Budget Analyst Renewable Operations

The Budget Analyst position at Southern Company focuses on managing budgeting and accounting for renewable energy fleets, specifically Wind and Solar sites. Responsibilities include capital and O&M budget creation, monthly reforecasting, and acting as a liaison between Operations and finance teams. The role requires a bachelor's degree in accounting or finance and at least 5 years of relevant experience. It allows for hybrid work with some overnight travel.
About the position

The Budget Analyst position at Southern Power involves two distinct roles, each supporting different renewable energy fleets. The first role focuses on the self-perform Wind fleet, which encompasses ten sites. The selected candidate will be responsible for developing, implementing, and maintaining both Operations & Maintenance (O&M) and Capital accounting, budgeting, and reporting processes for the current year and long-range budgets for these facilities. This position will report directly to the Wind Fleet General Manager. The second role supports a fleet of 15 Solar & Wind sites that are operated and maintained by a third party, along with three Central Texas self-perform solar sites. Similar to the first role, this position will also develop, implement, and maintain O&M and Capital accounting, budgeting, and reporting processes for the current year and long-range budgets for these facilities. This position will report directly to a Renewable Region Manager. In both roles, the Budget Analyst will be tasked with capital and O&M budget creation, ownership, and reporting responsibility for multiple facilities. Responsibilities include monthly and year-end reforecasting, actuals review, and variance explanations to functional and executive management. The analyst will prepare monthly accruals for submission to accounting and act as a liaison between Operations and various finance and accounting teams. The role requires understanding and working with multiple types of contracts, invoice coding and reconciliation, and supporting large-scale projects affecting the fleet. The analyst will also participate in the Budget Operations Review Board and support other budget analysts as needed. The position allows for hybrid work and requires some overnight travel, though it is not frequent.

Responsibilities
• Capital and O&M budget creation, ownership and reporting responsibility for multiple facilities
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• Monthly and year-end reforecasting, actuals review, and variance explanations to functional and executive management on a routine basis
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• Preparation of monthly accruals for submittal to accounting
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• Liaison between Operations and SPC Finance and Accounting
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• Liaison between Operations and Partnerships Team
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• Liaison between Operations, Property Accounting and SPC Financial Planning for Long Term Service Agreements (LTSA's)
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• Understand and work with multiple types of contracts for multiple facilities
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• Invoice coding and reconciliation
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• Support large-scale projects affecting the fleet, such as wind repowering and site acquisition
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• Receiving materials and services, review packing slips, file paperwork
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• Active membership in the Budget Operations Review Board representing Renewable Operations
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• Support and back up other budget analysts and overall Renewables Financial Plan
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• Timekeeping and Expenses Subject Matter Expert
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• Miscellaneous administrative duties in support of site personnel and management
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• Identifying and leading opportunities for continuous improvement and sharing best practices

Requirements
• Bachelor's degree in accounting or finance strongly preferred
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• Knowledge of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) required
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• Knowledge of Southern Company budgeting principles a plus
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• 5 or more years of relevant experience is strongly preferred
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• Experience in budgeting, accounting, and/or finance is required
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• Working knowledge of Enterprise Foundation systems and tools
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• Experience with Microsoft Office Suite with proven focus on Excel and PowerPoint
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• Knowledge of data analytics platforms is a plus (i.e., Tableau, PowerBI, Oracle Analytics)
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• Knowledge of financial principles such as net income, earnings per share, cash flow analysis
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• Must possess strong analytical and problem-solving skills
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• Must consistently demonstrate accuracy and attention to detail across multiple work assignments
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• Strong verbal and written communication skills to effectively communicate at all levels within the organization and corporate environments
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• Ability to review budget/actual/forecast variances and provide assessment analysis based on trends
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• Ability to understand and work with multiple types of contracts for multiple sites
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• Ability to review invoices for accuracy

Nice-to-haves
• Knowledge of data analytics platforms such as Tableau, PowerBI, Oracle Analytics
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• Knowledge of Southern Company budgeting principles

Benefits
• Some relocation assistance may be available