
Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment
Denver, COFull-time$231K/yrPosted todayStill listed today
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At a glance
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Job overview
The Executive Director serves as Chief Executive Officer of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment and is part of the Governor’s Cabinet. The role oversees the department’s administration, programs, budget, and strategic plan, directing its statutory divisions and advancing its mission. The department connects workers with employment and training, administers benefits, enforces workplace laws, and supports a thriving employment environment across Colorado.
Skills & qualifications
Skills
Qualifications
Benefits
Full job description
Who We Are Colorado Governor-elect Phil Weiser is committed to an administration that represents all of Colorado, and serves and protects every Coloradan. Governor-elect Weiser and his team will lead State government to ensure that we serve the people of Colorado, working to make their lives better, and together, we meet opportunities and challenges with creativity, collaboration, and compassion. His commitment to serve as the People’s Governor means that he and his team will have a sustained focus on how to make Colorado safer, more affordable, more sustainable, and a great place to live, build a business, and raise a family.
We Have Strong Core Values Our core values drive our actions. We are: 1) principled, maintaining the highest ethical standards, acting with integrity, and operating transparently; 2) public servants, who are always ensuring our work is not about us, but instead is about improving the lives of the people of Colorado; 3) innovative, by seeking to solve problems creatively and operate with a continuous improvement mindset; and 4) "better together," by working to support each other as a team and collaborate effectively. Department Information The vision of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) is a working economy that elevates all of Colorado. Its mission is to work together to promote a thriving employment environment with opportunity for every Coloradan to prosper. The department provides the information and tools that help Colorado businesses and workers remain competitive. The department connects job seekers with jobs through its network of workforce centers. Its statisticians and economists provide an up-to-date and accurate picture of the economy to support decision making. The department assists workers who are injured on the job, ensures fair labor practices, and provides temporary wage replacement through unemployment insurance to people who have lost their jobs. It also protects workplaces and communities through consumer protection and safety programs. These programs oversee the use of explosives and the cleanup of leaking petroleum storage tanks, and they inspect gas pumps, boilers, elevators, and escalators. The department’s divisions and programs include Employment and Training, Labor Standards and Statistics, Unemployment Insurance, Workers’ Compensation, Oil and Public Safety, Vocational Rehabilitation, Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI), and the Colorado Workforce Development Council. It also houses the Office of New Americans, the Office of the Future of Work, the Office of Just Transition, and the Colorado Disability Opportunity Office. Department: Office of the Governor; Colorado Department of Labor and Employment Position Title: Executive Director Summary of Functions: The Executive Director is the Chief Executive Officer of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. The position is part of the Governor’s Cabinet and is responsible for overseeing the administration, programs, and strategic plan of the department and for the consistent achievement of its mission and objectives. The department sets and enforces the rules of Colorado workplaces and seeks to connect workers to the training, benefits, and support that make employment sustainable. Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
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Oversee and manage the department’s operations and ensure alignment with the department’s goals, the Governor’s initiatives, and the expectations of stakeholders
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Direct and oversee the department’s budget and ensure fiscal management that operates within the approved budget, makes full use of available resources, and keeps the organization in a positive financial position
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Build and cultivate a high-performing team through effective leadership focused on recruiting and retaining top talent and providing guidance, coaching, and development to direct reports
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Direct the five statutory divisions of Labor Standards and Statistics, Employment and Training, Workers’ Compensation, Oil and Public Safety, and Unemployment Insurance, and appoint their directors
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Oversee the Industrial Claim Appeals Office and the Colorado Workforce Development Council
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Administer unemployment insurance, Family and Medical Leave Insurance, vocational rehabilitation, and the federal grant-in-aid programs allotted to the department
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Set labor rules and enforce wage and worker protection laws, including laws on wage theft, misclassification, and unlawful retaliation
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Ensure that labor has a seat at the table alongside business in workforce policy and work with both communities to facilitate talent development
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Publish clear data showing how education and training programs lead to employment outcomes
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Partner with employers and business associations, local workforce development boards, community colleges, apprenticeship sponsors, and disability service providers
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Brief the Governor’s Office on all relevant policy issues arising from state and federal legislative activities
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Build a good relationship with the legislature and serve as the point person for directing the department’s response to proposed legislation that may affect its operations
Organizational Relationships: Industrial Claim Appeals Office, State Apprenticeship Agency; Colorado Disability Opportunity Office; Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT); Chief Performance Officer; and Chief Strategy and Partnership Officer on ColoradoCorps; Colorado Department of Higher Education; Preferred Education/Experience:
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A bachelor’s or advanced degree in public administration, business, law, economics, labor relations, or a closely related field
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Ten or more years of leadership experience with a demonstrated focus on strategic workforce planning, workforce development, labor policy, labor relations, or public administration
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Five or more years of professional executive management experience that includes setting goals and objectives and managing a budget to achieve them
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Five or more years of experience fostering effective and efficient process improvements for an organization of twenty-five or more employees
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Experience building relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders with varying perspectives and interests
Preferred Qualifications:
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Leadership experience across labor standards enforcement and workforce development policy
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Experience administering large-scale benefit payment systems
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Experience with regulatory enforcement across wage, safety, and workers’ compensation law
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Demonstrated ability to hold the confidence of employers and organized labor in the same system at the same time
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Experience designing or scaling apprenticeship, earn-and-learn, or other work-based learning programs
Conditions of employment: Applicants must pass a thorough background check prior to employment and reside in Colorado once employed HOW TO APPLY: Please submit an online application for this position at buildingcoloradosfuturetogether.org. 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 before the closing date.
A resume must be submitted with the application for consideration. Your 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 and achievements.
Benefits The State of Colorado offers a competitive benefits package to permanent employees:
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PERA retirement benefits including PERA Defined Benefit Plan, PERA Defined Contribution Plan, plus 401K and 457 plans
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Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance coverage
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Automatic Short-Term and Optional Long-Term Disability Coverage
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Life and AD&D 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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11 Paid Holidays Annually and Accrued Annual and Sick Leave
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Variety of discounts on services and products available through the State of Colorado's Work-Life Employment Discount Program
To learn more about State of Colorado benefits visit: https://www.colorado.gov/dhr/benefits. ADAAA Requests The State of Colorado is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, our office 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 Coordinator at [email protected].
We believe that diverse teams produce better results and encourage people of a variety of backgrounds and qualifications to apply.
How this job compares
Set against the 613 open Executive Director jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 4, 2026.
- Pay
- This posting$231K/yr
- Colorado median$231K/yr25 salary ranges
- US median$181–260K/yr418 salary ranges
This rate, $231K, is close to the Colorado median midpoint ($231K) — in the middle half of Executive Director salary ranges in Colorado.
- Openings
- Olive Jobs lists 26 open Executive Director jobs in Colorado and 613 across the US. 3% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
- Hiring the most in Colorado
- State of Colorado (this employer)15 open
- Experience Senior Living3 open
- Experience
- Executive Director postings that state a minimum ask for 8 years of experience at the median; the middle half ask for 5 to 10 years (451 postings).
- Education
- 288 of the 613 open Executive Director jobs (47%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.
Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 4, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.
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