Controller

Full Job Description

About Legislative Council Staff

Colorado Legislative Council Staff (LCS), is the nonpartisan research, committee, information technology (IT), and institutional support staff of the Colorado General Assembly.

LCS serves as the General Assembly’s primary research and committee staff, employing fiscal note analysts, economists, research analysts, committee analysts, and constituent services analysts. In addition, LCS houses the legislature’s visitor services and tour guide staff; central accounting staff; and print shop staff. Finally, LCS provides a full-service IT unit for the legislative branch, employing support, application development, system administration, digital accessibility, and cybersecurity positions.

LCS is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. We are committed to increasing the diversity of our staff; therefore, we encourage responses from people of diverse backgrounds and abilities.

When you join LCS, you can expect:
• to fill a vital role in supporting Colorado’s lawmakers to serve our state and uphold the democratic process;
• to join a supportive and collegial culture that is driven by our shared mission, vision, and values;
• to work for an organization committed to balancing our important work for the state legislature with employees’ lives outside of work;
• to be supported in your continual professional development and growth; and
• to work for an organization that recognizes the unique talents, backgrounds, and contributions of our individual employees.

Additional information about Legislative Council Staff can be found at: http://leg.colorado.gov/agencies/legislative-council-staff.

Requirements

About the Position

We’re seeking an experienced Controller to lead the LCS Accounting Section, which provides central accounting services to the Legislative Department. The Legislative Department is comprised of six divisions with 100 elected legislators and about 450 staff. Divisions served by the LCS Accounting Section include the House of Representatives, the Senate, Legislative Council Staff, the Office of Legislative Legal Services, and the Joint Budget Committee Staff. The department’s sixth division, the Office of the State Auditor, must remain independent and therefore maintains its own Controller and accounting staff, with whom the LCS Accounting Section collaborates on matters of department-wide concern.

The LCS Accounting Section is responsible for all payroll, accounts payable, revenue, and budget accounting. The Controller is responsible for ensuring effective internal financial controls, providing all required budget and financial reporting to each of the five divisions served and the Office of the State Controller, preparing the annual Legislative Department financial statements, and ensuring clean financial audits for the Legislative Department. The Controller manages the LCS Accounting Section and serves on the LCS Management Team. In addition, the Controller must be skilled at maintaining relationships with and responding to questions from elected legislators, including leadership, and executive legislative staff.

Primary Responsibilities

This position manages the central accounting, payroll, and benefits functions of the legislative department. This position will be expected to perform the following duties:
• effectively lead the central accounting section of the Legislative Department which, in addition to the Controller, includes three Accountants and Accounting Technicians;
• provide financial data analysis, advice, and recommendations to the Director and other division directors regarding financial issues affecting the General Assembly;
• oversee financial reporting for the Legislative Department, including compliance with financial reporting to the Office of the State Controller and preparation of the annual Legislative Department financial statements;
• ensure department compliance with all fiscal, procurement, and contracting rules, applicable statutes, policies, and procedures;
• oversee the Legislative Department’s compliance with auditing standards and ensure clean financial audits for the department;
• manage payroll and benefits services for legislators and Legislative Department staff;
• maintain effective relationships with legislative leadership, elected legislators, and executive legislative staff; and
• contribute to the effectiveness of the Legislative Council Staff management team.

Salary and benefits

The salary range for this position is $110,000 to $150,000 per year, with the salary level within this range commensurate with education and experience. Legislative Council Staff is committed to providing employees with a strong and competitive benefits package that supports you, your health, and your family. Our benefits package includes:

• PERA retirement benefits, including the PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined Contribution Plan, plus optional 401K and 457 plans;
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage;
• Automatic short-term and optional long-term disability coverage;
• Life and AD&D insurance;
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs);
• A variety of discounts on services and products available through the State of Colorado's Work-Life Employment Discount Program; and
• Credit Union of Colorado membership eligibility.

Our generous and flexible leave policies include:
• A minimum of three weeks of annual leave, based on tenure, and accrued on a monthly basis;
• Eleven annual paid holidays;
• Sick leave;
• Flexible work schedules during the legislative interim; and
• A generous compensation time policy.

Qualifications

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

A successful candidate must have strong supervisory and management skills; effective oral and written communication skills; a demonstrated high level of integrity, honesty, and ethics; strong analytical, data analysis, budgeting and research abilities; outstanding customer service and interpersonal skills; and excellent organizational and time management skills. This position requires the ability to work in a nonpartisan manner in a partisan environment, and to provide objective information regardless of the issue or one’s personal opinions.

Candidates must have a thorough understanding of state financial functions and proficiency with word processing programs and Excel. At minimum, candidates must be a graduate of an accredited college or university with a bachelor’s degree in accounting or related field with 24 semester hours in accounting or auditing and have a minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible professional level accounting experience.

The preferred candidate is a CPA with at least three years of experience as a Controller, Deputy Controller, or equivalent position within Colorado state government.

Employment Type, Work Authorization and Remote Work

This is a full-time, salaried, on-site position, although a limited amount of flexibility is available for work from home options when the legislature is not in session. A candidate must be authorized to work in the United States. Persons seeking contract positions, remote positions, or visa sponsorship need not apply. Pursuant to the Colorado Constitution, legislative employees, including this position, are not part of the state personnel system. However, this position is most like the Controller III position in the State of Colorado personnel system.

Additional Information

Application Process

Please send your application to: LCS.Director@coleg.gov with the subject “Application for Controller” on or before March 6, 2026. Your application should include your resume, a cover letter, and three professional references. Incomplete applications will not receive further consideration. Because this position is with the Legislative Branch, applications received using the state application process for executive branch employment will not be accepted.

Agency Contact Information

If you have questions or need additional information about this position, please contact Natalie Castle at 303-866-3521, or LCS.Director@coleg.gov.

Accessibility
The Colorado Legislature is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. 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 for applying or interviewing for this position, please direct your inquiries to our ADA Coordinator at lhrd.ga@coleg.gov or call 303-866-3393.