Senior/Principal Management Analyst at City of Oceanside

Company Description

The City of Oceanside is currently accepting applications for the position of Senior Management Analyst/Principal Management Analyst. The current vacancy is in the Police Department.

Prospective candidates will undergo and must successfully pass a thorough police background investigation which may include a psychological evaluation and polygraph examination.

If you’re looking for a role where your work truly matters — where strategy, creativity, and analytical horsepower come together to support one of the City’s most dynamic departments — this is it. As a Senior/Principal Management Analyst, you’ll step into the engine room of the Oceanside Police Department, helping guide the financial, operational, and administrative systems that keep the organization strong, responsive, and future-ready.

This is a role for someone who enjoys solving complex puzzles, improving processes, and partnering with people across every level of the organization. You’ll work with a diverse mix of sworn officers, professional staff, city leaders, finance experts, and community partners — translating data into insight, challenges into solutions, and long-term goals into actionable plans.

Your days will be filled with meaningful work: developing and forecasting multimillion-dollar budgets, ensuring grants stay compliant and effective, strengthening internal controls, managing procurement and contracts, supporting personnel operations, and leading projects that streamline systems and save time. You’ll have a front-row seat to how a major city department operates — and you’ll play a key role in shaping how it grows and adapts.

You won’t just maintain systems — you’ll improve them. You’ll guide staff, modernize processes, support leadership in critical decision-making, and help ensure city resources are used responsibly, transparently, and strategically. If you enjoy variety, impact, collaboration, and the satisfaction of seeing your work directly improve operations, this position offers all of that — and more.

Join OPD and bring your expertise to a department that values innovation, teamwork, integrity, and service. Here, you’ll have the opportunity to make a real difference, contribute to an environment of continuous improvement, and support a mission that truly serves the community.

By joining OPD as a Senior/Principal Management Analyst, you’ll become part of an organization committed to protecting the vulnerable and serving our community.

You’ll align with core values that matter: accountability, integrity, transparency, and a dedication to public-service excellence. Your analytical, financial, and operational leadership will help the Department deliver on its vision — a community where everyone can thrive and prosper.

You’ll also enjoy meaningful day-to-day work that directly supports safety, trust, and quality of life for over 175,000 residents — with opportunities to lead, innovate, and build long-lasting systems that support staff and community alike.

If you’re someone who believes in public service, values teamwork, and wants to make a tangible difference — this role gives you a seat at the table. Join us and help shape a safer, stronger Oceanside.

Role Description

The Senior Management Analyst prepares extensive analytical and statistical studies and research projects; conducts and coordinates special studies or projects pertaining to organization development, work method, finances and other organizational issues; identifies and evaluates opportunities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of selected programs and operations; performs a variety of highly responsible and sensitive administrative staff duties; formulates recommendations and implementation plans for solutions to administrative, management and operational problems and issues; makes written and oral reports and presentations to management; may confer with departmental and other officials on administrative problems and participates in the development of long-range plans and programs; may assist in budget preparation, review and administration; assumes supervisory responsibility over office staff; and performs related work as required.

The Principal Management Analyst plans, coordinates and manages the development, implementation and administration of large complex budgets; analyzes difficult and complex budget and financing proposals; meets with managers to evaluate budget requests; makes recommendations on proposals and other budgetary or financial matters; works closely with the Financial Services Department to resolve any questions or issues.

Supervises staff engaged in budget management and a variety of other related departmental administration functions such as grants, accounting, purchasing, contract administration and personnel/payroll administration, large and/or highly complex department budgets characterized by multiple revenue sources and funds and the requirement for complex financial and administrative analyses in their administration to ensure compliance with revenue/fund/grant restrictions.

Plans, assigns, schedules and evaluates the work of assigned staff; with staff, develops, implements and monitors work plans to achieve assigned unit objectives; provides input to the annual budget; makes purchases and other expenditures in accordance with City procedures and monitors performance against the annual budget; participates in developing, implementing and evaluating plans, processes and procedures to achieve established goals and objectives in accordance with department standards; prepares and maintains a variety of records and reports.

Provides day-to-day leadership and works with staff to ensure a high performance, customer service-oriented work environment that supports achieving City and departmental mission, objectives and service standards; applies best practices and quality assurance processes to assigned areas of responsibility.

Monitors and evaluates budget status throughout the fiscal year; researches and analyzes revenue and expenditure variances for general fund accounts and special revenue funds to determine root causes and appropriate courses of action; verifies accurate charging of costs to proper accounts; reconciles financial, budget and payroll system data to validate actual expenditures; recommends budget amendments and other operational changes to resolve variances when necessary; prepares a variety of budget status reports.

Builds databases or spreadsheets of financial, economic and other data and uses specialized soft-ware to generate forecasts of financial, rate and revenue impacts; creates financial models; performs complex financial analyses and statistical computations for various studies.

Prepares periodic and ad-hoc financial reports and provides in-depth analysis of financial conditions and future trends; performs special analyses including those associated with cost recovery and fee schedule studies and allocation of administrative overhead costs.

Performs other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

SENIOR MANAGEMENT ANALYST

Knowledge of:

• Principles of management organization and administrative analysis;
• Principles, practices and methods used in the organization and operation of municipal government;
• Advanced principles and procedures of research, statistics, planning, design, methodology and analysis;
• Applicable civil, government and administrative codes;
• Budget preparation and analysis and management audit techniques;
• Public sector employee relations theory, practices and issues;
• Principles and practices of supervision;
• Principles and practices of public sector contract administration; and
• Principles and practices of customer service.

• Gather, interpret and analyze data to a superior degree;
• Exercise sound judgment and common sense;
• Plan and organize work with a high degree of independence of action;
• Conduct research and prepare complete and accurate analysis, reports and recommendations on a variety of issues;
• Prepare clear and concise oral and written reports, both narrative and statistical;
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with all levels of City staff, other governmental agencies and the general public;
• Plan and supervise the work of others;
• Utilize computer systems to enter and retrieve data;
• Read, understand, interpret and apply laws, policies, rules, contracts, guidelines and professional practices;
• Demonstrate an awareness and appreciation of the diversity of the community; and
• Speak clearly and effectively before individuals and groups.

Experience and Training Qualifications

Experience: A minimum of five years of increasingly responsible professional and administrative/analytical work equivalent to the level of Management Analyst.

Training: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor's degree in public administration, economics, business administration or a related discipline. Master's Degree is highly desirable.

Note: You must attach a copy of your degree to the application.

License or Certificates: Possession of, or ability to obtain, an appropriate, valid driver's license.

• Principles, practices, methods and techniques of financial analysis and forecasting.
• Principles, practices and methods of municipal budget development and management.
• Principles, practices and methods of administrative, organizational and procedural analysis.
• Principles and practices of public administration, including purchasing, contracting and maintenance of public records.
• Principles, tools and techniques of project planning and management.
• City policies, procedures, methods and systems applicable to budget development, purchasing, contracting, and payroll.
• Principles and practices of grant writing and grants administration.
• City ordinances, codes, procedures and practices regarding areas of assigned responsibility.
• Principles and practices of sound business communications.
• Principles and practices of effective supervision.

Ability to:

• Plan, supervise, assign, review and evaluate the work of staff engaged in performing budget management and other departmental administration functions.
• Collect, analyze, evaluate and interpret data, both in statistical and narrative form.
• Define issues, analyze financial, administrative, organizational and/or procedural problems, evaluate alternatives and reach sound, logical, fact-based conclusions and recommendations in accordance with laws, regulations, rules and policies.
• Organize, set priorities and exercise sound independent judgment within areas of responsibility.
• Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
• Understand, interpret, explain and apply applicable laws, codes and ordinances.
• Prepare clear, concise and comprehensive reports, presentations, communication materials and other materials appropriate to the audience.
• Present proposals and recommendations clearly, logically and persuasively.
• Operate a computer and standard business software, with particular proficiency in the use of Excel applications.
• Use tact and diplomacy in dealing with sensitive and complex issues, situations and concerned individuals.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with all those encountered in the course of work.

Experience and Training

Experience: Six years of progressively responsible experience in performing management and policy analysis, budget and finance administration, or grants and contract management.

Training: A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in public administration, economics, finance, business administration or a related discipline. A Master’s degree is highly desirable.

Note: You must attach a copy of your degree to the application.

License/Certificates: Possession of, or ability to obtain and maintain, an appropriate, California driver’s license.

Working Conditions and Selection Process

Environmentals Conditions: Office environment; exposure to computer screens.

Physical Conditions: Essential and marginal functions may require maintaining physical condition necessary for sitting for prolonged periods of time.