Nursery Regulatory Specialist - Senior

State of Wisconsin; Madison (WI); Hybrid; USD 73,000 - 81,000; Full time

Job summary

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) seeks a Regulatory Specialist-Senior to serve as the statewide regulatory expert for nursery, Christmas tree and related programs. You will develop licensing procedures, coordinate investigations and provide CRM/GIS based data support to staff and licensees.

You will lead system improvements for processing licenses, train staff on technical program areas, and support compliance and outreach efforts across Wisconsin.

Qualifications

• Education, training or equivalent experience in a natural science field ( Biology, Botany, Agriculture, etc.).
• Experience interpreting or enforcing environmental regulatory laws at state/federal level.
• Experience developing databases and data analysis using CRM, ArcGIS or Excel.

Responsibilities

• Serve as statewide regulatory expert for nursery, Christmas tree and related programs, providing regulatory and technical guidance to staff and licensees.
• Develop and implement statewide licensing, plant pest quarantine and invasive species compliance procedures; coordinate investigations and data review.
• Act as primary technical resource for Plant Pest and Disease Specialists; provide training on CRM and GIS-based data collection apps.
• Coordinate staff and systems for processing thousands of licenses annually; ensure revenue data entry and reconciliation.
• Liaise with state/national organizations, issue phytosanitary certificates as Authorized Certification Official, respond to inquiries and assist with policy research.

Skills

Regulatory compliance

Regulatory policy

Data analysis

Education

Natural science degree

Tools

CRM

ArcGIS

MS Excel

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.

DATCP currently has an opening for a Regulatory Specialist-Senior position within the Division of Agricultural Resource Management, Bureau of Bureau of Plant Industry.

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 statewide regulatory expert for the Department’s nursery, Christmas tree and other assigned programs; providing regulatory and technical expertise to managers, program coordinators, inspectors and licensees; providing field support in response to escalated compliance issues; coordinating responses to time-sensitive pest trace-forwards; and overseeing licensing and inspection data. Responsibilities include developing and implementing statewide regulatory procedures for licensing, plant pest quarantine, and invasive species compliance; coordination of compliance investigations; review and analysis of plant pest and disease data; and general program evaluation and assessment. This position also assists managers and program coordinators with analysis of program workloads, regulatory outreach, training needs, revenue analysis and overall program effectiveness.

This position is responsible for the development, maintenance and improvement of largescale relational geographic licensing and inspection databases. They serve as the primary technical resource for Plant Pest and Disease Specialists statewide and provide training on technical program areas and computer technologies, including CRM and GIS-based electronic data collection apps. This position is responsible for coordinating staff, developing, analyzing, and improving systems for processing over 3,000 nursery, Christmas tree and seed licenses annually, along with ensuring prompt, efficient and accurate license revenue data entry, revenue reconciliation, invoice, and refund generation.

Other program responsibilities include: serving as a liaison to a variety of contacts (e.g., state and national professional organizations, state plant regulatory officials, state and federal partner agencies, etc.); serving as an Authorized Certification Official responsible for issuing phytosanitary certificates in accordance with international state and international export rules; responding to public and legislative inquiries; assisting with policy research and analysis; developing compliance strategies; recommending strategies for advancing the bureau’s investigation and compliance efforts; and assisting the Section Manager in the development of administrative rules governing Section responsibilities.

For more information, please review the full position description.

Salary Information

The classification of this position is Regulatory Specialist - Senior, which is in schedule-range 07-03 with a starting pay between $35.00 - $39.00 per hour ($72,800 - $81,120 annually) based on qualifications.

This position is not represented by a collective bargaining unit. A 12-month probationary period 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.

This position may attend nationwide trainings and webinars related to auditing, systems approach to nursery certifications, compliance & plant pest and diseases. This position will also receive Authorized Certification Official training from APHIS in order to issue phytosanitary certificates and support the export certification program.

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 20% with occasional overnights of this position’s duties.

Ability to obtain and maintain USDA Authorized Certification Official (ACO) to issue phytosanitary certificates within 15 months of hire.

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

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.

Qualifications

Minimally qualified candidates will have each of the following:

• Education, training or equivalent experience in a natural science field (i.e., in Biology, Botany, Agriculture, Entomology, Plant Pathology, or similar field).
• Experience interpreting, following or enforcing environmental regulatory laws or other federal, state, or local statutes (i.e. quarantines, invasive species, noxious weed laws, organic certification, pesticide laws, endangered or threatened species, or similar).
• Experience with utilizing and developing databases, including the ability to devise systems to collect, analyze and summarize data (e.g., ArcGIS, MS Access, Excel, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) or similar).

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

• Experience processing license applications, issuing licenses, creating Invoices in CRM or PeopleSoft.
• Experience providing plant pest regulatory outreach or serving as a liaison to plant industry stakeholders (e.g., forest products or agricultural or seed industry groups or individuals).
• Currently holds or has previously held the USDA Authorized Certification Official (ACO) related to Phytosanitary certificates.

Deadline to Apply

The deadline to apply for this position is 11:59 p.m. on September 30, 2026.