Legislative Operations Specialist

The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is seeking a full-time Legislative Operations Specialist 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 Operations Specialist (EO2) professional who enjoys working in a dynamic environment and takes pride in delivering accurate, high-quality work. If you are adaptable, organized, and committed to excellent communication and collaboration, we encourage you to apply.

The primary duties of this position include:  

Job Description:
The Associate Legislative Liaison supports the Department’s legislative, regulatory, and policy-related activities by leading and coordinating complex, multi-division projects, managing SharePoint resources, and overseeing legislative assignments and reporting. This position requires strong project management skills to ensure timely and accurate tracking of legislation, responses, and reporting requirements, while also serving as a primary trainer and point of contact for division legislative liaisons. The role provides essential analytical, research, and coordination support to the External Relations (ER) team.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

SharePoint Online (SPO) Site and Permission Management

• Serves as the site owner for the Government Relations (GR) SharePoint site, maintaining all content, lists, permissions, and user groups.
• Manages division liaison listings, Requests for Information (RFI) and Legislative Tracking List permissions, subject matter expert listings, and related permission groups.
• Ensures appropriate read/edit access for agency staff.
• Maintains all GR SharePoint tracking lists, including RFI lists, the Legislative Tracker, and SME directories. 

Legislative Report and Assignment Coordination

• Manages all Legislative Services Agency (LSA)-assigned legislative reports, verifying assignments annually, scheduling division responsibilities, tracking completion, and uploading reports to the LSA portal.
• Provides training, guidance, and technical support to division legislative liaisons and subject matter experts regarding legislative processes and assignments.
• Maintains legislative manuals and desk guides, ensuring annual updates and providing training as needed, including leading weekly meetings during Session. 

RFI and Director Memo Coordination

• Serves as Lead RFI Coordinator by receiving requests, making assignments, managing approved responses, and providing training and support to liaisons and backup coordinators.
• Coordinates Director Memos by logging requests, tracking progress through approval, and leading weekly status discussions with HHS Operations staff. 

Post-Session Legislative Implementation

• Develops and manages structured project plans, monitors division progress on post-session implementation of legislative requirements, and ensures deadlines and deliverables are met.
• Identifies risks, tracks milestones, and proactively coordinates with divisions to resolve barriers. 

Legislative Research and Analysis

• Conducts broad research on legislative activities, state and federal regulations, compliance matters, and policy issues affecting the Department.
• Identifies and communicates emerging issues to Department leadership and staff. 

Support to GR

• Provides additional support to the GR team as needed and performs other duties as assigned. 

Daily Responsibilities During Legislative Session:

Legislation Tracking and Review

• Serves as the primary coordinator for tracking legislative bills relevant to the Department.
• Posts daily updates from legislative communications to the SharePoint site.
• Reviews all new bills introduced, identifying those with actual or potential HHS impact and determining likely lead divisions.
• Tracks companion and successor bills, amendments, debate calendars, scheduled subcommittees and committees, bills passed, and fiscal notes. 

Daily Legislative Huddle

• Leads the daily Legislative Huddle meeting.
• Prepares and distributes a daily email (prior to 8 a.m.) summarizing legislative activity, including new bills, scheduled debates, companion bills, and priority assignments. 

Legislative Tracker Maintenance

• Updates the SharePoint Legislative Tracker with new assignments and last actions, performing weekly comprehensive updates and additional updates as required. 

Fiscal Note Coordination

• Manages LSA fiscal note requests, including confirming lead divisions, preparing Legislative Assessment Package (LAP) templates, creating folders in the LAP document library, uploading legislative documents, and assigning items in SPO.
• Tracks non-assigned fiscal note requests separately for reference. 

Ongoing Communication and Monitoring

• Forwards meeting calendar updates to the Government Relations team.
• Updates items on the IGOV Tracker and provides weekly updates each Friday.
• Monitors the RFI mailbox and assignments.
• Sends daily updates to the GR team at 2 p.m. with assignments, meetings, required approvals, and due dates. 

Weekly Meetings

• Leads weekly meetings with division liaisons to review pending assignments, discuss Capitol activity, and provide status updates. 

Required Skills and Competencies:

• 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. 

Applicants will be required to complete a background check to be considered for this position.

Location and hours:

Lucas Building, 321 E. 12^th Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50319 - Monday – Friday 8AM-4:30PM. 
Benefits

Working for the State of Iowa comes with its perks. In addition to a competitive salary, you'll enjoy a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your well-being and professional growth:

• Health, Dental, and Vision Coverage: Health and dental insurance packages to keep you and your family healthy at a low cost with outstanding coverage!
• Paid Time Off: Take time to recharge with 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: Participate in retirement plans such as IPERS (employees contribute 6.29% and the State of Iowa contributes 9.44%) as well as our Retirement Investors Club (RIC), Employer Sponsored Retirement Plan (the State of Iowa matches dollar for dollar up to $75/month).
• Flexible Spending Accounts: Take advantage of flexible spending accounts for medical and dependent care expenses.
• Insurance Coverage: Benefit from life insurance and free long-term disability insurance for added peace of mind.
• Employee Assistance Program: Access resources and support through our Employee Assistance Program for personal and professional challenges.
• Employee Discount Programs: Enjoy discounts on a variety of goods and services through our employee discount programs. 

For additional information on benefits click here.

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Background Checks

Applicants will be required to complete a background check to be considered for this position. 

The State of Iowa is an EEO/AA Employer

HHS values those with “lived experience” and encourages adults who were fostered as youth, foster parents, and/or parents who were in the DHS system to apply. Minorities, women, persons with disabilities and veterans are encouraged to apply (Hearing and Speech Impaired – Relay Iowa 1-800-735-2942 TDD).

E-Verify and Right to Work

The State of Iowa participates in E-Verify, a federal program that helps employers confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. Within the required timeframe, new hires will be verified through the E-Verify system to ensure authorization to work in the United States. The State of Iowa also complies with the federal Right to Work laws, which protect employees’ rights to work without being required to join a labor organization. For more information, please visitwww.e-verify.gov.