Legislative Liaison

About the role

The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is seeking a full-time Legislative Liaison to join the External Relations – Government Relations team. Join a team that values collaboration, professional growth, and work-life balance! We are seeking a motivated and detail-oriented Legislative Liaison (EO4) professional who enjoys working in a dynamic environment and takes pride in delivering accurate, high-quality work.

Responsibilities

• In collaboration with the Policy Director, serve as the Legislative liaison and provide oversight of the HHS Policy and Government Relations Program.
• Manage the legislative proposal process from introduction to enactment by providing prompt and detailed information to department leadership on the impacts of proposed legislation to the agency's programs and operations; prepare and/or coordinate the development of legislative position papers and fiscal notes that accurately convey the public impact of the legislative proposal to HHS executive leadership, members of the legislature, and the Office of the Governor.
• Throughout the legislative session and interim period, serve as a department spokesperson by speaking on behalf of the department at subcommittee meetings, committee meetings, and with various stakeholder groups about policy issues impacting the department.
• Serve as a liaison for the Department of Health and Human Services with the Legislature, Legislative Caucus Staff, the Legislative Service Agency (LSA), the Office of the Governor, the Department of Management, and key constituency representatives from stakeholder groups across the state; spend extensive hours during legislative session at the Capitol and remain available to members of the Legislature, Caucus Staff, LSA, and members of legislative leadership.
• During legislative session and the interim period, provide prompt, accurate, and timely responses to constituent concerns or inquiries from members of the legislature, the governor's office, Congress, and stakeholder groups by meeting regularly with department leadership and subject matter experts throughout the agency to gather all necessary information.
• Once legislation is passed by the legislature and signed by the governor which impacts the Department of Health and Human Services, track and manage its implementation across the HHS enterprise by working with subject matter experts and executive leadership from divisions throughout the agency to accurately determine legislative intent, implementation timeline, and necessary internal policy changes to comply with the legislation.
• Provide timely and accurate information to the communications director as needed relating to policy and operational issues impacting the department.
• Advise Director and Deputy Director on policy matters affecting HHS.
• Communicate with internal staff, external stakeholders, legislators, caucus staff, other executive branch agencies, the Governor's office and legislative services staff about the department's policy and budget priorities.
• Coordinate responses to requests for information from members of the General Assembly and the Governor's office/department of management and legislative services agency.
• Present information about the department's budget and policy priorities internally and to external groups as requested.
• Monitor activity at the Capitol during legislative session and communicate activity updates to internal staff and external stakeholders on a regular basis.

Qualifications

Selective Requirement: 12 months' experience in professional level staff work for a legislative body or legislator at state or federal level; prior service as a legislator at the state or federal level or prior legislative/lobbying experience. Interns, pages, or those performing clerical work do not qualify under this selective.

Minimum Qualification Requirements: Applicants must meet at least one of the following:

• Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a degree in any field, and experience equal to six years of full-time professional-level work in program administration, program development, program operations, or management.
• A total of ten years of education and/or full-time experience (as described above), where thirty semester hours of accredited college or university course work in any field equals one year of full-time experience.
• All of the following: (a) Four years of full-time professional-level work experience in program administration, program development, program operations, or management; (b) A total of four years of education and full-time experience (as described in part a), where thirty semester hours of accredited college or university course work in any field equals one year of full-time experience; and (c) A total of two years of graduate-level education and full-time experience (as described in part a), where twenty-four semester hours of accredited graduate college or university course work in a public-service-related area (e.g., public or business administration, social work, public health, law, education, engineering) equals one year of full-time experience. Graduation from the Iowa Certified Public Manager Program is also equivalent to one year of full-time experience or education.
• Current, continuous experience in the state executive branch that includes one year of full-time work as an Executive Officer 3 or two years of full-time work as an Executive Officer 2 or comparable specific management-level position.

Skills

• Ability to maintain composure and manage multiple complex projects under severe time constraints with minimal supervision.
• Strong analytical, research, decision-making, project management, and critical-thinking skills.
• Demonstrated ability to plan, organize, and monitor work across multiple teams, using structured processes and tools to track tasks and deadlines.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to summarize complex information clearly and concisely.
• Strong customer service orientation and ability to build productive working relationships across varied levels of expertise.
• Knowledge of HHS legislative interests, state and federal laws, administrative code, and the Iowa legislative process.
• Demonstrates integrity, reliability, and a proactive, independent work style.

Schedule

8:00 AM – 4:30 PM, Monday–Friday, with occasional after hours/weekends/holidays. Travel may be required. Position is a confidential employee pursuant to IAC 8A.412.

Location

Lucas Building, 321 E. 12th Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50319

Benefits

• Health and dental insurance packages with outstanding coverage.
• Paid time off including vacation (96 hours/year to begin, increasing with years of service), sick leave (144 hours/year), and paid holidays (9 days/year).
• Retirement plans including IPERS (employees contribute 6.29%, State of Iowa contributes 9.44%) and Retirement Investors Club (RIC) Employer Sponsored Retirement Plan (State matches dollar for dollar up to $75/month).
• Flexible spending accounts for medical and dependent care expenses.
• Life insurance and free long-term disability insurance.
• Employee Assistance Program for personal and professional challenges.
• Employee discount programs on a variety of goods and services.