Administrative Assistant 2 (Legal) Jobs

Iowa Department of Education’s mission is creating excellence in education through leadership and service. To accomplish our mission, we need talented, passionate people working together to make this a reality.

If you are someone who enjoys working collaboratively with diverse teams, is highly motivated and detail-oriented, effective at creating structure, and communicates effectively then look no further!

We are looking for a self-motivated, team player who will provide key administrative support to our General Counsel and team.

Your Responsibilities

• Coordinates the logistics of scheduling all Department administrative hearings, ensuring that motions, notices, and correspondence are addressed according to statutory and regulatory deadlines. Attends all in person contested case hearings and records the minutes of testimony. Transfers all recordings of contested case hearings to disc and hard drive. Maintains a master calendar for contested case hearings ensuring attention to statutory deadlines.
• Serves as the liaison and procedural advisor to parties in the appeal process (parties are prohibited from having ex parte communication with the ALJ) and exercises discretion and judgment in these communications. Maintains communication with all parties of the contested case and responds to individual inquires of the parties. Coordinates with the Director and the President of the State Board of Education for their review and signature of contested case decisions. Responsible for distributing all contested case decisions to the parties in a timely manner, maintaining the Department's book of contested case decisions, and writing a summary of those decisions to be maintained in the Department's online database.
• Support all functions of the Department’s Administrative Appeals. Act as a liaison between the Department of Inspections and Appeals (DIA) and the Department to coordinate appeals that are received by the Department and then assigned to DIA.
• Directly supports the Attorney for the Division of Learning and Results by implementing procedures and processing confidential documents pertaining to special education complaints, IDEA due process complaints, and other legal documents created or maintained on behalf of the Department. Provide support to the Division's Attorney in his capacity as a complaint officer for special education complaints and the complaint process. Serve as a liaison between the Division and the special education ALJs housed at DIA. Supports the IDEA mediation process. Maintains legal files for the Division Attorney. Ensures that attorney resources are kept up to date and are accurate. Other duties as assigned.
• Directly supports the Department’s General Counsel by implementing procedures and processing sometimes confidential documents pertaining to grievances, lawsuits and other legal documents created or maintained on behalf of the Director and State Board of Education. Provide support to the Department’s attorney in her capacity as administrative law judge (ALJ) for administrative hearings and the appeal process. Maintains legal files for the Department's Attorney. Ensures that attorney resources are kept up to date and accurate. Other duties as assigned.

If you wish to review a copy of the Position Description Questionnaire, please contact [email protected].

Hours: 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Monday – Friday

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?

• Competitive salary and benefits package
• Employee discounts from a variety of vendors
• Talented and passionate work colleagues that will help you learn and grow
• Opportunities to make a widespread difference in the lives of children, their families, and Iowa communities
• Opportunities to collaborate with experts from around the country
• Collaborative, positive work environment

Desirable Qualifications

• Prior experience as a law clerk is a plus but not required
• Prior experience in a school or education agency is a plus but not required
• Prior legal experience is a plus but not required
• Prior experience in a government agency and/or working knowledge of agency law is a plus but not required

Minimum Qualification Requirements

Applicants must meet at least one of the following minimum requirements to qualify for positions in this job classification:

• Current, continuous experience in the state executive branch that includes experience equal to 12 months of full-time work as an Administrative Assistant 1
• Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a bachelor's degree in any field, and experience equal to one year of full-time administrative support (e.g., screening visitors and callers; opening/distributing mail, typing/proofing documents, letters, and reports; organizing files; scheduling meetings/appointments; arranging travel; processing travel claims; ordering supplies/equipment) or technical support work (e.g., determining budget, personnel, and equipment needs; compiling/evaluating statistical, historical, economic, business, financial or technical program data; interpreting or securing compliance with laws, rules and regulations; reviewing operating records/reports and evaluating their effectiveness).
• A total of five years of education and/or full-time experience (as described in number one) where thirty semester hours of accredited college or university course work in any field equals one year of full-time experience.

For additional information, please click on this link to view the job description.