Chief Deputy Workers' Commissioner

Overview

The Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL) is seeking a Chief Deputy Workers' Compensation Commissioner (Public Service Manager
2) for the Workers’ Compensation Division at our central office campus near Valley Junction in Des Moines, Iowa. A law license to practice law in the State of Iowa is required.

DIAL is a multifaceted regulatory agency charged with protecting the health, safety, and well-being of Iowans, and is comprised of eight core operational divisions:
Administration, Administrative Hearings, Building & Construction, Health & Safety, Investigations, OSHA, Professional Licensing, and Workers’ Compensation. DIAL’s mission is Achieve Compliance through Education, Regulation, and Due Process for a Safe and Healthy Iowa. Our goal is to be an effective, efficient and approachable regulatory agency. To accomplish our mission, the individual selected for this position will assist the department by providing leadership, vision, structure, and accountability to the Workers’ Compensation division.

Reporting to the Workers’ Compensation Commissioner, this position ensures effective and efficient service delivery across all operational aspects for the division.

• Demonstrated leader with team-building abilities
• Works collaboratively with a diverse group of people and leads a team of talented professionals and staff
• Detail-oriented and highly responsive to colleagues and stakeholders
• Displays high standards of professional and ethical conduct
• Commits to providing a high-quality service
• Possesses a high level of organizational skills and is process-driven
• Must possess a valid license to practice law in the state of Iowa

You will be an integral member of the Workers’ Compensation team, providing direct leadership to the division in supporting the agency’s operations by:

• Lead and oversee all adjudicative functions by conducting hearings, ruling on motions, assessing evidence, and issuing high-quality proposed and final decisions.
• Supervise and develop division staff, including 11 Deputies, professional staff, and support personnel, ensuring strong performance, consistent legal reasoning, and equitable workload distribution.
• Manage hearing operations, including scheduling, logistics, and maintaining accurate records to ensure timely and efficient case processing.
• Review decisions and monitor quality control to ensure legal accuracy, clarity, and consistency with statutes, rules, and division policies.
• Conduct complex legal research and analysis, drafting legal memoranda, rulings, reports, and guidance for leadership and oversight entities.
• Lead policy, procedural, and training initiatives, including drafting hearing manuals, developing training materials, and implementing process improvements.
• Collaborate with the Commissioner and agency leadership to assess division efficiency, implement improvements, and support strategic planning.
• Represent the division on interagency committees and stakeholder groups, collaborating with state and federal partners and providing expert presentations.
• Oversee budget and resource management, including staffing needs, technology improvements, case management systems, and long-term resource planning.

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

• Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university and experience equal to six years of full-time management-level work in finance, human resources, engineering, law, social work, regulation, data processing, or program research or evaluation.
• Ten years of full-time management-level work experience in finance, human resources, engineering, law, social work, regulation, data processing, or program research or evaluation.
• All of the following (a and b):
  Six years of full-time management-level work experience in finance, human resources, engineering, law, social work, regulation, data processing, or program research or evaluation; and a combination of a total of four years of education and full-time experience (as described in part a).
• All…