Watch Center Analyst I. Full Time NEW

This position is open only to current Colorado state residents.

A n eligible list established with this recruitment may be used to fill other similar positions within the Colorado Department of Public Safety in the next 12 months.

Our Mission – Engaged employees working together to safeguard lives and to provide diverse public safety services to local communities.

Our Vision – Creating safer and more resilient communities across Colorado.

Our Core Values – Unity, Honor, Service

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 dedicated to non-discriminatory practices in everything we do, including hiring, employment, and advancement opportunities.

At CDPS, our culture is driven by our commitment to creating a safer Colorado and guided by a public service focus. We strive to provide effective solutions and services to our fellow Coloradans. We model a culture of collaboration, innovation, and growth for our employees. We maintain a professional and inclusive workplace.

Careers With a Purpose

If you are passionate about public safety and public service, and are eager to dedicate your career to serving Coloradans, consider joining CDPS. Our team at CDPS consists of exceptional individuals and is an environment where you can challenge yourself and acquire new capabilities to build a rewarding and fulfilling career.

We are committed to providing public safety services to our communities including safety on our roads, preparing for and mitigating environmental disasters such as floods and wildland fires, disaster recovery, combating crime, promoting school safety, and victim services.

Classification And Salary

Analyst I

Anticipated Hiring Range: $4,036 – $4269/month; $58,872 – $51,228/year

Full Salary Range: $4,906 – $7,849/month; $58,872 – $94,188/year

Benefits

We provide a wide range of benefits to our employees.

• Medical and dental options are available for permanent employees and their dependents. We also offer short and long-term disability coverage, and life insurance that includes legal resources and discounts.
• Eligible employees receive Basic Life and AD&D insurance equal to their annual earnings subject to a minimum benefit of $50,000 and a maximum of $250,000. Basic Life and AD&D are provided by the State of Colorado at no cost to employees.
• The State of Colorado’s Wellness Program, State of Health, is a no-cost, year-long program that supports an employee’s health and wellness goals. This program offers personalized health coaching, skill groups and more. Participants can earn a $20 per month health insurance premium discount.
• Through BenefitHub, State of Colorado employees have access to discounts, promotions and special programs from hundreds of retailers, restaurants, travel and entertainment venues throughout Colorado and across the country.
• State contribution into a Health Savings Account when enrolled in a High Deductible Health Plan.
• Eligible employees have access to medical leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the State of Colorado Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program (FAMLI) .
• Eligibility for hybrid or other flexible work arrangements based on the nature of the role.
• We offer excellent retirement benefits including mandatory PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined Contribution Plan, plus optional 401K and 457 plans. For information on mandatory employee salary deferral (in lieu of contribution to Social Security), visit Colorado PERA for details.
• We provide generous time off including 11 paid holidays annually and accrued annual and sick leave and four annual wellness days.
• The Employee Assistance Program (C-SEAP) is available in every region of the state. It is our effort to support the well-being of employees and the workplace. EAPs provide short-term counseling, referrals and resources, as well as training and organizational development services.
• Tuition reimbursement and reduced college tuition at CSU Global and DeVry University.
• We offer Credit Union of Colorado membership eligibility.

To learn more about State of Colorado benefits, please visit State of Colorado benefits .

Description Of Job

About the Work Unit

The Colorado Information Analysis Center (CIAC) serves as the focal point within the state for receiving, analyzing and sharing threat-related information among private sector, local, tribal, and federal partners. The CIAC includes representatives from various departments and partner agencies that analyze threat information with a focus on protecting civil rights, civil liberties and privacy concerns. The CIAC also provides situational awareness and a common operating picture and coordinated information collection, analysis, and dissemination for the Colorado Department of Public Safety (CDPS).

Section Description

The Watch Center component operates 24/7 and supports CDPS leadership as well as other partners with overall situational awareness and real time information collection, dissemination and analysis during a critical incident affecting Colorado and is the main point of intake and notification of incidents, and emerging threats for the Department, and petitions for Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO). The goal is to maintain situational awareness of any event or incident—either natural or man-made—that may require a state response or be of interest to state-level leadership. Assigned analysts also provide tactical support for local partners upon request.

Work Environment

The Watch Center operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (24/7), requiring staff to work nights, weekends, and holidays.

Shifts Are 10 Hours And Are Structured As Follows

• Day Shift: 5:00 AM – 3:00 PM
• Swing Shift: 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM
• Night Shift: 8:00 PM – 6:00 AM

Shift Bidding

Shifts are assigned through an annual bidding process. Once bids are awarded, the shift schedule remains in effect for the entire year unless a significant operational change occurs.

About The Job

This position is assigned to the CDPS 24/7 Watch Center, housed in the DHSEM/CIAC in Lakewood and provides investigative support to CDPS policy makers as well as local, state and federal partners. The Watch Center analyst makes operational decisions pertaining to raw information shared with the CIAC by other CDPS divisions as well as local, state or federal partners. This information may be law enforcement sensitive and may be in multiple forms. The Watch Center Analyst’s is required to have critical thinking capabilities and is responsible to determine the appropriate level and area of notification for situational awareness consistent with the CDPS Notification matrix and any other administrative procedures for the Watch Center. The Intake Analyst performs basic functions of the intelligence analyst tradecraft.

Key Responsibilities

Watch Center Inbox Monitoring

• Perform basic analytical tasks for both tactical and analytical information.
• Utilize intelligence community tradecraft methods and tools for information analysis and intelligence development.
• Duties may include:
• Developing law enforcement workups.
• Gathering information for trend analysis.
• Writing basic intelligence bulletins (in partnership with other analysts).
• Accessing classified documents.
• Perform other assigned duties within the scope of the position’s analytical skills.

Phone Line Support/State Emergency Operations Support

• Compiles and disseminates any special Watch Center reports that are assigned to include, but not be limited to:
• Weekly summary product (report), working with the Watch Center Analysts to compile, analyze and disseminate regular internal reports of suspicious activity being reported to the CIAC from partner agencies and the general public. This report provides a summary of all reports and includes any pertinent disposition information.
• Acts as the primary point of contact for Terrorist Screening Center related tasks and reporting.
• Staffs all 24/7 hotline(s) within the CIAC, receives and makes calls from the public or law enforcement specific to various legislative requirements.
• Answers “hotlines” to receive and refer calls from the public about specific hotlines, and to collaborate with other state agencies to obtain information necessary or beneficial for responding to requests.
• Intakes analyzes, disseminates, and provides dispositions of all reported hotline(s) calls.
• Provides relevant resources, information and collaborate with other state agencies to obtain relevant information necessary or beneficial for responding to requests.
• Provides pre-disaster support to the State Emergency Operations Center training and exercise program up to 5% of time.
• During a state declared disaster, provides operational support to the State Emergency Operations Center as directed.
• Additional duties may include, but not be limited to:
• Providing W/C leadership with updates and input to the “living” W/C policies and training manual (shared responsibility with all W/C staff).
• Directly assigned in-depth SAB products.
• May assist as representation of the Watch Center for special events/meetings.
• Possible assistance with command post duties/responsibilities as previously indicated.

Situational Awareness/Liaison

• Compiles, analyzes, and disseminates information and intelligence from various agencies, the public, and other sources, and promote these sources to maintain the exchange of pertinent information among various disciplines including law enforcement, fire, emergency management and homeland security agencies.
• Requests, receives and documents information of a confidential nature.
• Coordinates inter-state and intra-state information and intelligence pertaining to criminal activity and criminal movement, and exercises independent judgment to ensure accurate and reliable information is disseminated to the proper authority.
• Maintains liaison and intelligence exchange with other law enforcement agencies.
• Utilize electronic, technical, and support systems equipment.
• Dialogues with individuals via telephone or email, providing requested information, responding to questions, or seeking information from individuals.
• Assess unfolding events and determine the appropriate method and message to relay leadership personnel within CDPS, based on the integrity, reliability, and urgency of the situation.
• Determine which tools should be used to send an alert notification to the appropriate leadership personnel, taking into consideration the sensitivity of the information and dynamics of the information.

Intelligence and Analysis

• Performs basic analytical tasks for both tactical and analytical information, using the intelligence community tradecraft methods and tools for information analysis and intelligence development.
• This may include developing law enforcement workups, gathering information for trend analysis, writing basic intelligence bulletins, in partnership with other analysts.
• Other duties will be as assigned within the scope of this position’s analytical skills. This includes accessing classified documents.

Minimum Qualifications, Substitutions, Conditions Of Employment & Appeal Rights

Note, to be considered for this position, you must meet one of the following options for consideration.

Proven Experience, Knowledge, Skills

Four (4) years of demonstrated professional experience working in a field closely related to criminal justice or law enforcement with activities that included dispatching, information gathering, analyzing and customer service.

OR Education And Experience, Knowledge, Skills

A combination of related education and experience working in a field closely related to criminal justice or law enforcement with activities that included dispatching, information gathering, analyzing and customer service equal to four (4) years.

Preferred Qualifications And Competencies

• Experience or knowledge of gun control laws
• Previous law enforcement or related analytical training
• Experience working with multi-jurisdictional law enforcement.
• Previous crime analyst experience or in support of criminal investigations.
• Experience producing intelligence reports
• Experience working with national, state, and local efforts and participating agencies specific to threat mitigation and response
• State of Colorado experience

Conditions of Employment

• Requires successful completion of a background investigation that includes a polygraph exam, a fingerprint based criminal history search, reference check .
• Must be a Colorado resident at the time of application
• This position is essential and can be required to work unexpected or unusual hours to perform the essential and or/emergency services of the department without delay and/or without interruption
• Must willing and able to work shifts that include nights, weekends, and holidays.
• Must be able to be on-call as needed during an incident or state declared disaster and to cover supervisor on-call rotation for the CIAC.

Appeal Rights

If you receive notice that you have been eliminated from consideration for the position, you may protest the action by filing an appeal with the State Personnel Board/State Personnel Director within 10 days from the date you receive notice of the elimination. Also, if you wish to challenge the selection and comparative analysis process, you may file an appeal with the State Personnel Board/State Personnel Director within 10 days from the receipt of notice or knowledge of the action you are challenging. Refer to Chapters 4 and 8 of the State Personnel Board Rules and Personnel Director’s Administrative Procedures, 4 CCR 801, for more information about the appeals process. The State Personnel Board Rules and Personnel Director’s Administrative Procedures are available at www.colorado.gov/spb . A standard appeal form is available at: www.colorado.gov/spb . 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 10 days of your receipt of notice or knowledge of the action: 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. The ten-day deadline and these appeal procedures also apply to all charges of discrimination.

Supplemental Information

Disability Accommodation

If you have a disability and require reasonable accommodation to ensure equitable opportunity applying or interviewing for this position, please direct your inquiries to Human Resources at: cdps_hr@state.co.us .

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.

Colorado Department of Public Safety 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.

Recruitment Timeline Information and Important Notices

• Applications are considered complete and accurate at the time of submission. Therefore, additional information may not be solicited or accepted after your application has been received.
• Closing Date: All applications that are received by the closing of this announcement will be reviewed against the Minimum Qualifications in this announcement. Candidates who meet the minimum qualifications may proceed to the next step. Colorado Revised Statutes require that state employees are hired and promoted based on merit and fitness through a comparative analysis process.
• Supplemental Question: Effective responses to Supplemental Questions will directly relate to your professional experience, career accomplishments, and views about organizational values and approaches, and how they relate specifically to this position and requirements as you understand them. Answers generated by AI-tools will typically be unresponsive.
• Transcripts: An unofficial copy of transcripts must be submitted at the time of application should education be used as qualification. Transcripts from colleges or universities outside the United States must be assessed for U.S. equivalency by a NACES educational credential evaluation service. This documentation is the responsibility of the applicant and must be included as part of your application materials. Failure to provide a transcript or credential evaluation report may prevent your application from moving forward in the selection process.
• Military Veterans: If you are a military veteran you must submit a copy of your DD-214, Member 4 Copy, and VA disability letter if available/applicable at the time of application so we can determine if you are eligible for veteran’s preference points. Military personnel who are stationed outside of Colorado may be eligible for this position by submitting the completed DD-2058 “State of Legal Residence” form.
• Application Tips : For an overview of State of Colorado application process and application tips, please view this video .
• Resumes, Cover Letters, or other documents submitted will not be reviewed, assessed, or used in the initial stages of the comparative analysis (transcripts submitted to verify that the applicant meets either the education requirement or minimum qualification substitution are exempt from this).
• Notifications: All correspondence regarding your status in the selection/examination process will be sent via email to the email address listed on your application. Include your current working email address on your application and check the email provided on your application frequently as you could receive time sensitive correspondence regarding this position. We highly recommend that you set up your email to accept messages from ” state.co.us ” and ” info@governmentjobs.com ” addresses. It is your responsibility to ensure that your email will accept these notices and/or review your junk mail and spam filtered email.
• e-Verify: CDPS uses e-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify , including your rights and responsibilities.
• Comparative Analysis Steps may include (dates are tentative and subject to change):
• Structured application review by a panel of SMEs –
• Panel in-person interview – Tentative Scheduled for the week of June 1, 2026 -June 5, 2026