Duties

The Area Counsel is responsible for the effective management, oversight, and performance of all legal activities within his/her geographic area, in support of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Large Business & International (LB&I) Division. The incumbent develops nationwide strategies for both legal guidance and litigation for the practice areas within his/her responsibility and provides effective quality legal services to both internal and external customers within the geographic area. In addition, the incumbent provides executive leadership as part of a management team and is responsible for directing, planning and overseeing a team of professional and support personnel through subordinate managers; 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 LB&I Division, other IRS Divisions, Counsel offices, government agencies, and the public.

As an Area Counsel, major duties include:

• Manage field operations and staff, within an assigned area. Resolve problems in the operations of field offices and elevate appropriate issues to the Division Counsel (LB&I) and appropriate Associate Chief Counsel as necessary to insure IRS-wide consistency of resolution.
• Implement in the field, the LB&I business unit strategy and goals that enhance compliance with the tax laws.
• Contribute to 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.
• Implement and evaluate operational policies and procedures designed to improve the delivery of legal services to the client.
• Provide day-to-day legal advice to assigned IRS LB&I Director, and to other LB&I offices within the geographic area, and is responsible for providing timely, quality support through litigation, field advice, training, and other initiatives. Work closely with Appeals offices in assigned area.
• Assist with the coordination of litigation positions and strategy with appropriate officials throughout the LB&I Division, other Division Counsel offices, and Associate Chief Counsel offices.
• Manage a staff of subordinate supervisors ensuring the staff operates as an effective management team; that management functions are being handled equitably and in a manner that is responsive to the needs of the client.
• Establish program goals, priorities, and major work schedules. Foster 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.
• Coordinate with other Area Counsel (e.g., LB&I, SB/SE, and TEGEDC) to appropriately address workload and staffing needs.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Refer to "Additional Information"
• Click "Print Preview" to review the entire announcement before applying.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National

Qualifications

To qualify for this position of Area Counsel (Area 2) 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. Additional information on ECQs is available at: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/senior-executive-service/executive-core-qualifications/ . Applicants are strongly encouraged to follow the Challenge, Context, Action and Results model outlined in the guide. It is recommended that you draft your ECQs in a Word document and then upload into the system.
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

Comprehensive, professional knowledge of and experience in applying tax laws affecting subchapter C corporations, and subchapter S corporations and partnerships with assets greater than $10 million. Position also requires strong direct or indirect experience with tax litigation, especially with large case litigation.

Demonstrated experience in 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.

Demonstrated capacity for effective decision making and the ability to solve problems of very substantial impact, sensitivity, and complexity.

Must have the ability to manage with a focus on customer service and employee satisfaction.

Desirable

A thorough understanding of the operations and organization of the Internal Revenue Service and Office of Chief Counsel, and a solid understanding of the Department of the Treasury and its Office of General Counsel.

(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.

Education

For positions with an education requirement, or if you are qualifying for this position by substituting education or training for experience, submit a copy of your transcripts or equivalent. An official transcript will be required if you are selected.

A college or university degree generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools which meet these criteria, please refer to Department of Education Accreditation page .

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. If you are qualifying based on foreign education, you must submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html .

Additional information

• Relocation expenses will be paid for current Federal Government 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. Your salary will be adjusted based on the post of duty for which you are selected.

Conditions of Employment Continued:

• Subject to a 1-year trial period (unless already completed).
• Subject to a 1-year supervisory probationary period (unless already completed).
• Must successfully complete a background investigation.
• 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.