Legislative Liaison

The State of Wisconsin, Department of Military Affairs (DMA) is hiring a Legislative Liaison in the Government and Public Affairs Office in Madison. The DMA offers a great life/work balance. In addition to meaningful and rewarding work, we offer a competitive benefits package featuring:

• Substantial leave time including at least 3.5 weeks of vacation to start, 9 paid holidays, and ample accrued sick time that rolls over each year.
• Excellent and affordable health, vision, and dental benefits (health plan options start at just $39/month for single plans and $96/month for family plans after two months of employment).
• A casual atmosphere and flexible work schedules, depending on the position's requirements.
• An exceptional pension plan with employer match and lifetime retirement payment, plus an optional tax advantaged 457 retirement savings plan.
• Well Wisconsin Wellness Program.
• A free and confidential employee assistance program that offers employees and their immediate family dependents a variety of tools, resources, and professional consultation services to support their health, goals, and overall wellbeing.

DMA is an equal opportunity employer and women, minorities, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

The Legislative Liaison serves as coordinator for federal and/or state policy and legislative issues affecting the Department of Military Affairs and its programs.

The position develops and maintains effective working relationships with the Governor’s Office, legislators and legislative staff, state and federal public officials, Department of Defense/National Guard Bureau representatives, interest groups, local officials, and other organizations. The Legislative Liaison advises the Adjutant General in the analysis and development of legislative proposals and of other major policies affecting the DMA or any of its programs. The position monitors federal budget and legislation to understand their impacts on Wisconsin’s National Guard and federally funded programs and coordinate DMA’s position and response.

The Legislative Liaison works with internal Department staff to fully develop background information; a recommendation and strategy which effectively position the Department/state to support/modify federal and state legislation. The position responds to congressional/legislative inquiries and maintains a system of tracking all inquiries to and from the agency. The position communicates the department’s concerns/issues and positions and negotiates a strategy to effectively modify or enact new legislation and provide recommendations.

This position will have the opportunity to work remotely one day per week after an initial training period.

Starting pay is between $42.00 and $50.83/ hr. This position is in the 81-02 pay schedule/range. A 2-year Career Executive trial period may be required.

For current permanent state employees, pay will be set in accordance with the State Compensation Plan.

• This position requires possession and continued maintenance of a Common Access Card (CAC) for the purpose of accessing a federal computer system or application which is required to perform an essential job function. Acquiring a CAC requires the successful completion of a vetting and background check process.

• The Department of Military Affairs does not sponsor work visas at the time of hire or anytime during employment. All persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and complete the required Employment Eligibility Form I-9.

Candidates who meet minimum qualifications will have experience with all of the following:

Providing a legal analysis of proposed legislation.
Developing an organization’s position on proposed legislation.
Lobbying with legislative and other government officials to garner support for legislative or policy initiatives.
Acting as an organization’s liaison on legislative issues with outside political entities and stakeholders.

In addition to the minimum qualifications, well-qualified candidates will also have the following preferred qualifications:

Experience with drafting legislation at the state or federal level.
Experience with drafting written testimony for legislative presentations by an organization’s leadership.
Experience developing an organization’s legislative or lobbying strategy for getting proposed legislation passed.
Experience coordinating on state or federal legislation with multi-agency impact.
Experience handling open records requests.
Experience reviewing and responding to congressional and legislative inquiries.

Click “Apply for Job” to start the application process. If you have not signed into your account, you will need to sign in before applying. If you do not have an account, click “Register Now” to register for an account and apply for the job. Follow the steps outlined in the application process and submit your application. You will be able to save your application as many times as needed and make edits up until the point you submit your application. Please note that once you submit your application, you will not be able to make any updates to the application or any materials submitted.

You will be required to attach your current resume and letter of qualifications in a Word or PDF compatible format. Your resume and letter of qualifications are reviewed to determine your qualifications as they relate to the job qualifications listed above. The vast majority of applicants are able to outline their background and experience in their resume in 1-3 pages; the same limits apply to a letter of qualifications.

For instructions on developing your resume and letter of qualifications and what should be included in these materials, click here. Submitted materials will be evaluated by a panel of job experts and the most qualified applicants will be invited to participate in the next step of the selection process.

Permanent classified state employees who are eligible for consideration (transfer, voluntary demotion, or reinstatement) should complete the online application process by the stated deadline.

Applications must be submitted through Wisc.Jobs. Failure to submit all required materials will result in an incomplete application and ineligibility for this position. Application materials will not be accepted if received in an incompatible format, an email, as a hard copy or a fax.

Questions regarding the application process can be directed to Rebecca Rupnow at Rebecca.Rupnow@widma.gov or 608-242-3150.

Questions regarding technical troubleshooting related to the Wisc.Jobs site, click FAQs (wisc.jobs) or 608-267-1012.

The Department of Military Affairs is an equal opportunity employer. Women, minorities and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply. For complete information on veterans’ hiring programs that may benefit you, please visit the Employment Assistance page on the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs’ website.

If viewing through an external site, please click here to apply directly at Wisc.Jobs.

The online application process must be completed by 11:59p.m. on March 24, 2024. Late applications will not be accepted.