Remote Reader For The Blind Jobs in Colorado (NOW HIRING)

Salary : $98,000.00 - $107,000.00 Annually
Location : Denver Metro, CO
Job Type: Full Time
Job Number: 00699-PurAgtV-SFO-0726
Department: Department of Education
Division: School Finance and Operations
Opening Date: 08/19/2026
Closing Date: 9/10/2026 11:59 PM Mountain
FLSA: Determined by Position
Type of Announcement: This position is open only to Colorado state residents.
Department Contact Information: HR@cde.state.co.us
Primary Physical Work Address: Downtown/Denver Metro/Eligible for a hybrid (office/remote) work environment.*** On occasion may be required to report to the work location.
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.
Department Information
This position is only open to current Residents of Colorado.
Incumbent will be required to complete work for CDE within Colorado.
Colorado Department of Education - What We Do
The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) provides leadership, resources, support, and accountability to the state's 178 school districts, 1,888 schools, over 53,000 teachers, and over 3,200 administrators to help them build capacity to meet the needs of the state's approximately 905,000 public school students. In addition, CDE provides structural and administrative support to the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind and the Charter School Institute.
As the administrative arm of the , CDE is responsible for implementing state and federal education laws, disbursing state and federal funds, holding schools and districts accountable for performance, licensing all educators, and providing public transparency of performance and financial data.
CDE is a values-based agency that serves students, parents, and the general public by protecting public trust through ensuring adherence to laws, strong stewardship of public funds, and accountability for student performance.
CDE strives to incorporate five core values that we uphold in our work internally and externally. If you come to CDE, be prepared to incorporate Integrity, Equity, Accountability, Trust, and commitment to Service in what you do.
The State of Colorado strives to create a Colorado for All by building and maintaining workplaces that value and respect all Coloradans through a commitment to equal opportunity and hiring based on merit and fitness. The State is resolute in non-discriminatory practices in everything we do, including hiring, employment, and advancement opportunities.
Why Work For CDE
The work we do is rewarding and impacts the students, families, educators, and communities across Colorado. Our leadership also promotes a culture that puts families and self-care as a priority. Along with meaningful work and an environment that puts employees first, the state also offers rich benefits that intend to make us an Employer of Choice!
The following is a summary of the benefits we offer:

• Flexible work schedules and flexible workplace options that may include flexible working hours, working from home, working in the office, and/or a hybrid working environment.
• Premier medical, dental, vision, and dependent life insurance options. All with a generous employer contribution keeping employee costs as low as possible.
• Employer paid short-term disability and life insurance
• Up to 160 hours of Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML)
• 11 paid holidays per year
• Competitive vacation and sick leave accruals
• Retirement through the Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA)
• Employer paid RTD Eco Pass (certain restrictions may apply)
• Paid professional development opportunities

Description of Job
Work Environment:
This position is full-time and is eligible for a hybrid work environment.
A Remote (Home) office is required.

• May be required on occasion to report to the work location per business needs.
• Essential Functions (ADAAA)
  • SEDENTARY/Office environment:
    • Required to sit, view a computer screen, and utilize a keyboard and mouse for extended periods of time
    • Required lifting, bending, stooping, pushing, walking, etc.
  • DL Not Required: Required to independently obtain and determine means to complete travel requirements.

Why Work for CDE Purchasing?
MISSION: Are you interested in drafting solicitations and contracts to benefit schools, students, and teachers in Colorado? Then this is the position for you! Our team procures and contracts for a wide variety of services, such as reading training and assessments for students, training and support for teachers, information technology systems to document students' nutrition needs in schools, programs to provide assistive technology for students with disabilities, and much more.
This position will make program-level procurement decisions and collaborate with Directors across the agency, as well as internal and external teams, to draft high-stakes solicitations and contracts that have a critical statewide impact on schools, teachers, and students. By joining the CDE team, you can help support a vital mission and be proud of the work you do!
TEAM: Do you want to work with and help lead a collaborative, supportive team? CDE has an amazing purchasing and contracts team made up of seven individuals who are ready to welcome and support new employees joining the team. CDE's Purchasing Director has been leading the team for going on ten years and has fifteen years of State procurement and contracts experience. CDE purchasing is one of the best teams in the state, with experienced, dedicated, hard-working, fun, and witty individuals.
FLEXIBILITY: Have you found yourself really enjoying working from home? If so, this position can be filled by eligible applicants who wish to work from home, as long as they reside anywhere in the great State of Colorado. Do you still like going into the office? We also have you covered, and you can choose to work in the office if you prefer. In addition, CDE purchasing offers flexible work schedules and promotes a healthy work-life balance.
Position Summary:
The hiring range for this position is reasonably expected to be $98,000-$107,000 annually.
The final salary may be higher or lower based on the selected candidate's relevant experience, knowledge, skills, qualifications, market considerations, and internal equity. Candidates with directly relevant experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications, including comparable experience in another state agency or public-sector organization, may be considered for compensation above the anticipated hiring range, subject to a salary analysis and the approved salary range for the position.
Major Duties and Responsibilities:

• Draft high-stakes solicitations, contracts, and purchase orders, particularly requests for proposals/invitations to negotiate for information technology systems and services that have statewide impact on schools, teachers, and students. Facilitate evaluations for the same high-stakes solicitations, which often include high-level school staff evaluators, such as superintendents, principals, and teachers.
• Coordinates with program staff to draft the statements-of-work and payment structure for contracts, amendments, interagency agreements, intergovernmental agreements, and purchase orders. This position will focus on drafting and executing the highest-stakes contracts, including but not limited to information technology contracts, high-dollar-value contracts, and contracts with statewide impact for schools, teachers, and students.
• Negotiates legal terms for contracts, amendments, interagency agreements, intergovernmental agreements, and purchase orders. This will likely involve negotiating with the legal teams of information technology vendors. Drafts and submits fiscal rule waivers and other approval requests for the State Purchasing and Contracts Office.
• Mediate disputes between CDE and its contractors and draft breach/termination letters.
• As requested by the CDE Procurement Director, solve and render decisions on conflicts of interest, timeline issues, and other complex issues.
• Help provide constructive feedback and assistance to purchasing agent 3s on their contracts, negotiations, and solicitations. Although this position provides constructive feedback, it is non-managerial.
• Learn and apply the construction portions of the procurement code to assist with construction contracts/solicitations and to aid CDE's purchasing agent 4 as needed to interpret the construction code. Applicants do not need experience with construction codes and can learn them on the job.
• Drafts and implements procurement policies and procedures.
• Position maintains knowledge of, interprets, and assists other purchasing staff and CDE program staff in interpreting Procurement Code and Rules, State Fiscal Rules, State Purchasing Office, and State Controller policies, department purchasing best practices, and other applicable department policies and procedures that impact purchasing and contracting.
• Develop and provide CDE-wide training on all topics of procurement and contracting.
• As requested by the CDE Procurement Official, serve on statewide boards or assist with statewide-level review work.
• Conduct advanced review of legislation to provide feedback to legislators on bills that have a procurement impact and review proposed legislation for fiscal impact.

Minimum Qualifications, Substitutions, Conditions of Employment & Appeal Rights
MINIMUM EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:
This position requires eight (8) years of experience OR a combination of education and experience totaling eight (8) years.
Education and Experience:
1. Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree from an accredited university or college. AND four (4) years of relevant experience. Relevant experience includes writing requests for proposals and/or ITN solicitations and/or writing contract statements of work.
OR
Experience:
2. If you do not have a bachelor's degree, you must have eight (8) years of relevant experience. Relevant experience must include experience writing requests for proposals, ITN solicitations, and/or writing contract statements of work.
OR
Education and Experience:
3. A Juris Doctor degree, or a Master's degree from an accredited college or university in a field of study related to the work assignment, may be substituted for the required experience on a year-for-year basis. Relevant experience must include experience writing requests for proposals, ITN solicitations, and/or writing contract statements of work.
a. For example, if you had a Juris Doctorate degree (three (3) years of study) and a bachelor's degree four (4) years of study), you need one (1) year of relevant experience.
b. For example, if you had a relevant Master's degree (Procurement, Education, or other writing-intensive Master's Degree) that required two years of study and a bachelor's degree (four (4) years of study), you need an additional two (2) years of relevant experience.
The following are NOT relevant experiences:

• Making purchases with a credit card.
• Administrative duties related to purchasing.
• Inventory management.
• Filing of contracts or purchase orders.
• Data entry related to purchase orders or contracts.
• Experience with grant requests for applications or grants.
• Accounting work, such as paying invoices.
• Experience only with lower-stakes purchasing work, like purchase orders, vendor agreements, and option letters.

Relevant work must include significant writing duties, including writing statements of work for:

• Requests for Proposals/Invitations to Negotiate and/or original contracts.

QUALIFICATIONS AND CONDITIONS:
Qualifications for Success in the Position:

• Excellent writing, research, analytical, and critical thinking skills.
  • Note: This position will draft high-stakes solicitations and contracts that have a critical, statewide impact on schools, teachers, and students. Excellent analytical, research, and writing skills are required. Applicants should review and view the following RFP numbers, which were written primarily by CDE purchasing agents (2025000096, 2026000030, 2023000007, and 2022000439) to understand the quality of writing that will be expected for this position and the level of drafting experience needed for this position.
• Skilled at building consensus and making decisions for requirements and scopes of work for complex information technology and service-based projects. Adept at internal stakeholder management and fostering cross-functional agency collaboration.
• Demonstrated diplomacy and acted when working on sensitive topics like conflicts of interest, vendor performance issues, and other topics.
• Initiative-taker with project management skills who independently manages projects and meets timelines.
• Exceptional communication skills with experience communicating with all levels of staff, including Directors.
• Diligence and mindfulness