Internship Opportunity: Process Improvement and Innovation

Applications will be considered from residents and non-residents of Colorado.

• This is a temporary position that is limited to a maximum of 9 months, with no benefits other than sick leave. Temporary employees accrue one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked, capped at 48 hours. 
• Applications will be reviewed as they are received. It’s in your best interest to apply as early as possible.

About CDOT 

CDOT employees make a difference by providing freedom, connection, and experience to the traveling public, while also keeping them safe. Please visit our careers page to learn about CDOT and how we are making Colorado a great place to live, work and play, now and for the future!

CDOT for All

CDOT’s strength is our people, and our commitment to our people is to shape, support, and sustain the employee experience, and ultimately, create a supportive workplace where everyone, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, citizenship status, education, disability, socio-economic status, or any other identity, has the opportunity to thrive.

The purpose of this full-time internship is to provide meaningful professional process improvement and innovation experience to collegiate students (or graduates within 3 years of graduation, or Colorado Refugee Services Program participants) with proven academic performance and a strong desire to learn and contribute.

The Process Improvement and Innovation group in the CDOT Division of Maintenance and Operations (DMO) provides the infrastructure, procedures, processes, training, and support which facilitate and promote a culture of continuous improvement. Promoting a culture of continuous improvement is reflected in CDOT's Core Values, including the value of Excellence:  “We are leaders and problem solvers, continuously improving our products and services in support of our commitment to provide the best transportation systems for Colorado."

The Process Improvement group works internally with other divisions, offices and teams within CDOT to help make our CDOT services, products and operations more effective, efficient and elegant. Our longer-term vision is: "Everyone, Every Day, Improving Every Process and Every Product, To Benefit Every Customer" and to ensure that improvements are adopted and their benefits are realized, we work to 'Ensure that everyone impacted by change is successful with that change".  To reach this longer-term vision, there are numerous change initiatives underway.

The Lean Everyday Ideas (LEI) program is one of the flagships for innovation and improvement at CDOT. In 2018, the LEI program was named a Top 25 Innovation in American Government by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government (https://www.codot.gov/news/2018/august/cdot-receives-top-25-innovation-award-from-harvard). 

An outcome of our successful LEI program has been the Innovations Challenge, a contest that began in 2022 and that is designed to identify and share the best innovations from all over the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) while also inspiring friendly competition among employees.

https://sites.google.com/state.co.us/process-improvement/innovation-hub/innovations-challenge

As an intern, you will contribute to success in a variety of ways, including data collection and content creation. Additionally, you are eligible to learn through participation in various workshops, such as the 3-day CDOT Change Management for Practitioners workshop (gaining Certification as a Prosci “Certified Change Practitioner”), lean process improvement workshops, and other professional development opportunities, as well as through fun and informative intern outings to state facilities around Colorado.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following but are not limited to:

Work Environment:

• This position is based at CDOT's Statewide Headquarters Complex located at 2829 W. Howard Place, Denver, CO 80204; and, there will be the opportunity to "Work From Anywhere" from time to time. 
• Expected work schedule is between Monday through Friday.
• It is anticipated that this role will work approximately 40 hours per week.
• Ability to work in an active, collaborative, team-oriented environment, sometimes using virtual means in a "Work From Anywhere" environment, is a must.
• Use a computer and accompanying technology, software to accomplish everyday work duties

Examples of process improvements and innovations CDOT are available here:

https://sites.google.com/state.co.us/process-improvement/home

Class Code & Class Description:

P1A1XX Temporary Aide

Minimum Qualifications 

• A recent college graduate. Recently graduated means the individual should have attended an accredited college or university and have graduated with an Associate’s, Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD degree within the past three years.

OR

• Any college student enrolled in an accredited community college, college, or university seeking an Associate’s, Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD degree. 

OR

• A certified participant in the Colorado Refugee Services Program

College Transcripts: If you are using education to qualify, a legible copy of your official or unofficial college transcript(s) or an official foreign credential evaluation report must be submitted with your application. Transcripts must show the name of the school, completed credit hours, and (if applicable) that a degree was conferred. Transcripts from colleges or universities outside of the United States must have been assessed for U.S. equivalency by a NACES educational credential evaluation service. The credential evaluation report must be an official report. Failure to provide a transcript or official foreign credential evaluation report may result in your application being rejected and you will not be able to continue in the selection process for this position.

Condition of Employment

• Must pass a pre-employment screening which may include social security number trace, criminal records check, public court records check, educational records, and driving records checks. More information in the supplemental information section.

Preferred Qualifications

The exceptional applicant will possess the proven ability or accomplishment in the following:

• Strong interest in the duties listed in the Description of the Job section.

• Highest work/personal ethics and integrity.

• Completion of 3 years or more in an accredited university in a process improvement-related or change management-related curriculum or a related discipline, such as: organizational development; industrial psychology; organizational psychology; work psychology; management science; human resources management; systems engineering; quality assurance; industrial engineering; human factors engineering; statistics; mathematics; strategy management; or business management.

• Knowledge and experience with continuous improvement technologies and change management / change leadership theory, technology and practices.

• Knowledge and experience with documenting processes and operations.

• Excellent interpersonal skills.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

• Excellent organizational and time management skills.

• Ability to perform duties with minimal supervision in both remote and in-person workplaces

• Familiarity with the Microsoft Office suite (including Visio), and Google mail ("Gmail") and related Google applications; experience with Zoom, Canva, PowerBI and LucidChart  knowledge are pluses. Experience with development of graphs and charts using the Microsoft Office and Google suites.

• Commitment to learning. An intern's first job is to learn!

Applicant Checklist

Complete Applications must include the following documents:

1. A complete CDOT Application for Announced Vacancy (please submit online using the green 'APPLY' button at the top of this announcement)

2. A complete Supplemental Questionnaire (The questionnaire is part of the online application. You will be prompted to answer them as you are completing your online application.)

3. A cover letter that describes your interest in this position, how your experience aligns with the minimum and preferred qualifications of this position. Cover letters must be uploaded as an attachment to your online application. Cover letters will not be accepted after the closing date and time of the announcement. 

4. If you are using education to qualify, a copy of your official or unofficial transcript showing completed coursework and credit hours, that your degree has been conferred (if applicable), and the name of your school, or your NACES accreditation. Please submit this as an attachment to your online application.

Please note that you may redact information on your attachments that identifies your age, date of birth, or dates of attendance at or graduation from an educational institution.

Only complete applications submitted by the closing date for this announcement will be given consideration. Every effort must be made to submit all application materials by the announcement close date. Where unusual circumstances prevent timely acquisition of transcripts, they must be submitted within five business days of the announcement close date. Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed application. Failure to submit properly completed documents by the closing date of this announcement may result in your application being rejected.

The State of Colorado strives to create a Colorado for All by building and maintaining workplaces that value and respect all Coloradans through a commitment to equal opportunity and hiring based on merit and fitness.

The State is resolute in non-discriminatory practices in everything we do, including hiring, employment, and advancement opportunities.

Notifications:

All correspondence regarding your status in the selection/examination process will be via email. Include your current working email address on your application and check your email 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. Immediately after you submit your application you should receive an email that confirms that you successfully submitted an application for this position. If you do not, try submitting again until you receive the confirmation email. Be sure to also check your junk folder for email communications from the State of Colorado's website.

Employment Screening

If an applicant reaches the finalist stage of the hiring process, the Colorado Department of Transportation may procure a consumer report and/or investigative consumer report on the applicant in connection with his/her application for employment purposes, as defined under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. These reports may be obtained at any time after receipt of the applicant's authorization. As part of the employment screening an applicant will be requested to disclose any deferred judgments and convictions as well as an explanation of the circumstances around any arrest or conviction. In the event that a screening returns information that the applicant believes is not accurate, he or she will have an opportunity to dispute the information with “Accurate.”

Accurate, a consumer reporting agency, will obtain the report for CDOT. Further information regarding Accurate including its privacy policy, may be found online at www.accurate.com. Accurate is located at 200 Spectrum Center Drive Suite 1100, Irvine, CA  92618. 

The report may contain information bearing on the applicant's character, general reputation, personal characteristics, and mode of living.  The information that may be included in the report includes social security number trace, criminal records check, public court records checks, educational records, and driving records checks. CDOT will only request credit reports insofar as they relate to the position for which the applicant is applying. The information contained in the report will be obtained from private and/or public record sources. The applicant will have the right, upon written request made within a reasonable time after receipt of a notice, to request disclosure of the nature and scope of any investigative consumer report.

ADAAA Accommodations

CDOT is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, our agency will assist individuals who have a disability as defined by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) with any reasonable accommodation requests related to employment, including completing the application process, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or participating in the employee selection process, and/or to perform essential job functions where the requested accommodation does not impose an undue hardship. If you have a disability and require reasonable accommodation to ensure you have a positive experience applying or interviewing for this position, please direct your inquiries to [email protected]. 

Former State Employees

Former employees of the Colorado Department of Transportation System or any other State of Colorado Department or Agency, who were disciplinarily terminated or resigned in lieu of termination, must disclose this information on his/her application.

AS (DMO Process Improvement Internship)