Financial Analyst

The Mission Concepts and Capabilities (MCC) Division of Applied Research Associates, Inc.

(ARA) has an exciting opportunity for two full-time Financial Analysts working fulltime on-site at a location in the Arlington or Falls Church, VA area.

The potential candidate will provide support to the Office of the Undersecretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment, Office of the Director of Business Operations by providing expertise for all Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) activities.

 The ideal candidates will assist in the day-to-day tracking of budget execution, maintaining spend plans, and ensuring funds are obligated efficiently.

This role requires a strong foundation in financial tracking and the ability to draft clear, professional updates and justifications for leadership regarding funding status.

Essential Functions:


* Assist the Office of the Undersecretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment, Office of the Director of Business Operations oversee budget formulation and execution of the office’s appropriated budget to meet and exceed Comptroller execution benchmarks



* Budget Execution: Maintain and update the Reconciliation Funding (e.g., One Big Beautiful Bill Act) Spend Plan, ensuring all contract and vendor information is accurately tracked and reported.


* Performance Tracking: Monitor execution metrics against fiscal goals (e.g., tracking the 50% execution target) and alerting leadership to potential shortfalls.


* Reporting & Justifications: Draft clear, accurate variance reports and justifications when execution targets are not met or when spend plans require adjustment.



* Data Reconciliation: Assist senior analysts in reconciling financial records, verifying commitments, obligations, and expenditures align with official accounting systems.

Required Skills:


* Bachelor’s Degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration, or a related field.


* Applicant must be a U.S.

citizen.


* Must have a minimum of a SECRET government clearance.


* 2-4 years of relevant experience in the financial field.


* Foundational understanding of federal and DoW financial management, including the PPBE process, budget formulation, budget execution, spend plan management, funds distribution, and execution-year monitoring.

Familiarity with major appropriation types, including O&M, RDT&E, Procurement, and related period-of-availability rules.

Basic knowledge of funds-control principles, including purpose, time, and amount; commitments, obligations, expenditures, and unobligated balances; execution phasing; variance analysis; unfunded requirements; and documentation needed to support audit readiness and leadership decision-making.


* Strong attention to detail, strong organizational skills, and the ability to write clear, concise official staff updates (BLUF format).

Preferred Skills:


* Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel (PivotTables, VLOOKUPs, data f...