How to hire a budget officer

How to hire a budget officer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step budget officer hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a budget officer job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new budget officer
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the budget officer you need to hire. Certain budget officer roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A budget officer's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, budget officers from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents budget officer salaries for various positions.

   Type of Budget Officer	Description	Hourly rate
   Budget Officer	Budget analysts help public and private institutions organize their finances. They prepare budget reports and monitor institutional spending.	$17-45
   Cost Analyst	Cost Analysts are employees with a strong background in finance or accounting. They are in charge of collecting financial data and analyzing the entries... Show more	$18-35
   Budget Analyst	A budget analyst supports organizations and businesses by organizing their financial resources to develop and execute budgets for them. A budget analyst is also responsible for evaluating budget proposals, analyzing data, extra funds redistribution, recommending spending cuts, preparing reports annually, and estimating spending requirements in the future... Show more	$20-36

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Financial Management
   • Oversight
   • Budget Formulation
   • Budget Process
   • Financial Analysis
   • Financial Resources
   • Financial Reports
   • Personnel Actions
   • Payroll
   • Budget Execution
   • DOD
   • Budget Preparation
   • Budget Policies
   • Budget Development

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage accounting data of expenditures in ledgers; ensure all transactions are re-serve for obligation.
   • Perform manpower and payroll analysis.
   • Maintain appropriate controls over payroll processes and disbursements.
   • Review commitments, obligations and expenditures and reconcile monthly reports on transactions process in DoD accounting systems.
   • Prepare the monthly financial statements in accordance with GAAP and the monthly Asset/Liability management reports.
   • Utilize agency allocation letters, spending plans and FTE utilization are develop within funding resources.

   More budget officer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your budget officer job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A budget officer salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, budget officers' average salary in arkansas is 58% less than in district of columbia.
   • Seniority. Entry-level budget officers earn 61% less than senior-level budget officers.
   • Certifications. A budget officer with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a budget officer's salary.

   Average budget officer salary

   $59,780yearly

   $28.74 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level budget officer salary

   $37,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 21, 2025

   Average budget officer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	District of Columbia	$95,959	$46
   2	California	$78,800	$38
   3	Connecticut	$71,547	$34
   4	New Jersey	$65,534	$32
   5	Pennsylvania	$64,460	$31
   6	Colorado	$63,093	$30
   7	Michigan	$62,209	$30
   8	Missouri	$60,978	$29
   9	New York	$60,020	$29
   10	Oregon	$59,369	$29
   11	Florida	$58,643	$28
   12	Maryland	$58,105	$28
   13	South Carolina	$56,929	$27
   14	Minnesota	$56,908	$27
   15	Nevada	$56,434	$27
   16	New Mexico	$53,527	$26
   17	Iowa	$51,201	$25
   18	Nebraska	$50,527	$24
   19	North Carolina	$48,490	$23
   20	Georgia	$45,339	$22

   Average budget officer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Michigan State University	$76,480	$36.77	6
   2	Global Communities	$75,158	$36.13
   3	International Rescue Committee	$72,512	$34.86
   4	National Park Foundation	$71,565	$34.41	1
   5	United States Courts	$68,773	$33.06	49
   6	PSEA	$66,892	$32.16	2
   7	Visual Citi	$65,392	$31.44
   8	Air National Guard	$61,854	$29.74
   9	Colorado Christian University	$61,804	$29.71	1
   10	Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority	$61,780	$29.70
   11	MSSG	$61,134	$29.39
   12	Minnesota State Fair	$58,172	$27.97	12
   13	University of Iowa Center for Advancement	$54,699	$26.30	7
   14	City San Bernardino	$52,332	$25.16	4
   15	University of Kentucky	$51,217	$24.62	5
   16	City of Rock Hill	$50,745	$24.40	2
   17	City of Tracy	$50,505	$24.28	1
   18	NC.gov	$45,852	$22.04	65
   19	State of Georgia: Teachers Retirement System of Georgia	$45,390	$21.82	55
   20	Southeastern University	$39,921	$19.19

4. Writing a budget officer job description

   A job description for a budget officer role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a budget officer job description:

   Budget officer job description example

   Budget Officer
   Annual Salary: $79,622 - 115,232 Per Year / DOQ
   Position Type: Full-Time
   Close Date: Until Filled General Description : The purpose of this class within the organization is to supervise and direct the functions and projects of the Budget and Procurement division, ensuring division compliance with all applicable policies, procedures, regulations and standards. This class works under administrative supervision, developing and implementing programs within organizational policies and reports major activities to executive level administrators through conferences and reports.
   
   Position Overview:
   
   Please Click Here
   
   Minimum Training and Experience:
   
   Requires a Bachelor's Degree in business, finance, accounting, management or related field. Master's Degree in Public Administration preferred. Requires six years in division management and in supporting City Management and Council or closely related experience. The equivalent combination of education and related work experience may be considered. Special Certifications and Licenses: Certified Public Accountant (preferred)
   Certified Government Financial Officer (preferred)
   Valid Driver's License (required)
   
   Desirable Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: Thorough knowledge of public finance and economics. Knowledge of the principles of budget development and administration, as well as financial management, planning and analysis. Knowledge of modern office practices and technology; skill in the use of computers for word and data processing especially Microsoft excel and PowerPoint. Ability to prepare and give public presentations with confidence and professionalism. Ability to take the initiative to complete the duties of the position without the need of direct supervision. Ability to plan, organize and prioritize daily assignments and work activities. Ability to assemble and analyze information and make written reports and records in a concise, clear and effective manner. Ability to deal with people beyond giving and receiving instructions. Must be adaptable to performing under stress when confronted with emergency situations or tight deadlines. Ability to maintain positive customer-focused relationships with co-workers, supervisors, agencies, the general public, and all other internal and external customers. Personally demonstrates appropriate customer service skills. Work is performed onsite. The incumbent must be present at work to perform the essential functions of this job. Essential Job Functions:
   Supervises the development of a 2-year balanced budget for multiple divisions on the line-item detail level for Council consideration, this includes department coordination, data gathering/input, forecasting year end-expenses and revenues, coordinating department meetings and preparing workshop presentations for Council. Creates exhaustive annual budget documents to standards set by the National Government Finance Officers Association, including drafting letters, compiling financials, personnel data, performance measurements, capital improvement plan and debt obligations. Oversees the procurement process and monitors compliance with the internal procurement policy as well as any other state/federal policies. Works with the CFO and Controller to compile and summarize the results of the City's finances for the previous year and prepare an audited Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. Reviews financial policies and operating procedures in all departments to ensure the City is carrying out its legal responsibilities and is compliant with rating agency expectations. Forecasts 10-year revenues and expenses for all utility capital projects requiring regular coordination with utility directors to update the utility capital plan and determine rate changes necessary to fund capital improvements. Works closely with the Department Director to get proper records, data and needs for City Management and Council requests. Performs related work as assigned. This Notice is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties, knowledge, skills and abilities required to do the job. This is intended only to describe the general nature of the job. A more comprehensive list of duties, responsibilities and essential job functions is available on the job description. The City of Rock Hill is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, political affiliation, disability, national origin, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition), or age.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find budget officers for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your budget officer job on Zippia to find and recruit budget officer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as efinancialcareers, financialjobsweb.com, careerbank, financial job bank.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit budget officers, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new budget officer

   Once you've found the budget officer candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new budget officer. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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