STATE OF CONNECTICUT EXECUTIVE BRANCH JOBS

Associate Accountant

Recruitment #231219-0941AR-001

Introduction

The State of Connecticut, Office of Early Childhood (OEC) is now accepting applications for two Associate Accountant positions, within the Finance Unit of the Division of Finance and Fiscal/Administrative Services. 

What We Can Offer You:
  • NEW: A Platinum Healthcare Plan, the nation’s best for state employees and dependents, according to a report by Georgetown’s Center on Health Insurance Reform an article by Ellen Andrews, Ph.D., along with comprehensive benefit offerings
  • Retirement plan options
  • Generous paid time off, including 13 holidays
  • A culture that encourages work/life balance
  • Work for a Forbes top company: State of Connecticut Ranked One of the Best Employers of 2023 - State of CT Receives National Recognition for Offering Job Growth, Competitive Benefits, and Flexible Schedule
  • State of Connecticut is an eligible Public Service Loan Forgiveness employer, meaning you may be eligible to have qualifying student loans forgiven after 10 years of service.  Click here for more information.
Position Highlights:
  • Full time/40 hrs per week
  • First shift, Monday-Friday
  • Hybrid telework opportunities available
  • Location: 450 Columbus Blvd, Hartford, CT. 
The Role:
The Associate Accountant will report to the Supervising Accountant. This position will be a part of a unit of three. 


About Us: OEC is a unique State agency in Connecticut that helps families with young children achieve better life outcomes. Created in 2013, OEC is called on in its enabling statute to be data-driven, human-centered, and result-focused. We touch the lives of over 200,000 young children, parents, and caregivers annually through our integrated focus on early care and education programs and safety supports, our home visiting programs, and other critical early childhood services. By scale of funding, OEC is one of the largest departments of Connecticut state government, deploying and leveraging approximately half a billion dollars each year in service of vulnerable families and communities. Connecticut is a leader in the coordination of early childhood programs throughout the country. Whereas early childhood programming in most states is fragmented across multiple programs which families must navigate, only a handful of states have created agencies dedicated to integrating support families with young children require and only Connecticut has a clear data-driven mandate. New parenthood and early childhood are extremely important moments in a person’s life and nurturing or harmful experiences during this time can have significant and long-lasting impacts.

Our Mission: OEC's mission is to partner with families of young children to advance equitable early childhood policies, funding and programs; support early learning and development; and strengthen the critical role of all families, providers, educators, and communities throughout a child’s life.  We will assertively remove barriers and build upon the strengths of historically disenfranchised people and communities to ensure fair access to OEC resources.

Selection Plan

  • To Apply:

    • In order to be considered for this job opening, you must meet the Minimum Qualifications as listed on this job opening. You must specify your qualifications on your application.
    • The minimum experience and training requirements must be met by the close date on the job opening, unless otherwise specified.
    • In order to receive educational credits toward qualification for this job posting, the institution must be accredited.  If the institution of higher learning is located outside of the U.S., you are responsible for providing documentation from a recognized USA accrediting service which specializes in determining foreign education equivalencies to the individual listed on this job posting. 
    • Ensure that your application is complete and detailed before submitting it. In order to comply with Public Act 21-69, the State of Connecticut is no longer asking for resumes during the initial application process. You will not be able to make revisions once your application is submitted into the JobAps system.
    • Please select all location(s) and shift(s) you are willing to work on your application. Failure to do so may result in not being considered for vacancies in that specific location or shift.
    • All application materials must be received by the recruiting agency by the time specified on the job opening for the position for which you are applying. Late applications may not be submitted and will not be considered. Exceptions are rare and limited to documented events that incapacitate a candidate during the entire duration of the job posting time period. It is the candidate’s obligation and responsibility to request an exception and provide a legally recognized justification to accommodate such exception. Requests should be made to DAS.SHRM@ct.gov.
    • For current state employees, salary calculations are not necessarily comparable from branch to branch but it does not impact your state service credit.  
FOR ASSISTANCE IN APPLYING:

  • Please read or watch our Applicant Tips on How to Apply! 

Important Information After You Apply:

  • This posting may require completion of additional referral questions (RQs). You can access these RQs via an email that will be sent to you after the posting's closing date or by visiting your JobAps Personal Status Board (Certification Questionnaires section). Your responses to these RQs must be submitted by the questionnaire's expiration date. Please regularly check your email and JobAps Personal Status Board for notifications. Please check your SPAM and/or Junk folders on a daily basis in the event an email provider places auto-notification emails in a user's spam.
  • Although applicants will receive correspondence via email, as a backup they are also encouraged to sign on to their Personal Status Board on a daily basis to monitor their status, view all emailed notices and complete tasks required in the recruitment process.
  • Note: At any point during the recruitment process, applicants may be required to submit additional documentation which support their qualification(s) for this position. These documents may include: a cover letter, resume, performance reviews, attendance records, supervisory references, licensure, etc., at the discretion of the hiring agency.
  • Interviews will be limited to candidates whose experience and training most closely meet the requirements of the position.
  • The immediate vacancy is listed above, however, applications to this recruitment may be used for future vacancies in this job class.
  • Candidates who are offered and accept a position with the State of Connecticut are bound by the State Code of Ethics for Public Officials and State Employees which is available at www.ct.gov/ethics.
Connect With Us:
Due to the large volume of applications received, we are unable to provide confirmation of receipt or status during the recruitment process. Updates will be available through your JobAps portal account. Should you have any questions pertaining to this recruitment, please contact 
Sharon McIntosh, at Sharon.McIntosh@ct.gov.

Follow the State of Connecticut on LinkedIn

PURPOSE OF JOB CLASS (NATURE OF WORK)

In a state agency this class is accountable for performing the most complex accounting tasks within a variety of accounting programs and systems. This class may also be accountable for lead or consultative responsibility.

EXAMPLES OF DUTIES

  • Establishes and implements accounting sub-systems such as procedures for paying and collecting activities, procedures for issuance of grants, loans or subsidies, establishment of rates or schedules of fees, establishment of account charts for classification of transactions; 
  • Maintains fiscal controls by authorizing non-routine expenditures based on management priorities and policies, examining data and making recommendations regarding timing and amounts of expenditures; 
  • Manages various phases of budget preparation and control such as preparing estimates of costs of existing or new programs, offices or divisions, preparing budget requests, appropriation schedules, monthly budget reports and year end budget reports; 
  • Administers fiscal aspects of grant programs by reviewing funding applications for approval, researching and preparing estimates of costs of proposed grant programs, interpreting grant contracts for approval of grant expenditures, analyzing grantees financial records and reports for compliance with grant expenditure requirements; 
  • Monitors fiscal aspects of contract administration by reviewing and interpreting contracts for approval on non-routine expenditures, preparing or approving schedules of fees in regard to specific contracts; 
  • Determines priorities; 
  • Provides staff training and assistance; 
  • Conducts or assists in conducting performance evaluations; 
  • Acts as liaison with other operating units, agencies and outside officials regarding unit policies and procedures; 
  • May coordinate unit workflow; 
  • May assign and review work; 
  • May establish and maintain unit procedures; 
  • Performs related duties as required.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILL AND ABILITY

  • Considerable knowledge of 
    • professional accounting principles and practices including governmental accounting and budgeting; 
  • Skills 
    • interpersonal skills; 
    • oral and written communication skills; 
  • Considerable ability to 
    • analyze and evaluate financial records, methods and procedures; 
    • devise and install accounting procedures and systems; 
  • Supervisory ability.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS - GENERAL EXPERIENCE

Seven (7) years of experience in accounting or auditing.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS - SPECIAL EXPERIENCE

One (1) year of the General Experience must have been at the level of an Accountant, an Auditor or an Accounts Examiner with responsibility for the exercise of independent analysis and judgement in the application of professional accounting principles and practices.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS - SUBSTITUTIONS ALLOWED

  • College training in accounting or a closely related field may be substituted for the General Experience on the basis of fifteen (15) semester hours equalling one-half (1/2) year of experience to a maximum of four (4) years for a Bachelor's degree.
  • A Master's degree in accounting may be substituted for one (1) additional year of the General Experience.
  • Certification in any of the following may be substituted for one (1) year of the General and Special Experience: Certified Public Accountant, Certified Internal Auditor.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

  • Experience utilizing financial management systems for accounts payable and accounts receivable modules
  • Experience analyzing financial statements, reconciliations, and preparing financial reports and journal entries
  • Experience preparing, monitoring, and managing a budget
  • Experience utilizing Microsoft Excel for spreadsheet development, managing data, using formulas, functions and pivot tables 
  • Experience applying federal and state statutes and regulations in grants management
  • Experience with business office functions such as accounts payables, receivables, purchasing, and cash management practices
  • Experience with GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) and SEFA (Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards) reporting
  • Experience communicating verbally and in writing with coworkers and various stakeholders

Conclusion

AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

As defined by Sec. 5-196 of the Connecticut General Statutes, a job class is a position or group of positions that share general characteristics and are categorized under a single title for administrative purposes.  As such, a job class is not meant to be all-inclusive of every task and/or responsibility.