PROGRAM SPECIALIST

City of Chicago Department of Law; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

City of Chicago Department of Law is seeking a Program Specialist to independently coordinate projects and monitor legislative and policy matters. The role involves liaison work with federal, state, and City officials, agencies, and stakeholders to support departmental initiatives.

The position requires strong research, analytical, and policy interpretation skills, as well as experience in preparing briefing materials, summaries, and reports for leadership.

Qualifications

• Seven years of work experience performing or supporting project or program administration functions.
• Associate’s degree in a related field plus five years of experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in a related field plus three years of experience.
• Master’s degree in a related field plus two years of experience.
• Must be flexible to early and/or late meetings and occasional weekends.
• Must be flexible to travel to Both Airports, based on operational needs.
• This position requires a valid license at the time of hire.
• The candidates selected for hire must pass an airport background check and a Security Threat Assessment.

Responsibilities

• Works independently, coordinating assigned projects and programs.
• Monitors project and program activities for adherence to confidentiality standards, legal requirements, laws, ordinances, program requirements, and ethical guidelines.
• Serves as a liaison with federal, state, and City elected officials and their professional staffs, governmental agencies, City departments, and other public and private organizations to coordinate requests, exchange information, and support departmental initiatives.
• Monitors and tracks federal, state, and City legislation, ordinances, resolutions, regulations, and other governmental actions that may affect departmental programs, policies, operations, or initiatives.
• Conducts studies and analyses of projects and programs, including research and analysis of legislative, regulatory, governmental, and public-policy matters, and prepares findings for management.
• Interprets and applies municipal codes, regulations, and procedures, as well as applicable federal and state laws, regulations, policies, and governmental requirements.
• Reviews and analyzes proposed legislation, ordinances, resolutions, regulations, agreements, and other legal or governmental documents and coordinates with legal staff and subject-matter experts to identify potential departmental impacts.

Skills

Project coordination

Intergovernmental affairs

Legislation tracking

Policy analysis

Public communications

Education

Associate degree in related field

Bachelor's degree in related field

Master's degree in related field

Job description

Welcome to the City of Chicago CAREERS site. You are not signed in. | In order to create a New Account "click here" My Account Options

Job Description - PROGRAM SPECIALIST (417073)

• Works independently, coordinating assigned projects and programs.
• Monitors project and program activities for adherence to confidentiality standards, legal requirements, laws, ordinances, program requirements, and ethical guidelines.
• Serves as a liaison with federal, state, and City elected officials and their professional staffs, governmental agencies, City departments, and other public and private organizations to coordinate requests, exchange information, and support departmental initiatives.
• Monitors and tracks federal, state, and City legislation, ordinances, resolutions, regulations, and other governmental actions that may affect departmental programs, policies, operations, or initiatives.
• Conducts studies and analyses of projects and programs, including research and analysis of legislative, regulatory, governmental, and public-policy matters, and prepares findings for management.
• Interprets and applies municipal codes, regulations, and procedures, as well as applicable federal and state laws, regulations, policies, and governmental requirements.
• Reviews and analyzes proposed legislation, ordinances, resolutions, regulations, agreements, and other legal or governmental documents and coordinates with legal staff and subject-matter experts to identify potential departmental impacts.
• Coordinates the internal review of legislative and governmental matters, obtaining information and input from appropriate departmental divisions, legal staff, and subject-matter experts.
• Prepares briefing materials, memoranda, legislative summaries, correspondence, talking points, presentations, and reports for departmental leadership regarding federal, state, and City governmental and legislative matters.
• Assists with the preparation, review, routing, and tracking of ordinances, legislation, resolutions, agreements, and other governmental matters requiring departmental or governmental review and approval.
• Coordinates meetings, briefings, hearings, site visits, and other engagements involving federal, state, and City elected officials and their staffs, governmental agencies, departmental leadership, and other stakeholders.
• Develops informational, educational, and training materials related to legislative initiatives, governmental processes, policy changes, and departmental programs for internal and external stakeholders.
• Assists in coordinating briefings, presentations, informational sessions, and other educational activities to communicate legislative, regulatory, policy, and governmental developments to appropriate stakeholders.
• Maintains legislative and governmental tracking systems, calendars, databases, and status reports to monitor governmental requests, legislative matters, commitments, deadlines, correspondence, and required follow-up.
• Develops and implements new or revised operating policies and procedures to ensure the effectiveness of assigned project or program operations.
• Prepares narrative and statistical programmatic status reports, including performance metrics, dashboards, legislative tracking reports, and other management reports.
• May assist with program and policy development.

Additional duties may be required for this position.

Seven (7) years of work experience performing or supporting project or program administration

functions, OR

Graduation from an accredited college with an Associate’s degree, in a field related to the

responsibilities of the position, PLUS five (5) years of work experience performing or

project or program administration functions, OR

Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor's degree, in a field related

to the responsibilities of the position, PLUS three (3) years of work experience performing or

supporting project or program administration functions, OR

Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Master’s degree, in a field related to

the responsibilities of the position, or higher PLUS two (2) years of work experience performing

or supporting project or program administration functions.

NOTE: Must be flexible to early and/or late meetings and occasional weekends.

NOTE: Must be flexible to travel to Both Airports, based on operational needs.

NOTE: This position requires a valid license at the time of hire.

NOTE: The candidates selected for hire must pass an airport background check and a Security Threat Assessment.

SELECTION REQUIREMENTS

This position requires an applicant to successfully complete an interview. The interviewed candidate(s) possessing the qualifications best suited to fulfill the responsibilities of the position, based on the interview, will be selected.

Preference will be given to applicants who possess the following:

• Professional experience working with federal, state, or City/local elected officials and/or their professional staff, legislative bodies, or governmental agencies.
• Professional experience in intergovernmental affairs, government relations, legislative affairs, public policy, or a closely related governmental function.
• Professional experience in a legal department, law firm, government law office, or similar professional legal environment involving legislative, regulatory, governmental, policy, compliance, or administrative matters.
• Professional experience in training or professional development involving the development and delivery of educational materials, briefings, presentations, or programs related to governmental processes, policies, regulations, compliance, or organizational initiatives.
• Professional experience researching, reviewing, analyzing, monitoring, or tracking federal, state, or local legislation, ordinances, resolutions, regulations, governmental policies, or related legal matters

APPLICATION EVALUATION

Initial evaluation will be based on information provided on the application and the documents submitted. Department of Human Resource staff will review applications after the final posting date. Staff will follow all required Employment/Hiring Plan provisions, federal, state and local laws, and Collective Bargaining Agreements when applicable. Staff will apply hiring preferences as required by the municipal code. Placement on an eligibility list is not an offer or guarantee of an interview nor employment with the City of Chicago.

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY

To further our commitment to hiring applicants with diverse experience the City of Chicago has adopted the following ordinances 2-74-020 and 2-74-075. The ordinances provide a preference to applicants who meet minimum qualifications and who are veterans of the Armed Forces, and/or residents of Socio‑Economically Disadvantaged Areas (SEDA) and/or Chicago Public School (CPS) high school graduates to be referred to departments for consideration. These hiring preferences do not apply to bidders, as Collective Bargaining Agreements define the hiring process for bidders. For positions covered by a collective bargaining agreement, bidders will be considered before external candidates. To learn more about our hiring practices click here.

ALL REFERENCES TO POLITICAL SPONSORSHIP OR RECOMMENDATION MUST BE OMITTED FROM ALL APPLICATION MATERIALS SUBMITTED FOR CITY EMPLOYMENT.

The City of Chicago in an Equal Employment Opportunity and Military Friendly Employer.

The City of Chicago is committed to providing fair chance hiring and welcomes applicants with past convictions, recognizing the value of a diverse workforce and the potential for growth and positive change.

City of Chicago

Job Posting: Oct 1, 2026, 5:00:00 AM | Closing Date (Period for Applying) - External : Oct 16, 2026, 4:59:00 AM