CORE Functional Specialist / Accountant III - Hybrid

Salary : $83,664.00 - $92,232.00 Annually
Location : Denver, CO
Job Type: Full Time
Job Number:
Department: Department of Personnel & Administration
Division: Office of the State Controller
Opening Date: 11/09/2026
Closing Date: 11/19/2026 11:59 PM Mountain
FLSA: Determined by Position
Type of Announcement: This position is open only to Colorado state residents.
FLSA Status: Exempt; position is not eligible for overtime compensation.
Department Contact Information: Heather Siegal heather.siegal@state.co.us
Primary Physical Work Address: Eligible for a hybrid flexible work assignment within Colorado and may be required to work on site at 1525 Sherman St Denver CO 80203 as necessary to meet business needs.
Hiring Pay Rate: While a salary range is posted for this position, any job offer is based upon a salary analysis to comply with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act. The salary analysis considers relevant experience, education, certifications, and state service as compared to others doing substantially similar work. While all offers are compliant with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, there is no guarantee an offer will be at the top of the posted range based on the salary analysis.
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 of Job

Serves as a CORE Payroll and CORE Financial Functional Subject Matter Expert (SME) in at least one of the following business areas:

• Payroll Processing
• Payroll Tax and PERA Reporting
• Employee Self Service (ESS)
• Labor Allocation
• Accounts Payable
• Accounts Receivable
• Asset Management
• Cost Accounting
• Cost Allocation
• Budget
• General Accounting
• Grant Life Cycle Management
• Inventory
• Procurement
• Vendor Self Service

Serving in this capacity, the Functional Specialist will participate in end user community development, payroll policy & procedure system alignment with CPU/DHR creation/maintenance, system testing development and execution, end user training, business process analysis/re-engineering, functionality expertise development regarding responsible areas. It is planned that this position will work on CORE payroll functional areas, payroll processing, Tax & PERA Reporting and ESS. Other responsibilities and special projects may be assigned as needed, for example assisting with CORE upgrade.
A summary of the duties and responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, the following:
Business Process & System Analysis: Business process analysis will drive continuous improvement facilitation which requires engagement from CORE business users to ensure that the system's functionality is maximized and accurately reflects statute, policy, and procedure as they evolve over time. Engagement will take many forms: leading large scale key stakeholder meetings, developing and leading targeted task forces/committees, authoring additional guidance e.g., quick reference guides, hints, tips etc.

Critical aspect of this position will be to:

• Evaluate/analyze CORE Payroll system functionality and determine statewide deployment approach that leverages a mixture of best practices, no customization, departmental input, and standardized approach (to the greatest extent possible).
• Ensure key aspects of the CORE Payroll system functions are properly aligned, maintained and enhanced in responsible areas, e.g., Payroll cycle from timesheets to CORE Payroll, individual pay calculation, and tax and PERA reporting.
• Review all types of documents (i.e. time adjustment, manual checks, net pay distributions, deduction management, and employee setup transactions) to ensure transactions are accurate and in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and all applicable State fiscal rules and Federal regulations, from a functional perspective.
• Analyze/reconcile payroll and financial data to ensure accuracy, identify errors and help ensure compliance with applicable rules and regulations. This includes account balances for assets, liabilities, fund balance, revenues, and expenditures.

CORE User Support: Answer Level 2 requests/questions from - over 5,000 CORE Financial and CORE Payroll users regarding CORE functionalities. Level 2 issues include more complex functions performed by users in accounting, procurement, budget, and payroll. Such issues do not include password resets and access to CORE (Level 1 issues). Consult with Office of the State Controller units such as Financial Analysis and Reporting, Financial Services Unit, Central Payroll and Division of Human Resources as needed. Provide guidance to CORE users that ensures proper and adequate processing of accounting, budget, procurement, and payroll transactions and subsequent financial reporting.

Training CORE End Users: Contribute SME information to training design, developing standardized training materials, and delivering training to CORE Payroll users. Provide advanced customized trainings to users as requested. Continue updating the documentation, e.g., Job Aids and FAQs, on the CORE website in responsible functional areas. The training materials will be wide-ranging, from general CORE navigation to more specific functional areas such as accounts payable, general accounting and purchase requisition processing, etc.

CORE System Testing: The CORE system will be updated with new versions, software patches, and system enhancements on a regular basis. This position will design and execute system test scripts to determine if the change produces the expected outcome(s). Results are to be recorded and problems are to be researched or reported to CORE system developers for resolution.
Minimum Qualifications, Substitutions, Conditions of Employment & Appeal Rights
*A Human Resources Analyst will only review the work experience/job duties sections of the online job application to determine whether you meet the minimum qualifications for the position for which you are applying. Cover letters and resumes WILL NOT be accepted in lieu of the official State of Colorado online application, but may be attached. Applicants must meet the minimum qualifications to continue in the selection process for this position. Work experience and qualifications must be specifically documented on your online application. Do not use "see resume" or "see attached" statements on your application. Resumes WILL NOT be reviewed for minimum qualification screening. If it is determined that you meet the minimum qualifications, your application will also be used as part of the comparative analysis process to identify a top group for further consideration.

This position is advertised in line with the Governor's executive order (Executive Order 2022 015) focused on skills-based hiring practices that focuses on the knowledge, skills, and abilities specific to the job and aligns the hiring process accordingly. Skills-based hiring reduces potential barriers for applicants and allows for reduced bias in the hiring process by providing a direct description of skills that are unique to the duties assigned to the position with a recognition that the applicant may have developed these skills through education, training or past experiences.
Residency Requirement:

This posting is only open to residents of the State of Colorado at the time of submitting your application.
Class Code & Classification Description:
H8A3XX
Minimum Qualifications:
Experience Only:
At least eight (8) years of professional payroll accounting experience in an occupation related to the work assigned to this position.
OR

Education and Experience:
A combination of related education (coursework requires 27 semester hours completed in accounting or auditing) and/or relevant professional payroll accounting experience in an occupation related to the work assigned equal to at least eight (8) years.

Current, valid licensure as a CPA by the Colorado Board of Accountancy will count for six (6) years of the requirement

The exceptional candidate will possess the proven ability or accomplishment in the following preferred qualifications:

• Previous state or local service related to the work assigned to the position
• Experience in State of Colorado professional accounting and payroll processing in the CORE System
• Demonstrated experience with implementing accounting, procurement and budget functionality in ERP financial systems, specifically the CORE system
• Demonstrated experience with CGI Advantage Financials and/or Payroll
• Demonstrated experience with Governmental Accounting
• Demonstrated experience with financial system and/or payroll system implementations/upgrades
• Demonstrated ability to absorb, process, and apply a large volume of information and materials
• Outstanding interpersonal skills including the ability to communicate clearly and effectively, both orally and in writing, with a variety of constituents
• Proficiency in Excel, PowerPoint and Word

Conditions of Employment:

• A pre-employment criminal background check will be conducted as part of the selection process.

Comparative Analysis Process
The comparative analysis process for this position may consist of a structured application review, an online assessment and a structured interview.

Appeal Rights:
An applicant who has been removed from consideration during the selection or comparative analysis process, you may file an appeal with the State Personnel Board and/or request a review by the State Personnel Director. A standard appeal form is available on the State Personnel Board website,https://spb.colorado.gov/forms-and-filing. If you appeal, your appeal must be submitted in writing on the official appeal form, signed by you or your representative, and received at the following address within ten (10) days of your receipt of this notice: Colorado State Personnel Board/State Personnel Director, Attn: Appeals Processing, 1525 Sherman Street, 4th Floor, Denver, CO 80203. Fax: 303-866-5038. Phone: 303-866-3300. Email address: dpa_state.personnelboard@state.co.us. The ten-day deadline and these appeal procedures also apply to all charges of discrimination. Refer to Chapters 4 and 8 of the State Personnel Board Rules and Personnel Director's Administrative Procedures, 4 CCR 801, for information about the appeals process. The State Personnel Board Rules and Personnel Director's Administrative Procedures are available at spb.colorado.gov.