What are the responsibilities and job description for the Director, Budget and Finance position at Harris County Sheriff's Office?
General Summary
The Director of Finance serves as the senior executive responsible for the strategic financial leadership, fiscal governance, and enterprise-wide financial operations of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), overseeing an annual operating and capital budget exceeding $750 million.
This position provides executive oversight of all financial functions supporting a large, complex public safety organization operating continuously across law enforcement, detention, support services, and specialized operational units. The Director of Finance acts as a principal advisor to the Sheriff, Chief Deputy, and Executive Command on fiscal strategy, budgetary planning, resource allocation, and long-term financial sustainability.
The role requires an experienced financial executive capable of balancing operational readiness, fiscal accountability, regulatory compliance, and strategic planning while navigating public-sector funding structures, oversight requirements, and high-risk operational environments.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
- Executive Financial Leadership & Strategic Advisory
- Serves as the primary financial advisor to the Sheriff, Chief Deputy, and Executive Command.
- Participates as a member of Executive Command with agency-wide fiscal impact.
- Represents HCSO with County Administration, the Auditor’s Office, Budget Office, Purchasing, Legal, and Commissioners Court.
- Enterprise Financial Governance & Budget Administration
- Oversee all financial operations, including budgeting, accounting, reporting, procurement coordination, grants, and internal controls.
- Directs development and execution of an annual budget exceeding $750 million.
- Leads multi-year financial planning and capital funding strategies.
- Fiscal Stewardship, Compliance & Risk Management
- Ensures compliance with all federal, state, county, and local fiscal regulations.
- Maintains audit readiness and internal control systems.
- Coordinates with internal and external auditors.
- Operational Finance & Resource Optimization
- Analyzes expenditure trends and cost drivers.
- Supervises the financial implications of labor, staffing, and compensation in collaboration with Human Resources.
- Evaluates funding for new initiatives and programs.
- Inmate Trust Bank & Commissary Financial Oversight
- Provides executive oversight of the Inmate Trust Bank, ensuring proper administration, internal controls, and regulatory compliance.
- Oversee financial administration of inmate commissary funds, safeguarding inmate accounts and ensuring transparent, accountable use of funds.
- Coordinates with Detention leadership, Legal, and external partners regarding inmate financial services.
- Leadership & Organizational Management
- Leads and develops the Finance Division team.
- Establishes financial policies and performance standards.
- Promotes transparency and accountability across the organization.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or related field (Master’s preferred).
- Ten (10) years of progressively responsible financial management experience, including five (5) years at an executive or senior leadership level.
- Experience managing large-scale public sector budgets ($500M preferred).
- Extensive public sector finance, audit, and compliance experience.
An equivalent combination of education, executive-level experience, and professional expertise may be considered.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Advanced Knowledge Of:
- Employment and labor law in a civil service or public sector environment
- Workforce planning, organizational design, and classification/compensation systems
- Employee relations, grievance administration, and disciplinary processes
- HR governance, policy development, and risk management
- HRIS platforms, workforce analytics, and data-driven decision-making
- Executive-level budgeting, financial stewardship, and resource allocation
Demonstrated Ability To:
- Operate as a trusted advisor to executive leadership and elected officials
- Balance operational authority, employee rights, and legal compliance in a public safety environment
- Lead complex, sensitive workforce matters with discretion and sound judgment
- Influence outcomes across bureaus and divisions without direct operational command
- Communicate effectively with executive leadership, legal counsel, oversight bodies, and external stakeholders
- Lead large, multidisciplinary teams through organizational change and modernization initiatives
Preferred Licenses, Certifications and Experience
- CPA, CGFM, or similar professional certification.
- Executive experience in law enforcement, corrections, or large governmental organizations.
Work Environment & Physical Demands
- This position operates primarily in a professional office setting, but frequent access to secure detention and operational areas is required to coordinate technology support, infrastructure assessments, equipment installations, and emergency response.
- The role requires comfort working in controlled-access environments, including housing units, intake, control rooms, and restricted law enforcement systems areas.
- The employee must be able to respond on-site in support of mission-critical systems or outages impacting jail or law enforcement operations.
- Standard use of computers, phones, printers, servers, and technical equipment.
Position Type and Typical Hours of Work
- Position Type: Apointed by the Sheriff, Civil Service Exempt - Full-time,exempt
- Work Schedule: Typically Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM, with availability for after-hours and on-call support as required.
Other Duties
This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this position. Management may, at its discretion, assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.
Salary : $750 - $83,200