Office of Chief Counsel, IRS, seeks enthusiastic individuals to serve taxpayers fairly and with integrity by providing correct and impartial interpretation of the internal revenue laws and the highest quality legal advice and representation for the IRS. Please click "Learn more about this agency" to find out more about Chief Counsel's various offices, to view some of the workplace attributes that Chief Counsel's workforce rates most favorably, and to hear from employees themselves.
Duties Serves as the Strategic Advisory Counsel, responsible for the effective supervision, management, and performance of all legal activities within their Strategic Advisory program, encompassing cases that have been identified by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or Chief Counsel as cases that are high priority and significant importance.
The Strategic Advisory Counsel program is a field function that will work closely with the other field Area functions and the Strategic Litigation Division to ensure that the IRS clients receive quality and timely guidance and unagreed cases are effectively litigated. The Strategic Advisory Counsel will report directly to the field Deputy Division Counsel (Operations) (DDCO). The incumbent develops nationwide strategies and provides dedicated support and legal advice to high profile significant IRS compliance examinations conducted nationwide and provides effective quality legal services to both internal and external customers. The incumbent is responsible for providing executive leadership and direction to professional and support personnel through subordinate managers, for coordinating policies and programs for the delivery of legal advice and development of strategies for litigation, and for providing other support, as needed, to the IRS client, other Chief Counsel Divisions and Associate Offices, government agencies, and the public.
MAJOR DUTIES INCLUDE:
- Manages field operations and staff assigned to the Strategic Advisory program. Resolves problems in the operations of program and elevates appropriate issues to the field Division Counsel (DC) and/or DDCO, and appropriate Associate Chief Counsel as necessary to insure IRS-wide consistency.
- Assists the DC, DDCO, and Deputy Division Counsel (Technical) (DDCT) in implementing the business unit strategy and goals that enhance compliance with the tax laws. Assists the DC and DDCO in managing the budget process for all aspects of the field operations of the Strategic Advisory program.
- Participates in the design and development of integrated policies, programs, systems, and strategies to ensure fairness and accountability in the delivery of superior customer service to taxpayers.
- Provides day-to-day legal advice to IRS clients on Strategic Advisory cases and is responsible for providing timely quality support through litigation, field advice, training, and other initiatives. Works closely with Appeals offices on Strategic Advisory cases, as requested or needed.
- Develops a close relationship with the Strategic Litigation Division for coordination and information sharing, especially with Strategic Advisory cases that are approaching litigation or involve issues that impact multiple significant cases.
- Responsible for the overall management of the employees assigned to groups dedicated to the Strategic Advisory program. Ensures continued coordination, control, and direction of the Associate Area offices so that the organizational objectives, policies, procedures, and programs are implemented effectively and consistently. Delegates sufficient authority to subordinates to effectively manage their resources and to seek continuous improvement by providing a supportive environment for creativity and innovation. Ensures that performance and program goals, strategies, and organizational policies are clearly communicated to employees.
- Establishes program goals, priorities, and work schedules. Plans, assigns, and reviews work adjusts priorities and assignments as needed. Sets performance standards, evaluates employee performance, and prepares appraisals. Approves leave, takes disciplinary action when needed, and plans training and development of staff. Fosters a work environment that recognizes the value of a diverse work force and is free from discrimination and harassment due to race, color, religion, gender, age or disabling condition.
- Meets the Division's taxpayer outreach needs for legal assistance. Participates in developing issues for the Published Guidance Steering Committee.
- Performs other duties and special projects assigned and delegated, by the Division Counsel and/or Deputy Division Counsels.
- $147,649 - $221,900/year
- Refer to "Additional Information"
- Click "Print Preview" to review the entire announcement before applying.
- Must be a U.S. Citizen or National
To qualify for this position of Strategic Advisory Counsel you must meet the following requirements:
- Possess at least the first professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.) from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association; AND
- Applicants must be an active member in good standing of the bar of a State, U.S. Commonwealth, U.S. territory, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;
- Desired Education/Experience: An LL.M. in Taxation is desired but not required. 7 years of professional legal tax experience is desired.
As a basic requirement for entry into the SES, applicants must provide evidence of progressively responsible leadership experience that is indicative of senior executive level managerial capability and directly related to the skills and abilities outlined under Technical Qualifications and Executive Core Qualifications. Typically, experience of this nature will have been gained at or above the GS-15 grade level or its equivalent in Federal service. Applicants must possess the following technical and executive core qualifications:
A) Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs):
Unless you are currently serving under a Career Senior Executive Service (SES) appointment, or eligible for reinstatement into the SES, you must address the ECQs. Applicants must provide a narrative statement (not to exceed a total of 10 pages) that clearly documents and demonstrates possession of the competencies in the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) as established by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. The following five ECQs provide the focus for certification of executive core qualifications for initial career appointment to the Senior Executive Service.
- Leading Change - Ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals. Ability to establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment.
- Leading People - Ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals. Ability to provide an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts.
- Results Driven - Ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations. Ability to make decisions that produce high-quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks.
- Business Acumen - Ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically.
- Building Coalitions - Ability to build coalitions internally and with other Federal agencies, State and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals.
B) Mandatory Technical Competencies (MTQs):
In addition to the Executive Core Qualifications, all candidates must show evidence of the following mandatory technical competencies in order to meet basic qualifications for this position. The narrative statements should demonstrate your specialized knowledge and technical competence. Please give concrete examples of your experience and demonstrate the complexity of the knowledge and skills you possess. You should address each MTQ separately, with the total narrative not exceeding ten pages.
Mandatory
- Demonstrated ability to develop nationwide strategies and provide dedicated support and legal advice to high profile significant IRS top ranking officials and provide effective quality legal services to both internal and external customers.
- Strong direct or indirect experience with tax litigation, especially with large case litigation.
- Demonstrated experience managing all aspects of a large-scale law program that involves significant human and fiscal resources, including the ability to allocate, manage, and prioritize resources to achieve short- and long-term goals. Experience includes planning, directing, budgeting for, staffing, and evaluating such programs.
- Demonstrated ability to review and evaluate programs for the purpose of assessing their effectiveness against overall organizational goals and objectives, and the ability to design and implement program improvements as necessary to increase efficiency and enhance organizational performance.
1. A thorough understanding of the operations and organization of the Internal Revenue Service and Office of Chief Counsel, a solid understanding of the Department of the Treasury and its Office of General Counsel, and an understanding of the Department of Justice's role in tax litigation are desirable.
(Note: Failure to address these factors will result in your application being disqualified.) Narrative responses to the Technical Qualifications and Desirable Qualifications should not be more than two pages for each. Please provide the Executive Core Qualifications, Technical Qualifications and Desirable Qualifications each on separate sheets of paper.
Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week, on your resume.
- Relocation expenses may be authorized for current Federal Employees.
- This is aNon-Bargainingunit position.
- We offer opportunities for telework.
- We offer opportunities for flexible work schedules.
- The salary range indicated in this announcement covers multiple locality areas.
- Subject to a 1-year supervisory probationary period (unless already completed).
- Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency
- If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so.
- Have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer.
- Go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form I-9. Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S.
- Public Trust (85PS) Background Investigation required
- Obtain and use a Government-issued charge card for business-related travel.
- File a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report OGE-278e within 30 days of appointment and annually from then on.
- Undergo an income tax verification.
- The employment of any candidate, including a current employee or a new hire, selected for this position may be conditional upon classification and/or audit of federal tax returns. This audit may include up to 2 years of returns.
- This position requires that the successful candidate undergo personnel vetting, which includes a background investigation and enrollment upon onboarding into "Continuous Vetting." Enrollment in Continuous Vetting will result in automated record checks being conducted throughout one's employment with Treasury. The successful candidate will also be enrolled into FBI's Rap Back service, which will allow Treasury to receive notification from the FBI of criminal matters (e.g., arrests, charges, convictions) involving enrolled individuals in near real-time.
There are three key documents that contain important information about your rights and obligations. Please read and retain these documents: - Noncriminal Justice Applicant's Privacy Rights, for those who undergo an FBI fingerprint-based criminal history record check for personnel vetting, which includes Rap Back,
- FD-258 Privacy Act Statement - FBI (this is the same statement used when your fingerprints are submitted as part of your background investigation), and
- SEAD-3-Reporting-U.pdf (dni.gov), (applicable to those who hold a sensitive position or have eligibility for access to classified information)"
A complete application includes 1. A resume, 2. Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs), 3. Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQs), 4. Vacancy Question Responses, and 5. Submission of any required documents. Please note that if you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, you may not be considered for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible).
1. RESUME: All applicants are required to submit a resume either by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one of their own choosing. (Cover letters are optional.) To receive full credit for relevant experience, please list the month/year and number of hours worked for experience listed on your resume. We suggest that you preview the online questions, as you may need to customize your resume to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions. Please view resume tips. Resume should clearly state your experience related to this position as described in the Duties section and Qualifications section.
2. EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS (ECQs)- A separate narrative statement of 10-pages or less that addresses each of the five ECQs separately as described above.
3. MANDATORY TECHINCAL QUALIFICATION (MTQs) - A separate narrative statement of 10-pages or less that addresses each of the MTQs separately as described above.
4. VACANCY QUESTION RESPONSES: Responses are automatically submitted through USA Jobs when you apply to this vacancy
5. ADDITIONAL REQUIRED DOCUMENTS: In addition, applicants are required to submit the following supporting documentation:
- Memorandum of Interest summarizing your interest in the position.
- CHIEF COUNSEL EMPLOYEES ONLY: A Supervisory Report (ERB Form 1-88, 4/11) regarding your suitability for the position as completed by your current or most recent supervisor. You are responsible for notifying your supervisor that this report must be received no later than five workdays after the closing date of this announcement.
- SF-50 showing your status as a current Career SES appointee, former Career SES appointee with career SES reinstatement eligibility, or current or reinstatement eligible Career SES-equivalent executive who is/was employed in a Federal government agency that has an interchange agreement with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) allowing for movement between the agency's SES-equivalent personnel system and the SES; OR
- A certificate of completion from an OPM-approved SES Candidate Development Program (CDP). This applies only if your ECQs have been approved by an OPM Qualifications Review Board through the SES CDP.
- Note: Former Career Reserve Senior Executive Service employees and graduates of a SES Candidate Development Program who have been certified by OPM's QRB are not required to address the ECQs
PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION: If selected, you will be required to submit an original Certificate of Good Standing from your State Bar if not already received by the agency. How to Apply
The following instructions outline our application process. You must complete this application process and submit any required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on 10/18/2024 and/or cut-off dates in this announcement. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00am to 4:30pm. ET, Monday - Friday). To preview the Application Questionnaire, please click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12552480
- To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application.
- Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
- After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.
- You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
- It is your responsibility to verify that your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan.
- Additional information on how to complete the online application process and submit your online application may be found on the USA Staffing Applicant Resource Center.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Learn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.