Department of Public Safety Division Budget Director

The Executive Director's Office (EDO) is the backbone of the Colorado Department of Public Safety, providing effective administrative and management services to the Department's operating divisions.  

The EDO includes the following:

• The Executive Director and Deputy Executive Director – Oversees strategic direction and operations for the department.

• Administrative Services Office - Provides division and department-level administrative and support functions encompassing accounting, purchasing and contracts, budget, logistics services (fleet, warehousing, material management, and fabrication) and property services (property management, leasing, facilities maintenance, construction project management and insurance programs) to support the operations and programs of CDPS divisions.

• Human Resources Office - Supports the recruitment, hiring, evaluation, benefits management, personnel actions, payroll, and all other human resources functions.

• Compliance Office – Manages Departmental Policy, Risk Management, Worker's Compensation Program, Workplace Investigations, Internal Auditing, Rulemaking,  and ensures compliance with state and federal requirements and the State’s LESO 1033/1122 programs.

• Colorado Integrated Criminal Justice Information Systems – develops cost-effective information-sharing services to provide access for criminal justice agencies while maintaining information security.  CICJIS is a collaborative program designed to facilitate information sharing at key decision points in the criminal justice process. There are five participating CICJIS agencies: the Department of Corrections, the Judicial, the Colorado District Attorney’s Council, the Division of Youth Corrections, and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

• Office of School Safety – assists local schools and communities to create safe and positive school climates for pre-k through higher education schools in Colorado.

The Administrative Services Office provides internal administrative support to the Divisions within CDPS and includes the following sections:

• Chief Administrative Officer’s office

• Accounting Services and Commercial Cards led by the Controller

• Budget and Policy led by the Budget Director

• Purchasing and Contracts by the Purchasing Director

• Logistics Services Section led by the Logistics Director

• Property Services Section led by the Property Services Director

Work Environment 

• 100% In-person position OR Hybrid (two days in the office minimum) OR Remote

• Work unit core business hours, i.e. 24/7 Rotating Schedule, working rotating shifts including nights, weekends and holidays, Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. with some flexibility available

This position reports to the Deputy Budget Director and is responsible for researching issues related to budget line items, communicating with and guiding program staff throughout the Department on correct processes, making written assumptions, calculating estimates and projections, narrating public policy impacts, and drafting budget documents as assigned. The position regularly analyzes trends and budget needs and establishes, measures, and maintains long-range budget plans to support the divisions within the Department of Public Safety. This includes forecasting needs, requesting additional funding, ongoing financial reporting and analysis, strategic planning, and additional duties as requested. 

The position acts as a liaison between the Budget and Accounting Sections to assist the assigned division’s budget and reporting. This includes verifying that expenditure requests are allocated to the correct line item, monitoring, analyzing, and reporting on expenditure levels, and monitoring expenses. This position is also responsible for other budget deliverables within the  Department, such as writing change requests, fiscal note impact analysis, and completing schedules and narratives for the Department’s annual Budget Request. This position works with program staff to respond to the Office of State Planning and Budgeting (OSPB)/Joint Budget Committee (JBC) questions on budget requests and to determine the fiscal impact of proposed legislation. This position assists program staff with the preparation of the fiscal analysis for proposed legislation. The position tracks Budget vs. Actual expenses and works with the division on discrepancies in the budget and changes to spending plans. 

Key Responsibilities 

Budgetary and Policy Analysis

• Responsible for developing budget change requests and fiscal impact analysis, including but not limited to decision items, supplemental requests, capital construction requests, and budget amendments. 

  • Maintain a comprehensive understanding of program financing, dynamics, and policies.  

  • Analyzes budget and policy trends and assesses and projects budget needs for programs/line items assigned to the position. This requires ongoing budget and program expertise in all aspects of these programs. 

  • Analyze federal and state government legislation, regulations, and statutes to advise program managers on making budget recommendations.  

• Analyzes the assigned division(s) and Department program goals and priorities, financial and staffing patterns, organizational structure, and management practices to recommend budgetary, organizational, and programmatic changes from a fiscal perspective that enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the programs within CDPS. 

  • Evaluate the relevance and importance of public administration theories, concepts, and principles. Use analytic techniques to identify policy and budget issues and recommend changes to resolve issues in conformance with the Department's mission and objectives. 

  • Work closely with program staff and ensure that policy initiatives are always compatible with budget specifications and timelines. 

  • Develop an extensive and comprehensive narrative to support all information, assumptions, budget actions, and legislative actions. 

  • Provide timely communication to the department Budget Director, as well as department management and program staff, regarding actions taken on budget items by department leadership, Executive Committees, OSPB, and/or JBC.  

• Produce budget documents and schedules for the Department’s annual budget submission. This includes budget change requests, Schedules 9s, and 14. 

  • Research and compile responses to proposed legislation and all budget requests based on OSPB instructions. 

  • Ensure that the division complies with footnotes and headnotes contained in the Long Bill. 

  • Coordinate legislative responses.  

  • Defends annual budget requests to the Chief Administrative Officer, Department Budget Director, Executive Director, and Deputy Director with the support of the Division Director.  

Budget and Appropriation/Line Item Oversight

• Responsible for oversight of line item assignments, including monitoring, tracking, analyzing, and reporting. Use accounting and program data to develop suitable monitoring and tracking mechanisms for assigned line items. Work with the Accounting Section staff to identify and reconcile CORE coding issues, create a coding structure to organize expenditure data, and verify coding and statutory compliance of Department expenditures. Ensures that reports are accurate and complete by the designated deadlines for the reporting period. 

• Verify data integrity, incorporate CORE information, and research any anomalous patterns.

  • Detect potential matters of concern and advise necessary parties to ensure quick and effective resolutions. 

  • Ensure that the applicable fields for each line item are updated, and that all numbers provided make basic sense about the line item and overall appropriation. 

  • Perform variance analysis to properly ascertain the source of variations in expenditure, revenue, or other relevant factors. 

  • Responsible for frequent periodic reporting to track the status of all assigned lines and to alert the supervisor and applicable program staff of potential problems. 

  • Work effectively with program staff in resolving expenditure variances and keep them informed of low or high expenditures. 

  • Connects with program staff to stay up-to-date on major events in a given program regularly. 

• Responsible for any budget analysis and approval of Requests for Proposals (RFPs), contracts, and other budget impact requests related to assigned line item areas. Responds promptly to requests for response from the Budget Director on essential items related to assigned line items.  

  • Identify problems and proactively resolve them. 

  • Develops spending plans and provides reports for Department staff and managers. 

  • Prepare expenditure updates for OSPB, JBC, Legislative Council, Legislative Audit Committee, and others as needed or requested. 

  • Interpret and comply with federal and state reporting requirements, including but not limited to producing and developing ad-hoc financial reports needed by Department staff. 

Management and Supervision (CSP Division Budget Director only)

• Supervises and directs the functions of the division budget staff (Budget Analyst II and III) in the preparation, analysis, coordination and review of the Department’s Annual Budget Request in coordination with this position.  

• Duties as a supervisor include: assigning tasks, monitoring progress and workflow, ensuring work quality, scheduling work, and establishing work standards, approving work hours and leave requests, developing annual work plans, administering performance evaluations and responding to 1st step grievance resolution.

Note, to be considered for this position, you must meet one of the following options for consideration.

Proven Experience, Knowledge, Skills

Eight years professional experience in budget and fiscal policy analysis, development and implementation.

OR Education and Experience, Knowledge, Skills

Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university and four (4) years of full time experience in budget analysis, budget development and implementation, policy development and implementation.

• Please Note: A transcript listing your degree and conferral date must be submitted at the time of application to verify your education

 Preferred Qualifications and Competencies

• Excellent knowledge of general accounting principles, state statutes, state fiscal rules and state purchasing requirements
• Experience acting in senior level finance or accounting position
• Experience working with Joint Budget Committee / Office of State Planning & Budgeting
• Thorough knowledge of state budget processes
• Experience with existing state accounting system, namely the Colorado Operations Resource Engine (CORE).
• Experience with strategic financial management and cost benefit analysis principles and practices 
• Expert proficiency in Excel
• Experience working with Federal grants
• Supervisory experience

Conditions of Employment 

Appeal Rights
If you receive notice that you have been eliminated from consideration for the position, you may protest the action by filing an appeal with the State Personnel Board/State Personnel Director within 10 days from the date you receive notice of the elimination. Also, if you wish to challenge the selection and comparative analysis process, you may file an appeal with the State Personnel Board/State Personnel Director within 10 days from the receipt of notice or knowledge of the action you are challenging. Refer to Chapters 4 and 8 of the State Personnel Board Rules and Personnel Director's Administrative Procedures, 4 CCR 801, for more information about the appeals process. The State Personnel Board Rules and Personnel Director's Administrative Procedures are available at www.colorado.gov/spb.  A standard appeal form is available at: www.colorado.gov/spb. If you appeal, your appeal must be submitted in writing on the official appeal form, signed by you or your representative, and received at the following address within 10 days of your receipt of notice or knowledge of the action: Colorado State Personnel Board/State Personnel Director, Attn: Appeals Processing, 1525 Sherman Street, 4th Floor, Denver, CO 80203. Fax: 303-866-5038. Phone: 303-866-3300. The ten-day deadline and these appeal procedures also apply to all charges of discrimination.

• Applications are considered complete and accurate at the time of submission. Therefore, additional information may not be solicited or accepted after your application has been received.

• Closing Date: All applications that are received by the closing of this announcement will be reviewed against the Minimum Qualifications in this announcement. Candidates who meet the minimum qualifications may proceed to the next step. Colorado Revised Statutes require that state employees are hired and promoted based on merit and fitness through a comparative analysis process. 

• Supplemental Question: Effective responses to Supplemental Questions will directly relate to your professional experience, career accomplishments, and views about organizational values and approaches, and how they relate specifically to this position and requirements as you understand them. Answers generated by AI-tools will typically be unresponsive.  

• Transcripts: An unofficial copy of transcripts must be submitted at the time of application should education be used as qualification. Transcripts from colleges or universities outside the United States must be assessed for U.S. equivalency by a NACES educational credential evaluation service. This documentation is the responsibility of the applicant and must be included as part of your application materials. Failure to provide a transcript or credential evaluation report may prevent your application from moving forward in the selection process. 

• Military Veterans: If you are a military veteran you must submit a copy of your DD-214, Member 4 Copy, and VA disability letter if available/applicable at the time of application so we can determine if you are eligible for veteran's preference points. Military personnel who are stationed outside of Colorado may be eligible for this position by submitting the completed DD-2058 "State of Legal Residence" form. 

• Application Tips: For an overview of the State of Colorado application process and application tips, please view this video.  

• Resumes, Cover Letters, or other documents submitted will not be reviewed, assessed, or used in the initial stages of the comparative analysis (transcripts submitted to verify that the applicant meets either the education requirement or minimum qualification substitution are exempt from this).

• Notifications: All correspondence regarding your status in the selection/examination process will be sent via email to the email address listed on your application.  Include your current working email address on your application and check the email provided on your application frequently as you could receive time sensitive correspondence regarding this position. We highly recommend that you set up your email to accept messages from "state.co.us" and "[email protected]" addresses. It is your responsibility to ensure that your email will accept these notices and/or review your junk mail and spam filtered email.

• e-Verify: CDPS uses e-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities.

• Selection Process: After applications are screened for the Minimum Qualifications, CDPS intends to use the comparative analysis process outlined below. Pursuant to state personnel board rule, if there are 6 or few candidates who minimally qualify, said candidates may be referred directly to the Appointing Authority for a post referral assessment and/or consideration.

• Comparative Analysis Steps may include (dates are tentative and subject to change): 

  • Structured application review by a panel of SMEs - September 10 - 17

  • One-way video interview via Spark Hire - September 17 - 22

  • Panel Interview -Week of October 5th