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.

For more information, please review the full position description .

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.

How To Apply

If viewing this posting on an external site (such as indeed.com, etc.), please visit Wisc.Jobs and search for this Job ID: 22116 to complete your application for this posting.

To be considered for this position, you will need to create an account (if you don't already have one) and apply online via the "Apply for Job" button listed on the top right of the job posting page. You will be required to upload a current resume and a letter of qualifications that clearly describes your qualifications and experience as they relate to the qualifications listed in this job posting. If you do not upload these materials, your application will not be considered. Review the applicant resources , including tips on how to write a resume and letter of qualifications.

Submitted application materials will be evaluated by one or more job experts. Candidates who are deemed eligible will be invited to participate in the next step of the selection process, starting with those candidates who are deemed most qualified.

For general Wisc.Jobs user information and technical assistance, please check the Frequently Asked Questions . Please address questions regarding the application process to Joey Stella at [redacted] .

Deadline to Apply

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