Division Counsel

at  US Internal Revenue Service

QUALIFICATIONS

To qualify for this position of Division Counsel (W&I) 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.

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.

DUTIES

As a key member of the executive staff of the Chief Counsel, the Division Counsel (Wage & Investment) (W&I)is responsible for providing top quality legal advice and support services on tax administration matters with a focus on individual taxpayers. The Division Counsel (W&I)consults closely with the Internal Revenue Service’s Commissioner of the Wage & Investment Division in determining strategies, plans, and designs for a comprehensive, customer-oriented, national tax administration program to meet the needs of taxpayers and practitioners. The Division Counsel is also responsible for providing top quality legal advice and support to the Taxpayer Experience Office, and supervises the Special Counsel to the Director, Office of Professional Responsibility.

MAJOR DUTIES:

• Serves as senior legal advisor and expert consultant to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue; Commissioner of the W&I Division (W&I Commissioner), Chief Taxpayer Experience Officer and other Division Commissioners; the Chief Counsel, and other top-ranking IRS and Treasury officials on the legal issues, regulations, and needs relevant to tax processing, tax product development, taxpayer service, taxpayer correspondence, pre-refund compliance and revenue protection, and preventing and detecting tax-related identity theft. Represents these officials on sensitive and controversial legal matters related to these areas.
• Works closely with the W&I Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner in formulating short and long-range program policies, strategies, and objectives for the W&I Division to implement overall IRS strategy and vision.
• Participates as an executive member of the Senior Leadership Team of the W&I Division. Participates in the design and development of integrated policies, programs, systems, and strategies that effectively provide superior customer service and ensure fairness and equity in enforcement of the W&I Division’s delivery of service and accountability to taxpayers.
• Sets Division Counsel (W&I) business unit strategy and goals in alignment with overall organizational and research strategy. Establishes performance targets and business unit goals. Functions as business owner for business process information systems. Allocates Division Counsel (W&I) resources as required and manages the operating unit budget process and investment process.
• Provides program direction to other Division Counsel offices relative to tax litigation and other legal services associated with tax administration processes performed by the W&I Division. Coordinates strategy and positions with appropriate officials throughout the W&I Division, other Division Counsel offices, and Associate Chief Counsel offices. Coordinates questions concerning litigation and/or settlement of tax administration processing issues.
• Actively assists the W&I Commissioner and other executives in advancing W&I Division programs and initiatives, reviewing policies, formulating strategies, and furthering the W&I Division’s goal of providing efficient and effective taxpayer service programs. Identifies issues arising with tax legislation implementation as well as other emerging issues appropriate for issue management, including W&I Division procedures, training, outreach, and simplification when appropriate. Serves as the principal Chief Counsel representative to the cross-divisional Filing Season Readiness Executive Steering Committee.
• Partners with executive leadership, external stakeholder groups and associations to build cooperative partnerships and to ensure individualtaxpayer characteristics and needs are considered in developing tax administration programs.
• Directs and oversees the overall management of the Division Counsel (W&I) staff, including providing support for the practitioner disciplinary, outreach, disclosure and other responsibilities of the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) through Special Counsel embedded in OPR who function as independent legal advisers to the Director and as liaisons between OPR and Division Counsel and Associate Chief Counsel offices.