Budget Director

State of Colorado • Denver, CO

9d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Office of the Attorney General/Department of Law is seeking a Budget Director to provide strategic leadership and oversight for the Department’s $165 million budget across multiple funding sources. This role serves as a key advisor to an elected state official and plays a critical part in shaping financial strategy, anticipating resource needs, and supporting sound public policy through transparent and accurate budget management. We are looking for an experienced public-sector budget professional who excels at strategic thinking, thrives in a complex funding environment, and can actively manage and guide the Department’s budget and resources.

The Budgeting Unit provides strategic budgetary planning, guidance, and support to meet Department of Law (DOL) objectives and provides the efficient delivery of services.

Requirements

• Eight (8) years of professional experience in budget analysis, development, and implementation.
• Experience must include public sector budget experience.
• A combination of related education and/or relevant professional experience in budget analysis, development, and implementation equal to eight (8) years.
• Experience must include public sector budget experience.
• Relevant education may substitute for four (4) years; qualified candidates must demonstrate at least four (4) years of related experience.
• Current, valid licensure as a CPA by the Colorado Board of Accountancy will substitute for up to four (4) years of the degree requirement and two (2) years of the required experience.
• Financial management; understanding of financial processes, economic analysis, and internal controls; ability to monitor expenditures and uses cost-benefit thinking to set priorities; understanding of the principles and concepts of public finance
• Strong critical thinking/problem solving skills, including the ability to analyze budget and fiscal data, make recommendations, and take action based on the analysis
• Ability to work collaboratively with internal and external customers to develop solutions that meet the needs of customers while abiding by fiscal constraints, regulations, policies and rules
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Applicants must pass a thorough background investigation prior to appointment.
• New employees are expected to work in-office 3 days a week.

Nice To Haves

• Knowledge of Colorado state or public sector fiscal processes, including experience with the Colorado Operations Resource Engine (CORE) system
• Knowledge of the Colorado legislative process, including the development of fiscal notes
• Experience creating, managing and executing budgets as the primary role of the job for an organization with multiple funding streams
• Knowledge and ability to write financial reports and make formal presentations of financial data to internal and external parties
• Ability to use job-specific software including databases, spreadsheets, word processing, and analytical tools
• Ability to work effectively with a wide variety of stakeholders
• Experience managing agency-wide administration related programs
• Experience delivering financial services-related support in a public sector environment, including applying agency policies, procedures, and service standards.

Responsibilities

• Manage the Department of Law budget and interpret business needs set out by the Strategic Plan
• Determine systems and provide oversight to ensure the DOL can implement Attorney General initiatives
• Actively manage budget expenditures by the sections
• Determine whether to approve or deny requests based on existing budget and spending authority/ revenue
• Determine impact of expenditures on the Department
• Oversee, coordinate, and finalize the Department’s budget request and all written correspondence with Joint Budget Committee staff
• Develop Statewide Common Policy figures for Legal Services to State Agencies (LSSA), coordinating with client Budget Directors (including financial staff for Institutions of Higher Education), DOL attorneys, and JBC staff
• Determine the best strategies to advance Department initiatives through the budget process, accommodating for differing sister agency input, to best support good public policy for the State and Department
• Monitor and adjust resource allocations to address evolving Department needs, coordinating with program leaders to reallocate funds as required to meet both strategic goals and unexpected demands within established budgetary limits
• Forecast budget availability to advise and direct internal business decisions on resource implementation consistent with Department strategic initiatives and priorities
• Determine whether expenditures are in compliance with legislative intent against appropriated/allocated budgets
• Ensure compliance with appropriation headnotes, footnotes, and expenditure limits in alignment with legislative intent and state fiscal rules
• Collaborate with program staff to set and adjust fees for cash-funded programs, ensuring sufficient revenue to support programmatic operations
• Monitor cash fund balances and grant expenditures to ensure compliance with statutory reserve requirements, spending authority limits, and grant deliverables
• Coordinate and facilitate the analysis and preparation of fiscal notes for all legislation potentially impacting the DOL
• Draft synopsis of bills, analyze work to be performed, and resources needed within the Department to perform the work and what type of legal attorney work is needed (rulemaking/ litigation/ GC)
• Perform financial analysis to estimate fiscal impact of bills or other proposed measures, demonstrating the assumptions and calculations (potential litigation, rulemaking, etc.) to generate resources needed for implementation

Benefits

• Medical and dental health plans
• Employer-paid life insurance
• Paid vacation and sick leave earned each month
• 10 paid holidays per year
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness
• Free access to an on-site fitness center
• Strong, flexible retirement benefits including 401K and 457 plans
• Distinctive career advancement opportunities throughout the State personnel system
• Excellent work-life programs, such as flexible work schedules, professional development opportunities, and an employee discount program

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Associate degree