Summary
Description
Overview
Colorado Governor Jared Polis is committed to building a Colorado For All, a place where everyone has an opportunity to succeed and live the Colorado way of life. Governor Polis is focused on lowering health care costs for hardworking Coloradans, transitioning the state to renewable energy sources, ensuring every Colorado child gets a quality education, making housing more affordable and available, improving public safety, and building an economy that works for everyone.
Candidates should be dynamic leaders. They should have significant experience leading public-sector, community organizations, or private sector organizations who worked with the government and demonstrate strong analytical, management, organizational, and oral and written communications skills. Candidates should possess proven problem solving acumen, be highly detail-oriented, and have the ability to multitask. They should demonstrate personal integrity, confidence, diplomacy, and flexibility. We believe that diverse teams produce better results and encourage people of a variety of backgrounds and qualifications to apply.
Department Information
The Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) serves as the primary interface between the State and local communities. The Department provides financial support to local communities and professional and technical services (including training and technical assistance) to community leaders in the areas of governance, housing, and property tax administration. While all state governments provide such services through various Departmental structures, Colorado’s approach is unique in that these local community services are gathered into one Department of “Local Affairs,” which has a central focus on strengthening Colorado communities and enhancing livability. For more information on the Department, visit its website here.
Description of Job
This position is not governed by the selection process of the classified personnel system.
Hiring Salary: $207,900
Department: Department of Local Affairs
FLSA Classification: Exempt
Position Description
The Executive Director is the Chief Executive Officer of the Department of Local Affair and is a member of Governor Polis’s cabinet. The Executive Director’s primary mission is to drive customer focused innovation and value delivery throughout all DOLA services and programs. The mission is achieved by guiding DOLA’s strategic and operational priorities, policy and legislative agenda, high visibility cross-Department initiatives, and critical regulatory compliance and reporting activities. The Executive Director serves on the Governor’s cabinet and represents the Governor, his administration, and DOLA on major committees, with the public and media and with leaders from various jurisdictions. This Executive Director is also a key strategic partner with other Executive Directors in the Governor’s cabinet, and is responsible for executing on the agency’s Wildly Important Goals (WIGs), which are measurable deliverables that align with the most important priorities of the Polis Administration.
One core priority of the Polis Administration is More Housing Now, with the aim of empowering the construction of more housing to ensure that Coloradans of any budget can attain housing, and the new development is aligned with our strategic growth goals. The Executive Director of DOLA will be responsible for implementation of several programs which are central to that policy vision, especially through the Division of Housing.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
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Ensuring that the Department has a long-range vision and strategy which achieves its mission, and ensuring consistent and timely progress toward that mission
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Serving as a lead Cabinet member in the development and implementation of the Administration’s policies to increase access to housing, including implementing critical aspects of the Strategic Growth Executive Order
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Overseeing the effective distribution of more than $200M per year in discretionary grant and formula distribution programs
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Building relationships with localities and advocacy organizations
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Representing the Polis Administration in various settings, including as a liaison to local government and housing development partners
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Providing leadership in developing program, organizational, and financial plans with Division leaders and staff
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Developing and implementing strategies aimed at promoting the Department’s mission
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Building an effective team of leaders by providing guidance and coaching to subordinate senior managers
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Creating and/or approving business plans for the attainment of Department goals and objectives
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Directing and overseeing the Department’s budget, including ensuring that adequate resources are available and directed to strategic priorities, and overseeing the Departments strategy for annual budget requests submitted to the Governor’s Office and the Joint Budget Committee
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Effectively administering of the Department’s operations, including adherence to all laws directing the work of the Department
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Maintaining a climate which attracts, keeps, and motivates a diverse staff of top quality people
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Briefing the Governor and his senior team on relevant policy issues arising from State and Federal legislative activities
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Leading the development of and support for policy proposals that support the Department’s and Governor’s mission, particularly around building More Housing Now
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Serving as the point person for directing the Department’s response to the Legislature on proposed legislation that may impact the Department’s operations
Minimum Qualifications, Substitutions, Conditions of Employment & Appeal Rights
Minimum Qualifications
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Five years or more of executive-level organizational leadership, including significant responsibility for:
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Strategic planning
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Budget and financial management
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Operational management and process improvement
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Stakeholder and public relations
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Planning, implementing, executing, and evaluating the success of special projects
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Day-to-day program and service delivery
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Demonstrated track record building and leading high-performing teams, including work related to organizational culture and leadership development
Preferred Qualifications
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Ten or more years of executive-level organizational leadership experience
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At least two years of experience as the chief executive of a large or medium-sized organization (more than 100 employees)
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Demonstrated expertise in or knowledge of state government administration
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Subject-matter expertise in land use, housing policy and/or affordable housing development
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Subject-matter expertise in at least one other area of DOLA’s operations (e.g., local government, disaster recovery and resilience, grant administration, property taxation)
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Familiarity with Colorado’s laws and regulations, such as home-rule municipalities, local and state government politics, and fiscal regulations, such as TABOR
Conditions of Employment
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Frequent in-state travel may be required.
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While candidates from out of state will be considered for this role, the candidate selected for the position must relocate and reside in Colorado from the first day of their new position. A reasonable timeframe for relocation will be established on an individual basis, while considering business needs, and determining a start date.
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A pre-employment criminal background check will be conducted as part of the selection process, and/or other department-specific screens as required. Employees are in a position of public trust in the performance of their job duties and must operate in a manner that maintains the highest standards of honesty, integrity, and public confidence. All offers of employment at conditional, and require the successful completion of a background investigation and reference check prior to appointment. Background checks may include national criminal, financial, traffic, civil, education, and/or experience checks or any other checks related to the job assignment.
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Members of the Governor’s cabinet must submit annual conflicts of interest disclosures and abide by a code of conduct.
Supplemental Information
A cover letter and resume must be submitted with the application for consideration. Your cover letter and resume must provide sufficient detail about your background and experience to allow the screening panel to properly assess your experience in the required elements, including your experience, achievements, why you want to be the Executive Director and what you bring to the position.
The State of Colorado/Office of the Governor offers a generous benefits package including:
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Medical, dental and vision plan coverage – including extensive prescription drug coverage (many preventive medications covered at no cost)*.
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Health Savings Account (with state contribution) when electing HDHP medical coverage*.
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Wellness programs – participation can reduce employee premiums*.
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Short-term and optional long-term disability coverage*.
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Life and Accidental Death/Dismemberment Insurance*.
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Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)*.
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Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) job protection and State of Colorado Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML).
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Retirement benefits** – including PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined Contribution Plan, plus optional 401(k) and 457 plans – https://www.copera.org/
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Hybrid work arrangements.
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Variety of discounts on services and products available through the State of Colorado's Work-Life Discount Program.
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Training and professional development opportunities, including reduced college tuition through CSU Global (contact CSU Global for latest offerings).
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Access to the Colorado State Employee Assistance Program (CSEAP): offers confidential mental health counseling, professional coaching, employee mediation, 24/7 crisis support.
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Free RTD EcoPass to all eligible State Employees.
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Credit Union of Colorado Membership Eligibility.
*To learn more about State of Colorado benefits, please visit the state’s benefits portal: https://www.colorado.gov/dhr/benefits.
**For information on mandatory employee salary deferral (in lieu of contribution to Social Security), see COPERA for details: https://www.copera.org/member-contribution-rates
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
The State of Colorado believes that equity, diversity, and inclusion drive our success, and we encourage candidates from all identities, backgrounds, and abilities to apply. The State of Colorado is an equal opportunity employer committed to building inclusive, innovative work environments with employees who reflect our communities and enthusiastically serve them. Therefore, in all aspects of the employment process, we provide employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, medical condition related to pregnancy, creed, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, or military status (with preference given to military veterans), or any other protected status in accordance with applicable law.
ADAAA Accommodations
The Office of the Governor is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, our agency will assist individuals who have a disability with any reasonable accommodation requests related to employment, including completing the application process, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, 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 our ADAAA Staffing Coordinator (the Director of Human Resources) at gov_hr@state.co.us.
