CDOC - Legislative Coordinator (Colorado Springs)

State of Colorado • Denver, CO

1d • Onsite

About The Position

This position directs the Colorado Department of Corrections’ (DOC) legislative monitoring and implementation process and provides additional lobbying support to the Legislative Liaison when appropriate. This position will also ensure optimal information exchange, collaboration and retention within the Department of Corrections and across to external stakeholders. The work unit exists to foster strategic partnerships with diverse groups in a politically sensitive environment while also managing internal or external developments impacting the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) to balance stakeholder interests with those of the Department.

Requirements

• Eight (8) years of professional experience in legislative tracking, government relations, policy analysis, or legislative liaison work OR A combination of related education in Political Science, Public Administration, Public Policy, Criminal Justice, Communications, or a closely related field and/or relevant experience as defined above equal to eight (8) years.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Knowledge and comprehensive understanding of theories, principles, and best practices of public administration, government relations, and communications
• Strong leadership and organization skills
• Ability to work under tight deadlines and be adaptable to changing assignments
• Strong analytic thinking, research skills, and problem solving
• Strong attention to technical detail
• Ability to partner with professionals, consultants, stakeholders and staff, with sensitivity to their needs and priorities
• Strong negotiation skills and the ability to find mutually acceptable solutions, building consensus through give and take
• Effective interpersonal and relationship building skills
• Ability to work effectively in both independent and team situations
• Time and project management skills
• Self-control, a strong sense of ability to work in stressful, potentially violent situations
• Ability to remain alert, emotionally stable, and mentally resilient under pressure and observant throughout their shift
• Tolerance to stress, confinement, and high-stakes interaction
• Ability to read and comprehend the English language
• Ability to effectively communicate fluently in English both verbally and in writing
• Ability to create accessible documents and technical content that follows plain language guidelines with accessibility in mind.
• Possess a high school diploma or GED
• Must be 21 years of age
• Possess a valid driver’s license.
• Applicants must have valid U.S. work authorization at the time of application
• Successfully pass all modules of the six-week Colorado Department of Corrections Basic Training, to include English reading comprehension, relevant competency assessments and written/practical exams in Defensive Tactics.
• Possess the physical ability to successfully complete Defensive Tactics
• Must be able to see and hear in order to observe, address and respond to potential breaches in safety and security
• Successfully complete a background investigation is required.

Nice To Haves

• Extensive professional experience as a Legislative Liaison for a state, local, or governmental agency lobbying on legislative issues in the State of Colorado or experience as a professional lobbyist at the state government level for a state, local government, governmental organization, or business.
• Extensive knowledge of the Colorado General Assembly and Colorado's state legislative process
• Experience and knowledge working in a correctional environment.

Responsibilities

• Serves as CDOC’s internal legislative and governmental relations coordinator.
• Ensure that legislation is tracked accurately, committee hearings are attended by appropriate SME’s, reviews fiscal notes for clarity and creates annual SMART Act presentation and the departmental legislative implementation process.
• Acts as an information resource for legislators regarding agency operations that impact department budget and staffing, as well as programs and public policy that may serve or be detrimental to the Department through correspondence responses.
• Works with the Governor’s legislative team to submit position requests for pending legislation following consultation with the Legislative Liaison and Legislative Director.
• Works with Department personnel to track the submission of required legislative reports and ensures these are timely received, reviewed and posted online in accordance with statute.
• Monitors and attends legislative hearings to capture questions asked by legislators while ensuring that responses to these questions are responded to by SME’s and delivered back to the General Assembly in a timely manner.
• Monitors and reviews all legislation introduced, and tracks these through the session.
• Alerts legislative liaison immediately if any amendments are introduced or new hearings added and receive overflow lobbying as needed.
• Functions as a departmental resource on hearing schedules, legislative processes and other matters of interest to the Department, advising DOC Executive Staff on hearings and calendar developments in the General Assembly that affect the Department’s operations.
• Develops and maintains open communications across the Department and with counterparts in the Governor’s office.
• Works as part of a team with the Legislative Liaison and Legislative Director to discuss amendment language and legislative language concerns with sponsors and advocacy groups.
• Serves as the primary point of contact for questions from legislators and will work with SME’s to provide responses.
• Performs as the central knowledge base for the department regarding which bills are introduced, which impact DOC, and status of any hearings on these matters.
• Responsible to keep legislative team apprised of changes in hearing schedules and will collaborate with the budget director and budget analysts to ensure accurate and timely tracking/linking of information and decisions related to decision items, budget amendments, emergency supplementals and other budget requests.
• Attend all Legislation on the Inside meetings and provide relevant report-outs on these meetings during executive team discussions.
• Responsible for maintaining the Legislative Dashboard on the external website and for keeping the information presented therein, accurate, timely and educational.
• Other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Distinctive career advancement opportunities throughout the state system
• Strong, secure, yet flexible retirement benefits including PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined; Contribution Plan plus 401K and 457 plans.
• Medical and dental health plans
• Short and long term disability coverage
• Paid life insurance
• 11 paid holidays per year plus vacation and sick leave
• Wellness program, tuition reimbursement, training opportunities and more

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: High school or GED