Senior Policy Advisor

Department Information

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, and building an economy that works for everyone, As well as empower state agencies to build a culture of operational excellence and bold innovation driven by continuous performance improvement. The Governor's staff includes offices for budgeting, communications and outreach, legal counsel, legislative liaison, operations, policy and research, and scheduling.

Description of Job

The Senior Policy Advisor provides strategic policy and legislative analysis and recommendations, project management, and general policy support on public health and Long Covid and post viral infections.

COVID 19 has had and will continue to have profound impacts on our healthcare system, our public health systems and individuals who continue to experience symptoms and effects from the disease.

The Office of Saving People Money on Health Care seeks a Senior Policy Advisor who will work closely with state agencies particularly CDPHE, DOLA, DOI and HCPF and external experts to examine how Colorado may best respond to COVID impacts on Coloradans at systems levels including:

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• How and whether COVID response has distorted affordability in the healthcare marketplace,
• Whether misalignment of payment systems and insurance models may lead to an increase in healthcare costs

The advisor will make policy recommendations regarding how to maintain affordability and access to care while driving better patient outcomes.

In addition, the Senior Policy Advisor will partner with CDPHE and other agencies as appropriate, to examine and make policy recommendations regarding how we may build resiliency into our public health systems to track, develop and maintain viral and post viral response readiness and preparedness. The Advisor will also work closely with state agencies, particularly CDPHE, DOLA, DOI and HCPF, to understand and develop a policy agenda related to the impacts of Long Covid and other post viral infections on Coloradans and to establish support systems and advocate for Coloradans who are experiencing long COVID and other post viral infections.

The Senior Policy Advisor will report to the Deputy Director of the Office of Saving People Money on Healthcare.

The senior policy advisor on post viral infection maintains policy expertise, develops strategies, makes recommendations, and is prepared to brief and advise the Governor, Lt. Governor, Chief of Staff, CDPHE Director and other administration officials concerning the impacts of Long Covid and other post viral infections on the State of Colorado. The advisor will coordinate their work as needed with other policy advisors, other offices of the Governor (communications, budget, legal, Lt. Governor etc.), and appropriate state agencies.

Policy Advisors must have the ability to identify and assess the role of specific policy initiatives and goals in the context of a broad agenda. They develop and maintain strong working relationships with key stakeholders and constituencies throughout the state to inform this work. This varies from time-to-time and may entail travel within the State.

Skills and Competencies: Successful advisors have the ability to multitask and function effectively in a complex professional environment. They are detail-oriented strategic thinkers with well-developed decision-making, research, analytical and project management skills. They also have strong written and verbal communication skills, advanced interpersonal skills, the ability to learn quickly, and the ability to influence and persuade to affect solutions to complex problems. A well-developed familiarity with Colorado policy issues, the Governor's priorities, and state demographics is an asset.

Additional competencies should include the ability to synthesize complex information and research into concise, relevant, logical and organized formats for analysis and discussion as well as the ability to identify and resolve or minimize potential conflicts in goals and objectives, missions and agendas. The ability to work effectively in teams, a good sense of humor, and a positive attitude all are important.

Minimum Qualifications, Substitutions, Conditions of Employment & Appeal Rights

Requirements:

• Public policy research, analysis and development, as demonstrated by professional and/or academic experience.
• Experience in and understanding of public health and health policy; equivalent of a minimum of five years.
• Training in and familiarity with data sets.
• Knowledge of and experience with COVID response and impacts desired.
• Knowledge of and experience in working with marginalized communities and on health equity and social determinants of health.
• Demonstrated experience in working within complex systems. Government experience desirable.
• Demonstrated success in working with multiple stakeholders and stakeholder organizations.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• A high degree of professionalism and confidentiality.
• Ability to identify and assess the role of specific policy initiatives and goals in the context of a broad agenda.
• Strong organizational abilities.
• Demonstrated adherence to deadlines while adapting to incoming priority changes.

Supplemental Information

TO APPLY:

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 and achievements.

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS:

The State of Colorado/Office of the Governor offers a generous benefits package including:

• PERA retirement benefits including PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined Contribution Plan, plus optional 401(k) and 457 plans
• Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance coverage - including extensive prescription drug coverage (many preventive medications covered at no cost)
• Wellness programs - participation can reduce employee premiums
• Automatic Short-Term and Optional Long-Term Disability Coverage
• Life and AD&D Insurance
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)
• Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) job protection and State of Colorado Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML)
• 11 Paid Holidays Annually and Accrued Annual and Sick Leave
• Accrued Sick Leave for State of Colorado Temporary Employees
• Flexplace and Flextime work arrangements
• Variety of discounts on services and products available through the State of Colorado's Work-Life Employment Discount Program
• Access to the Colorado State Employee Assistance Program (CSEAP): offers confidential mental health counseling, professional coaching, employee mediation, 24/7 crisis support
• Free RTD EcoPass to all eligible State Employees
• Training and professional development opportunities, including reduced college tuition through CSU Global
• 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.

Conditions of Employment

Applicants must pass a thorough background check prior to employment.

Effective September 20, 2021, employees will be required to attest to and verify that they are fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and may be required to submit to regular serial testing. Upon hire, new employees will have three (3) business days to provide attestation to their Covid-19 vaccination status with proof of vaccination. Testing, if required, will take place in-person and will be considered paid work time.

Note: Fully Vaccinated means two (2) weeks after a second dose in a two-dose series of the COVID-19 vaccine, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or two (2) weeks after the single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine, all as defined by the State of Colorado’s Public Health Order and guidance issued by the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment.