Director of Grant Operations & Strategy

Director of Grant Operations & Strategy

Salary

$96,852.00 - $130,008.00 Annually

Location

Denver, CO

Job Type

Full Time

Job Number

ILA 04873 09/30/2026

Department

Colorado Department of Human Services

Division

BHA -

Opening Date

10/01/2026

Closing Date

10/19/2026 11:00 PM Mountain

FLSA

Determined by Position

Type of Announcement

This position is open only to Colorado state residents.

Primary Physical Work Address

710 S Ash Street Denver, CO 80246

FLSA Status

Exempt; position is not eligible for overtime compensation.

Department Contact Information

Gerald.Barajas@state.co.us

Salary Note

Although the full salary range for this position is provided, appointments are typically made at or near the range minimum.

How To Apply

Please submit an online application for this position at https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/colorado. Reach out to the Department Contact to apply using a paper application, including any supplemental questions. Failure to submit a complete and timely application may result in the rejection of your application. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that application materials are received by the appropriate Human Resources office before the closing date and time listed.

• Description
• Benefits
• Questions

Department Information

This position is open only to current State of Colorado residents

This recruitment may be used to fill multiple vacancies

Physical Location: Behavioral Health Administration 710 S Ash Street Denver, CO 80246

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CDHSCareers

Description of Job

This position is designated as hybrid with 3 days in office per week.

Please note: These working arrangements are subject to change.

This position is located within the Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) which is responsible for policy development, service provision and coordination, program monitoring and evaluation, and administrative oversight for the public behavioral health system.

Located within the Behavioral Health Administration work unit, pursuant to House Bill (HB) 21-1097. HB21-1097 provides that a Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) was created to be a single state entity. It was initially established under CDHS as of July 1, 2022, and provides administrative and "back-of-the-house" support as long as the BHA remains under CDHS' purview. The BHA is a permanent entity that is responsible for leading and promoting the state's behavioral health priorities and efforts across agencies, creating shared goals, improving collaboration, and driving accountability and transparency. The BHA provides oversight and coordinate service standards across the hundreds of behavioral health programs that currently exist under multiple state agencies and the Judicial Branch. The BHA also works to ensure the recommendations that resulted from the work of the Behavioral Health Task Force (BHTF) and multiple ancillary projects evolving out of the work of the BHTF are honored and implemented, to ensure and meet our vision of having a comprehensive, equitable, effective continuum of behavioral health services that meets the needs of all Coloradans. The Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) is responsible for policy development, service provision and coordination, program monitoring and evaluation, and administrative oversight for the public behavioral health system. BHA funds, supports and monitors numerous mental health and substance abuse community programs and providers, and reviews and designates the State's 27-65 providers and licenses substance use disorder service providers. BHA executes the State's federal responsibilities as the State Mental Health Authority and the State Substance Abuse Authority for the purposes of administering federal mental health and substance abuse block grant funds.

Job Duties:

Grant Oversight:

• Directs the agency's formal grant vetting process including grant application intake forms and decision workflows to enforce strategic alignment, thorough upfront project/budget planning, and evaluate organizational risk before submitting grant applications.

• Leads proposal development, writing assignments, narrative editing, logic model development, and budget architecture for dollar grant applications.

• Provides technical assistance to program directors to translate complex federal Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) into executable project plans.

• Monitor the federal register and other sources of information about discretionary grant opportunities and emerging potential funding opportunities, determining fit with the Office strategic plan and summarizing viable alternatives for leadership review.

• Tracks grant application statuses, Notices of Award (NOAs), budgets, submission documents, and reporting deadlines.

• Establishes agency-wide protocols, standard operating procedures (SOPs), desk manuals, and workflow priorities while continually monitors team performance.

• Lead the preparation of letters of support/commitment and maintains bolierplate agency descriptions for grant proposals.

• Maintain boilerplate language that describes the Department, Office, and Divisions to be used in grant applications.

Complete all State, Departmental and Office clearance documents to ensure that submissions are cleared completely prior to submission.

• Applies a rigorous "Go/No-Go" evaluation matrix to assess project feasibility, capacity constraints, budget requirements, and strategic fit.

• Manages post-award transition frameworks upon receipt of new NOAs to prepare programmatic leads for implementation.

Audit Compliance & Systemic Governance:

• Leads BHA's agency-wide contract monitoring framework, establishing standardized tools and risk assessment protocols.

• Serves as the central lead for external state and federal audits (e.g., Office of the State Auditor SUPTRS Single Audit).

• Coordinates cross-divisional compliance data gathering and prepares final audit packages for executive leadership.

• Establishes standardized grant and contract closeout procedures to ensure adherence to audit and retention requirements.

• Designs and delivers staff training on grant compliance, subrecipient monitoring, and federal/state regulations (e.g., 2 CFR Part 200).

• Maintains the central library of BHA grant/contract policies, SOPs, and internal control documentation.

Supervision:

• Supervises a team of 6 FTE staff directly or through lower-tier management.

• Handles recruitment, hiring, onboarding, workload prioritization, and performance evaluations.

• Provides regular coaching, identifies professional development needs, and resolves employee performance or grievance issues.

Other Duties as assigned:

The needs of this position are highly dependent upon the federal and other grant funding landscape and evolves based on funding needs to support BHA funding diversity.

Minimum Qualifications, Substitutions, Conditions of Employment & Appeal Rights

Minimum Qualifications:

Experience Only:

Nine (9) years of relevant experience in an occupation related to the work assigned to this position

OR

Education and Experience:

A combination of related education and/or relevant experience in an occupation related to the work assigned equal to nine (9) years.

Preferred Qualifications

• Relevant years of state service experience

Conditions of Employment

• [Standard/full]background check and reference check required

• This position requires State of Colorado residency at the time of application (unless otherwise identified in the posting), and residency within the state throughout the duration of employment in this position.

• Motor Vehicle Check , if the employee will drive a state-owned vehicle, either in an on-going capacity while performing their normal day-to-day job duties OR on occasion for training/meetings/client visits/etc.

• Must possess a valid, non-restricted Colorado Driver's License or an non-restricted U.S. Drivers License for positions within 30 miles of the CO state border

• Out-of-State Driver's License holders must obtain a valid, non-restricted Colorado Driver's License within 30 days of employment start date.

• Other Conditions of Employment specific to Program

• Former State employees who were disciplinarily terminated or resigned in lieu of termination must:

• Disclose that information on the application.

• Explain why the prior termination or resignation should not disqualify you from the current position.

• Provide your employee number from your prior State employment. Absent extraordinary circumstances, prior disciplinary termination or resignation in lieu of termination and failure to provide this information will disqualify the applicant from future State employment with CDHS.

APPEAL RIGHTS:

You may file an appeal with the State Personnel Board or request a review by the State Personnel Director if your application is eliminated. You will find the appeals process, the official appeal form, and how to deliver it on the State Personnel Board website.

• You or your representative must sign and submit the official appeal form for review.

• You can find the official appeal form here.

• You must be deliver the official appeal form to the State Personnel Board:

• By email (dpa_state.personnelboard@state.co.us), or

• Postmarked in US Mail to(1525 Sherman Street, 4th Floor, Denver CO 80203, or

• Hand delivered (1525 Sherman Street, 4th Floor, Denver CO 80203), or

• Faxed (303.866.5038) within ten (10) calendar days from your receipt of notice or acknowledgement of the department's action.

Contact the State Personnel Board for assistance:

• At (303) 866-3300, or

• Refer to the Colorado Code of Regulations (CCR) 801-1, State Personnel Board Rules and Personnel Directors Administrative Procedures, Chapter 8, Resolution of Appeals and Disputes, within the Rules webpage.

ADA Accommodations

CDHS is committed to a Colorado for 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.

This includes completing the application process, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, participating in the employee selection process, and/or performing 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 cdhs_ada@state.co.us.

Supplemental Information

How to Apply

The Assessment Process

About Us:

If your goal is to build a career that makes a difference, consider joining the dedicated people of the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS). Our professionals strive to design and deliver high-quality human and health services that improve the safety, independence, and well-being of the people of Colorado. In addition to a great location and rewarding and meaningful work, we offer:

• Strong, secure, yet flexible retirement benefits including a PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined Contribution Plan www.copera.org plus 401(k) and 457 plans

• Medical and dental health plans

• Employer supplemented Health Savings Account

• Paid life insurance

• Short- and long-term disability coverage

• 11 paid holidays per year plus vacation and sick leave

• BenefitHub state employee discount program

• Employee Wellness program MotivateMe

• Excellent work-life programs, such as flexible schedules, training, and more

• Remote work arrangements for eligible positions

• Some positions may qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. For more

information, go to https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dhr/student-loan-forgiveness-programs.

Our Values:

We believe in a people-first approach: To serve the people of Colorado, we develop a culture and work environment that creates an energized, inspired, and healthy team capable of giving their best to Coloradans.

Balance creates quality of life: We want our team to be resilient through a supportive workplace that values flexibility, health and wellness, and employee engagement.

We hold ourselves accountable: We take responsibility through our actions, programs, and results for the state of health and human services in Colorado.

Transparency matters: We are open and honest with employees, our partners, the Coloradans we serve, and the public.

We are ethical: We abide by what is best for those we serve by doing what is right, not what is easy.

Collaboration helps us rise together: We work together with all partners, employees, and clients to achieve the best outcomes for Coloradans.

We are committed to increasing the diversity of our staff and providing culturally responsive programs and services. Therefore, we encourage responses from people of diverse backgrounds and abilities.

~THE STATE OF COLORADO IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER~

Toll Free Applicant Technical Support

The State of Colorado offers permanent employees a variety of benefits including medical, dental, life and disability insurance, as well as a comprehensive leave program. Please click the following link for detailed information: www.colorado.gov/pacific/dhr/benefits

Please note that each agencys contact information is different; therefore, we encourage all applicants to view the full, official job announcement which includes contact information and class title. Select the job you wish to view, then click on the "Print" icon.

01

If you are a current or former State of Colorado employee, please list your employee number (starts with 997...). Failure to provide this requested information may render your application incomplete, and you may no longer be considered for the position.

02

This position requires the incumbent to occasionally travel for county site visits, training, across the state, using personal transportation or a state vehicle, alone or with a group. As a condition of employment, are you willing to travel in order to fulfill the duties of this position?

• Yes
• No

03

If you are a former or current state employee, please identify what state agency you work(ed) with and how many years of relevant state service you have related to the position you are applying for. (Ensure this is listed on your application under work experience).

04

The bottom of this job announcement provides links to additional information on how to apply, the assessment process, toll-free applicant technical support, and about how the State of Colorado is an equal opportunity employer. Please acknowledge below that you have read the information provided in these links.

• This information is available to me and I have read this information.
• I am unable to access the links with this information on the job posting. (If you select this option, please contact the recruiter, whose information is listed on this announcement, so that they can send this information directly to you.)

05

Your legal name is used in the hiring process for background checks. Did you use your full legal name in your application? If not, please update your information before submitting your application.

• Yes
• No

06

Please describe your experience interpreting and applying federal grant regulations (such as 2 CFR Part 200 / Uniform Guidance) and managing large federal block grants. Include specific examples of how you ensured compliance across internal teams and subrecipients

07

Describe your experience designing or executing a formal grant vetting process or Go/No-Go evaluation matrix. How do you assess organizational risk, resource capacity constraints, and strategic alignment under tight discretionary grant turnaround times?

08

Outline your experience serving as a lead or primary coordinator for external state and federal audits. How do you establish risk assessment protocols and standardized contract monitoring frameworks?

Required Question

Employer State of Colorado

Address See the full announcement by clicking

the "Printer" icon located above the job title

Location varies by announcement, Colorado, --

Website https://careers.colorado.gov/