Military Pay Senior SME

We're seeking a Military Pay Senior SME to provide DAF Personnel subject-matter expertise to the Air Force Integrated Personnel and Pay System (AFIPPS) Functional Management Office (FMO).

You will support the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management and Comptroller (SAF/FM) as they lead AFIPPS delivery in close collaboration with the AFIPPS Program Management Office (PMO). This role helps guide the Air Force's Military Pay strategy, maintaining pay accuracy, auditability, and a great user experience.

What you'll do:

* Serve as a senior MilPay SME to the AFIPPS FMO, translating policy and operational needs into clear, testable functional requirements, acceptance criteria, and controls.
* Advise on end-to-end pay processes (accessions to separations/retirements), entitlements, and deductions; identify deregulation opportunities (where policy allows) to reduce customization and speed delivery.
* Partner with the PMO and developers across Agile Release Trains to refine backlogs; validate designs; and ensure configuration/customizations align with Air Force objectives, statutes, and audit standards.
* Support interface and data strategy across AFIPPS, MilPDS, DJMS, and downstream financial systems; contribute to Interface Control Documents (ICDs), API contracts, data mappings, and error-handling patterns.
* Lead or contribute to test strategy and execution (unit, SIT, UAT, regression); author/trace test cases to requirements; analyze results; and drive defect triage to closure.
* Provide advanced functional troubleshooting for complex production issues; perform data forensics, table-level analysis, and root-cause isolation; recommend sustainable fixes and preventive controls.
* Produce FIAR (Financial Improvement and Audit Readiness) evidence: risk/control matrices, process narratives, test-of-controls artifacts, sampling packages, and Prepared-By-Client (PBC) listings.
* Coach stakeholders on change impacts; contribute to training content (WBT/ILT/job aids) and go-live/cutover playbooks; help stand up dashboards for KPIs such as timeliness, accuracy, defects, and stabilization.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field
• Minimum ten (10) years of experience in DoD Financial Management focused on Military Pay and DJMS experience. Experience should include expertise in Air Force financial management policies (including regulatory guidance), processes, and procedures.
• Clearance: Active SECRET (U.S. citizenship required)
• Travel: Up to ~25%

Preferred qualifications:

• Certifications: SAFe/Scrum CDFM, CGFM
• Experience in significant hands-on work with Personnel, entitlements, personnel/pay integration years, and some ERP implementation and Agile software delivery experience.
• Domain expertise: Deep knowledge of Air Force and DoD (Department of Defense) financial management policies and MilPay processes; practical familiarity with DoD FMR Vol 7A/7B, JTR/FTR, and related guidance.
• Integration & data: Proven experience with RICE-W (Reports, Interfaces, Conversions, Extensions, Workflows), APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), interface mapping, and data reconciliation techniques.
• Testing & controls: Demonstrated ability to create traceable requirements, acceptance criteria, and test cases; familiarity with audit/control frameworks and producing audit-ready evidence.
• Communication: Excellent writing and briefing skills; ability to work across FMO/PMO, engineering, test, and business stakeholders.
• Experience with "wrap-and-strangle" legacy modernization patterns, anti-corruption layers, and rules-catalog/decision-table approaches for entitlements.
• Hands-on with RMF (Risk Management Framework), STIGs, SBOM practices, and pragmatic cybersecurity in federal programs.
• Prior work supporting FIAR, GAO/OMB audit standards, and end-to-end evidence generation.
• Platform proficiency: Strong understanding of table structures, functionality, integrations, and advanced troubleshooting in Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) (e.g., HR/Payroll/GL interfaces). Experience with PeopleSoft HCM/Global Payroll (MilPDS) is highly desirable.

Exclusively focused on the Government, Kearney & Company provides financial services, including auditing, consulting, and technology services. Our commitment to our employees and clients as well as to dedication and trust, critical values to our Firm, have led to Kearney's recognition as one of the leading accounting firms in the country. Based on our employees' feedback, we are also consistently rated a Best Place to Work. Employment at Kearney means a flexible, collaborative, and open-minded work environment. We hope it is your "first easy decision." Learn more at www.kearneyco.com/careers." ,"

' The expected salary range for this position is between $80,000 and $140,000. This range is representative of base pay only and does not include straight time pay for hours worked over 40 per week, company contributions towards paid benefits, and/or bonuses. Actual compensation (meeting or exceeding the range) will be determined based on specific experience, education, work location, clearance level, and other factors permitted by law. This position is eligible for bonuses (when applicable).

We also offer a competitive benefits package that includes:

• Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, AD&D, and Disability Insurance
• 401(k) Retirement Plan and 529 Education Savings Plan
• Flexible Spending & Health Savings Account
• Accident, Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity Insurances
• Legal Insurance and Pet Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program, fitness and wellness benefits, and other firm benefits
• Paid holidays, vacation, and sick time

Applicants have rights under Federal Employment Laws

Work location is subject to change based on client requirements.
Kearney & Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer and will consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, national origin, ethnicity, ancestry, genetic information, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth, any medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth, age, disability, protected veteran status, relationship or association to a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by local, state or federal laws, rules or regulation. Click here for more information on Kearney's EEO Policy.

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Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

FMLA is designed to help employees balance their work and family responsibilities by allowing them to take reasonable unpaid leave for certain family and medical reasons. Kearney & Company provides eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year. Military family leave is available for up to 26 weeks under FMLA. Click here to learn more.

Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA)

The EPPA prohibits most private employers from using lie detector tests either for pre-employment screening or during the course of employment. Kearney & Company adheres all provisions of the EPPA. Click here to learn more.