounting (GASB), and managing the federal Single Audit process

• Experience migrating, implementing, or optimizing modern cloud-based ERP systems (e.g., Workday) is a plus

• Prior experience working within a municipal government, county government, or regional planning agency (COG/MPO) is highly preferred

The Maricopa Association of Governments is an Equal Opportunity Employer. During the selection process, any applicant requiring accommodation for a disability should advise the Human Resources Division at HR@azmag.gov or by calling (602) 254-6300.

302 N. First Ave., Suite 200, Phoenix, AZ 85003