Outcomes-Based Funding Pilot Director

Outcomes-Based Funding Pilot Director

The Opportunity Colorado Succeeds wishes to contract with a full-time consultant who will be embedded at the Colorado Department of Labor & Employment (CDLE). The ideal contractor will be a visionary, execution-oriented leader to design and launch two workforce training pilots that model the use of outcomes-based funding (OBF). The ultimate goal is to embed the institutional infrastructure and leadership for CDLE to prioritize more than $35 million in annual workforce spending toward programs and pathways that lead to new employment and livable wages for Colorado learners and workers.

This is a rare opportunity to sit at the intersection of policy innovation and on-the-ground implementation with direct connections to senior CDLE leadership and a mandate to prove that outcomes-based contracting works in Colorado's public workforce system.

Why This Role Matters This is CDLE's first use of federal workforce funds in an outcomes-based contracting model in Colorado. Done well, these two pilots will not only deliver real results for 45 workers and youth but will establish the proof of concept, the institutional knowledge, and the policy precedent needed to redesign how Colorado invests more than $35 million annually in workforce training. The person in this role has a genuine opportunity to change how public workforce dollars are spent and to help Coloradans get better employment outcomes as a result.

CDLE leadership is committed to this work. Senior officials have spent considerable time developing the pilot concepts, and an external OBF consultant will be available to provide specialized technical assistance. The Director will not be starting from scratch but will need the drive and capability to take the work across the finish line.

The Pilots The Director will take ownership of two pilot programs that are already in development:

• Pilot 1: CNC Machinist Apprenticeship for Incumbent Workers Partners: Arapahoe/Douglas Works! ToolingU Professional Employment Group Rocky Mountain Tooling & Machining Association
• Pilot 2: CNA Pre-Apprenticeship Pipeline for Opportunity Youth Partners: Denver Workforce Development South Denver School of Nursing Arts Colorado Thrives

Role Summary Reporting directly to senior CDLE leadership, the OBF Pilot Director will serve as the primary architect and implementer for both pilots, while simultaneously building the systems, knowledge, and institutional capacity that will allow CDLE to expand outcomes-based contracting across the workforce system. This is not a coordinator role this person will own the work end-to-end.

Primary Responsibilities

• 45% Pilot Design & Implementation: Lead the full lifecycle of both pilots from design through evaluation
• 30% Institutional Capacity Building: Build CDLE's internal OBF infrastructure so this work outlasts the pilots
• 15% Partner Management & Technical Assistance: Coordinate across a complex multi-stakeholder environment
• 10% Communications & Reporting: Keep leadership, funders, and the field informed

Qualifications Experience

• Experience designing and implementing public programs, with workforce program experience preferred.
• Knowledge of outcomes-based funding strategies with direct experience preferred.
• Experience navigating allowable uses of public funding streams and performance metrics preferred.
• Experience working with multi-partner projects with diverse stakeholders.
• Any experience with registered apprenticeship programs and/or with opportunity youth populations or in youth workforce development is preferred.

Skills & Competencies

• Ability to translate a concept paper into a program ready to launch developing agreements, payment structures, and timelines.
• Comfort using and analyzing data to inform decision-making: defining measurable outcomes, designing data collection systems, and making evidence-based adjustments.
• Skilled at building trust across government, employer, and community partners; able to facilitate productive multi-party negotiations.
• Strong organizational and project management skills; ability to manage multiple complex workstreams simultaneously, track progress, and meet deadlines.
• Ability to write clearly for multiple audiences, including grant