Deputy Associate Chief Counsel (IT&A)

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. 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. The Office of the Associate Chief Counsel (Income Tax and Accounting), comprising a staff of approximately 110 professional and support employees in Washington, D.C., provides legal advisory services that support uniform interpretation, application, enforcement, and litigation of federal tax laws applicable to tax accounting and a wide variety of issues relating to corporate and individual income taxation. In this regard, the organization handles gross income issues, including income from discharge of indebtedness; personal deductions, including alimony payments and charitable contributions; business expenses, including home office expenses; like-kind exchanges; capital gains and losses; net operating losses; proper year for inclusion of income, including issues relating to installment sales and long-term contracts; proper year for deductions, including economic performance concepts; capitalization and inventory issues; accounting methods and periods; and the alternative minimum tax. In addition, the Office works closely with Treasury officials and IRS Division Commissioners and other Associate and Division Counsel on program matters (e.g., identifying and prioritizing emerging issues and developing published guidance needs).

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• As a Deputy Associate Chief Counsel (IT&A), the incumbent of this position assists and acts for the Associate Chief Counsel (IT&A) in the overall executive direction and coordination of the organization's activities related to interpretation and application of tax laws involving income tax and accounting. The incumbent has delegated authority to act as a full assistant, including authority to sign on behalf of the Associate Chief Counsel (IT&A). The incumbent collaborates closely with the Associate and with the other Deputy Associate Chief Counsel (IT&A), and when acting for the Associate, has full authority to make decisions on any problems and issues arising in the Office of the Associate Chief Counsel (IT&A).
• The incumbent assists and participates with the Associate in planning, directing, and coordinating the policies, programs, and goals of the Office pertaining to the laws administered by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In this regard, the incumbent assists or acts for the Associate in the overall executive direction and coordination of the organization's activities related to the coordination of litigation and compliance activities that involve the interpretation and application of tax laws involving income tax and accounting (e.g., determines which cases will be tried, settled, or conceded; assures consistency of approach in IT&A litigation; prepares and approves Chief Counsel decisions; reviews and coordinates pleadings, briefs, settlement documents, notices of appeal, and other materials prepared in connection with Tax Court litigation of IT&A cases and issues; and, except with respect to certiorari matters, recommends Justice Department action with regard to appeals, offers in compromise, settlements, or confessions of error in such suits or suits pending on appeal).
• The incumbent of this position may also assist and act for the Associate Chief Counsel (IT&A) in the overall executive direction and coordination of the organization's daily operations activities; and the incumbent may also assist in activities related to drafting revenue rulings, revenue procedures, announcements, and news releases to be published for the guidance of taxpayers and IRS personnel; issuing technical advice memoranda responding to questions raised by IRS examiners; issuing private letter rulings and general technical information letters in response to requests from taxpayers; and preparing legal opinions for Chief Counsel and IRS functions with respect to legal questions within the jurisdiction of the Associate Chief Counsel (IT&A). The incumbent has delegated authority to act as a full assistant, including authority to sign finally on matters falling within assigned program responsibilities.
• The incumbent also assists and participates with the Associate in working with Treasury officials to coordinate recommendations for legislation that particularly affects IT&A activities; directing IRS participation in this aspect of the legislative process, including the furnishing of advice and guidance with respect to the development of new or revised legislative proposals; and overseeing IRS participation with legislative staffs in the drafting of such legislation and committee reports. In addition, the incumbent may also assists the Associate in directing the preparing and reviewing of proposed regulations and Treasury Decisions, assessing public comments and conducting public hearings on proposed regulations, and managing the movement of regulations through the review process within the IRS and the Department of the Treasury.

To qualify for this position of Deputy Associate Chief 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:

You must submit a separate narrative statement that addresses each of the Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQs) related to this position as well as the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) related to all positions in the Senior Executive Service.

Your narrative statements should include examples of experience, education, and accomplishments applicable to the qualification. Structure your statements in terms of the action taken, the context or environment in which the action was taken, and the outcome or results from such actions. You should write each statement with the vacancy in mind as all qualifications are directly related to the position being filled.

If you do not submit a separate statement addressing the ECQs and MTQs, you will not receive consideration for the position.

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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Business Acumen - Ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically.
5. 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

1. Position requires comprehensive, professional knowledge of and experience in applying tax laws affecting IT&A activities (i.e., issues involving gross income, personal deductions, business expenses, like-kind exchanges, tax penalties, and tax procedure). Graduation from an ABA accredited law school and current possession of a bar membership which permits the practice of law in the United States are required.
2. Must have demonstrated experience in managing all aspects of a large scale law program that involves significant human and fiscal resources. Experience includes planning, directing, budgeting for, staffing, and evaluating such programs, as well as effectively managing equal employment opportunity initiatives.
3. Must have demonstrated the 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 enhance organizational performance.
4. Must have demonstrated the capacity for effective and decisive decision-making, as well as the ability to solve problems of substantial impact, sensitivity, and complexity.
5. Graduation from an ABA accredited law school and current possession of a bar membership which permits the practice of law in the United States is required.

Desirable

1. 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.