Deputy Legislative Director

State of Wisconsin; Madison (WI); Hybrid; USD 104,000 - 113,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

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Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Job summary

DATCP, part of the State of Wisconsin, seeks a Deputy Legislative Director to drive legislative analysis, coordinate responses to inquiries, and liaise with executive leadership, offices, and stakeholders. You will interpret legislative activity, prepare briefings, and develop action plans across divisions.

The role requires strong written communication, the ability to prioritize tasks, and the capacity to work with diverse partners within Wisconsin and beyond.

Qualifications

• Experience building and maintaining professional relationships with legislative offices, government agencies, tribal governments, and external stakeholders.
• Experience drafting briefing documents, testimony, talking points, and responses for leadership or public presentation.
• Experience analyzing state and federal legislation, budget proposals, or administrative rules to evaluate fiscal, legal, and/or operational impact.
• Experience making recommendations to executive leadership regarding inquiries from internal or external stakeholders.
• Experience advising appointees or elected officials on legislative strategy and policy risks.
• Experience collaborating with stakeholders to develop and implement legislative proposals.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate responses to legislative and constituent inquiries and prepare briefings and testimony.
• Monitor and interpret state and federal legislative activity and assess potential fiscal or policy impacts.
• Develop options and recommendations with DATCP leadership and subject matter experts.
• Represent the Legislative Director when assigned and coordinate with the Governor’s Office and other agencies.
• Build and maintain relationships with stakeholders and provide timely customer service on inquiries.

Skills

Stakeholder liaison

Legislative analysis

Briefing documents

Policy recommendations

Communication

Job description

Introduction

The Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) works hard to protect and promote Wisconsin’s agricultural industries and consumers. As an agency, we strive to serve the people of Wisconsin assuring: safe, wholesome food; consumer protection and fair business practices; animal and plant health; a clean environment; and strong agriculture and commerce. To successfully attain these goals, we recognize our success hinges on the high quality, dedicated staff we employ.

Where We’re Located

This position is located at the Prairie Oaks State Office Building situated on Madison’s southeast side and a beautifully wooded and scenic hilltop venue. Our employees enjoy low-cost parking at the facility and are only minutes away from the Beltline Highway, Interstate 90 and Highway 51 for quick access to local restaurants, retail and service locations.

Remote Work Option

This position may have the ability to work remotely up to 6 days per 2-week pay period! An approved remote work agreement is required before an employee may work remotely. Approval of the employee’s remote work agreement and work schedule will vary based on the operational needs of the Division. All DATCP employees who work remotely are required to live in Wisconsin.

Employee Benefits

This position offers the State of Wisconsin’s excellent benefits package, which includes 19.5 days of paid time off to start, 9 paid holidays, accrued sick leave, multiple insurance options and an exceptional retirement plan! To help you understand what your benefit package would be worth, please check the Total Rewards Calculator here.

By working for Wisconsin State Government, you may also be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

Position Summary

This position serves as the Deputy Legislative Director for the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) under the general direction of the Legislative Director. This position functions as a principal working-level point of contact for the assigned areas to the Office of the Secretary (OS) for the preparation, analysis, coordination, and implementation of legislation, budget or legislative/federal policy issues affecting the department’s programs.

The Deputy Legislative Director is responsible for working with DATCP leadership and subject matter experts to coordinate responses to legislative and constituent inquiries and serves as a point of contact for legislative offices, stakeholders, staff, and the public. This position monitors and interprets state and federal legislative activity, assesses potential fiscal or operational/policy impacts and develops options and recommendations. This position will coordinate DATCP responses and will prepare briefings and testimony or other correspondence and materials for the Secretary, Legislative Director or department leadership. This position represents the Legislative Director when assigned and coordinates with the Governor’s Office, Legislature, Congressional delegation, tribal governments, other governmental organizations, associations, and stakeholders.

This position will work across DATCP to obtain and analyze subject matter information for the purposes of identifying appropriate courses of action and support timely resolution of issues raised by the Governor’s Office, Legislature, or the Federal Government. This position exercises independent judgment within established policy direction and elevates recommendations and sensitive issues to the Legislative Director and OS.

This position requires strong written and communication skills and the ability to prioritize competing objectives and tasks. This position must develop and maintain effective working relationships with various stakeholders, legislative offices, other agency officials, tribal governments, and other government organizations engaged in legislative and policy development, as well as provide customer service in responding to constituent and legislative inquiries.

Salary Information

The classification of this position is Legislative Liaison, which is in schedule-range 81-02 with a starting pay of $50.00-$54.48 per hour ($104,000-$113,318.40 annually).

This position is not represented by a collective bargaining unit. A 24-month probationary period for this Career Executive position is required. Pay for current state employees will be set in accordance with the State Compensation Plan at the time of hire.

Job Details

At DATCP, we strive to deliver efficient and effective programs and services to Wisconsin agriculture, consumers, and businesses. The Department has numerous on-the-job training (OJT) opportunities and transferable skills, unique to each Bureau and position.

These OJT opportunities and transferable skills include direct experience and practice through collaboration with co-workers/supervisor, peer mentoring, and job-specific training modules.

Conditions Of Employment

DATCP does not sponsor work visas. Any appointment made will be contingent on the selected applicant being able to provide documentation of eligibility to work in the United States.

A criminal background check will be performed on the selected applicant prior to an offer of employment.

Possession of a valid driver’s license or the ability to provide one’s own transportation for work purposes, is required.

Travel is required for approximately 10% of this position’s duties. Overnight stays may be required.

Qualifications

Minimally qualified candidates will have each of the following:

• Experience building and maintaining professional relationships and serving as a liaison with legislative offices, government agencies, tribal governments, and/or external stakeholder groups (private industry, non-profit organizations, etc.).
• Experience drafting briefing documents, testimony, talking points, and responses (internal and/or external constituents/stakeholders) for executive leadership or public presentation.
• Experience analyzing state and federal legislation, budget proposals, or administrative rules to evaluate fiscal, legal, and/or operational impact.
• Experience making recommendations to executive leadership regarding inquiries from internal or external stakeholders.

In addition to the minimum qualifications above, highly qualified candidates will have one or more of the following:

• Experience recommending actions to executive leaders to resolve inquiries or concerns related to agriculture, trade, consumer protection, and/or environmental regulation.
• Experience collecting feedback and working with stakeholders (internal and external) to develop and implement state and federal legislative proposals.
• Experience advising appointees or elected officials on legislative strategy and/or policy risks.

Equal Opportunity Statement

DATCP is an Equal Opportunity and affirmative action employer. We provide reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants and employees with disabilities.

Veteran Hiring Information

The State of Wisconsin offers a special program for qualified veterans with a 30% or greater service-connected disability. If you are a qualified veteran, please visit the Veterans Employment page for application instructions to be considered for the Veterans Non-Competitive Appointment program. For complete information on veterans hiring programs that may benefit you, please visit the Employment page on WDVA's website.

Deadline to Apply

The deadline to apply for this position is 11:59 p.m. on Monday, September 28, 2026.