Cost Analyst – Cost Modeling Subject Matter Expert

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in United States.

📋 Description

• Take ownership of the design, modernization, and monthly operation of cost allocation and rate models for a federal Working Capital Fund's IT shared-service portfolio — transitioning from outdated spreadsheet methods to clear, documented, and reproducible models that recover full costs, prevent cross-subsidization among 11 customer organizations, and aim for near-zero retained earnings.

• Create, enhance, and maintain cost allocation models for both legacy (commodity) and newly integrated programmatic IT shared services, ensuring complete data lineage from the source financial data through cost pools, drivers, and allocation logic to final billing outputs.

• Implement federal cost accounting standards in model design: full cost under SFFAS 4 (direct tracing, cause-and-effect assignment, documented allocation), and software cost treatment under SFFAS 10, including the project-level segregation of development costs expensed in the year incurred.

• Develop cost pool structures, cost drivers, and allocation bases that maintain development, sustainment, tenant-specific, shared-service, and enterprise costs in distinct, auditable categories.

• Generate annual rate development models that align with the WCF budget formulation calendar, designed to target near-zero retained earnings; provide support for Government rate-review boards.

• Deliver monthly cost allocation outputs by the 5th business day, ensuring a smooth tie to source financial systems, with zero critical formula or logic errors. Create scenario and sensitivity analysis tools capable of addressing Government what-if inquiries within five business days.

• Write methodology and assumptions documentation that comprehensively justifies each cost driver and allocation basis, to be submitted 15 business days prior to each rate-setting cycle. Execute parallel runs of modernized model components against legacy outputs before transition; reconcile and resolve every variance.

• Assist with billing reconciliation, audit responses, and customer (OA) billing-dispute analysis using model-based evidence.

⛳️ Requirements

• Security Clearance: Public Trust or the capability to obtain one; or a higher Security clearance.

• Candidates whose experience is confined to advisory, strategic, or conceptual consulting will not meet the program's standards. The client explicitly requires demonstrated, hands-on implementation experience — deployed cost models, executed billing cycles, delivered automations, and operational financial products.

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Economics, or Data Analytics.

• Over 8 years of specialized experience with federal Working Capital Funds (or similar revolving/fee-for-service funds), federal cost accounting standards (SFFAS), and the development of cost-recovery or chargeback methodologies.

• Proven implementation record: cost models you have personally constructed or modernized that were deployed into production and utilized for actual rate-setting or billing.

• Advanced proficiency in Excel modeling, including structured, documented, and auditable workbook design.

🏝️ Benefits

• Family Health Care (54% cost covered for the entire family)

• Family Dental (54% cost covered for the entire family)

• Family Vision (54% cost covered for the entire family)

• Flexible Spending Account

• Overutilization bonuses for Time and Materials (T&M) contracts

• Lifetime Event Bonuses (e.g., child, marriage)

• Profit-sharing arrangement for any work brought into the company

• Unlimited Leave with Approval

• 401k with 100% employer match on the first 4% invested

• $1,000 training budget