Duties

Summary

The Office of Chief Counsel, IRS, the largest tax law firm in the country, is looking for enthusiastic individuals to join our team and gain valuable experience in a legal environment. Our mission is to serve America's 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 Internal Revenue Service. It's a great place to work and family-friendly atmosphere.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

This position is located in the Office of Chief Counsel (Small Business/Self Employed) (SB/SE). The Associate Area Counsel serves as a first-line supervisor, and general manager, of a staff of attorneys and paralegals assigned to one of 76 practice groups, and is responsible for administering all SB/SE-related services and programs under the group's jurisdiction. The Associate Area Counsel reports to one of nine SB/SE Area Counsel.

As an Associate Area Counsel the incumbent of this position:

• Serves as first-line supervisor to a group of attorneys and paralegals engaged in providing litigation and advisory support to the IRS. Performs a full range of technical and administrative supervisory duties.
• Provides technical guidance and oversight of all litigation and advisory activities performed by the work group. On his or her own, or in consultation with the Area Counsel and other senior managers, makes determinations with respect to the settlement of cases under the group's jurisdiction.
• Serves as a primary advisor for the Area Counsel and Deputy Area Counsel on all management and legal matters within the group's jurisdiction. Makes recommendations to resolve outstanding issues, advising the Area Counsel and Deputy Area Counsel of potential ramifications of alternate actions.
• Establishes procedures for reviewing and evaluating the effectiveness of group litigation services and programs. Develops strategies for implementing operational or procedural improvements where appropriate. Oversees the preparation of key reports on group litigation activities.
• Promotes information sharing among group personnel and other Counsel components, including IRS Appeals and compliance functions.
• Participates with the Area Counsel, Deputy Area Counsel and other SB/SE managers, as appropriate, in the development and implementation of strategic plans and goals for matters under the Area Counsel's jurisdiction.
• Ensures staff activities are coordinated, as appropriate, with other SB/SE personnel, and other Division and/or Associate Chief Counsel offices. Ensures proper coordination of management issues with any co-located Associate Area Counsel from other Counsel Divisions.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - 5% or greater

Supervisory status
Yes

Promotion Potential
15

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Must have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer.
• Must submit an annual OGE 450E Confidential Financial Disclosure Report.
• A Public Trust Background Investigation required.

Qualifications

You must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement:

To qualify for this position at the GS-15 grade level, you must have one year of specialized experience, equivalent in scope and effect to the GS-14 level.

Specialized experience: You must demonstrate thorough and comprehensive professional knowledge and understanding of Federal tax statutes and regulations, and Internal Revenue Service policies and decisions, particularly as they relate to tax laws affecting individuals filing schedules C, E, F and/or Form 2106 as well as corporations, S-corporations, and partnerships with assets of $10 million or less.

• The J.D. and/or the LL.M. must be from an ABA-accredited law school.
• Candidates must be admitted to practice law before the highest court of a state or territory of the United States; the District of Columbia; or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
• Part-time work is considered on a prorated basis.
• GS-15: You must have been at the GS-14 level for 52 weeks. (time-in-grade requirement)

The experience may have been gained in the public, private sector, or Volunteer Service . 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

Applicants must possess a J.D. and have one year of general legal experience plus three years of professional legal tax experience. An LL.M. degree in the field of the position (tax) may be substituted for one year of general legal experience listed above.

Specialized experience may have been gained while employed in a professional legal position in the Federal, state, or local government, the private sector including law firms, or nongovernmental organizations.

Additional information

• We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.
• This is a non-bargaining unit position.
• We offer opportunities for telework.
• We offer opportunities for flexible work schedules.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your application includes your resume and responses to the online questions and required supporting documents. Please be sure that your resume includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this position; failure to provide sufficient evidence in your resume will result in a "not qualified" determination.

Applicants will be considered based on their overall background as it relates to the position to be filled. All application materials and interviews, if conducted, will be used in the final evaluation and selection process.

If you meet the eligibility requirements, the Executive Resources Branch will assess your overall specialized knowledge and experience as it relates to the position to be filled, compare it to the other applicants' knowledge and experience and determine the candidate best qualified for the position. The board may or may not conduct interviews. You will be notified of the outcome.

Your application will be rated and ranked among others, based on your responses to the online questions, regarding your experience, training, performance appraisals and awards relevant to the duties of this position. Your rating may be lowered, if your responses to the online questions are not supported by the experience described in your application.

Referral: If you are among the top qualified candidates, your application may be referred to a selecting official for consideration. You may be required to participate in a selection interview.
To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

All applicants must submit the following documents: 1) Memorandum of Interest summarizing your interest in the position. 2) Resume detailing your relevant qualifications and specialized knowledge and experience. 3) A copy of your most recent official performance appraisal, or a progress review. 4) A Supervisory Report (ERB Form 1-88, Rev 4/2011) 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.

A complete application includes (1) a resume, (2) vacancy question responses, and (3) 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).

All applicants are required to submit a resume either by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one of their own choosing. 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 .

Documentation Relating to Your Federal Employment

- Submit a copy of your SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, which shows your current (or most recent) grade and competitive service status. (The "position occupied" block on the SF-50 should show a "1" or "2" and your "tenure" block should show a "1" or "2".)

- Indicate on your application the highest permanent grade you have held. If this grade is different from your current grade, submit a copy of an additional SF-50 showing this grade.

- Submit a copy of your most recent, signed, completed annual performance appraisal which includes the final rating. If the performance appraisal is not dated within the last 12 months or if you have not received a performance appraisal, please explain why in your application.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.