Job Information
Internal Revenue Service Supervisory General Attorney (Tax) Branch Chief - Qualified Plans Branch 3 in Washington, District Of Columbia
Summary 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. Responsibilities The incumbent of this position serves as a Branch Chief responsible for the supervision and management of a Qualified Plans branch in the office of the Deputy Associate Chief Counsel (Employee Benefits) (EEE). The branch prepares regulations, revenue rulings, revenue procedures, and notices, announcements in connection with tax-qualified retirement plans and individual retirement arrangements. It also issues necessary legal opinions on matters relating to these areas, as well as private letter rulings, technical advice memoranda and Chief Counsel Advice relating to these areas. The branch also provides litigation support assistance in connection with the defense, settlement and processing of cases pending in the United States Tax Court, and refund cases filed in district courts and the Court of Claims in these areas and reviews related tax legislation. As a Supervisory General Attorney (Tax) Branch Chief, you will: Act as legal consultant to the IRS on some of the most difficult, important and complex professional and legal matters arising in the administration of the Internal Revenue laws. Direct exhaustive and detailed research on some of the most complicated legal problems and preparation of recommendations as to the position to be taken by the Service. Directs the participation by the branch in conferences with representatives of other interested offices concerning projects. Direct the branch employees in providing litigation support to other Counsel offices and the Department of Justice. Prepare or review proposed memoranda on various legal matters for submission to the Deputy Associate Chief Counsel (EB), Associate Chief Counsel (EEE), the Deputies Chief Counsel, the Chief Counsel, or the Treasury General Counsel for final approval. Prepare or review material for publication by the branch. Represent the Office in discussions with taxpayers on private letter rulings and in presentations to the public. Examine all matters assigned to the branch and assigns to each branch employee work appropriate to the employee's experience and skills. Exercise additional supervisory responsibilities over the branch as follows: plan the work of the branch that must be accomplished by the staff, including establishing priorities; insure timely performance of a satisfactory amount of high quality work; review work product of professionals and specialists in the branch for completeness, accuracy and consistency; evaluate performance of subordinates; give advice, counsel or instructions on both work and administrative matters, and resolve any issues raised; make recommendations for promotions, awards or reassignments; effect minor disciplinary measures such as warnings and reprimands and recommend actions in more serious cases; hear and resolve complaints from employees and, refer more serious unresolved complaints to Associate Chief Counsel; and identify and recommend developmental and training needs of employees. This is not an all-inclusive list. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements detailed below by the closing date of this announcement. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. To qualify for this position of Supervisory General Attorney (Tax) Branch Chief you must meet the qualification requirements listed below by the closing of this announcement: Basic Requirements for Supervisory General Attorney (Tax) Branch Chief: 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. GS-15 Experience Requirements: 1 year of general professional legal experience from any area of expertise; plus 3 year(s) of professional legal tax experience Professional Legal Tax Experience is defined as: Legal knowledge and technical knowledge of tax law related to the role of the Office of Chief Counsel in qualification rules for qualified retirement plans; certain employee annuity plans; individual retirement arrangements (IRAs) and Roth IRAs; certain eligible deferred compensation plans; governmental plans; church plans; exemption from tax for qualified retirement plan trusts; taxation of distributions from qualified retirement plans; withholding and rollover rules for distributions from qualified retirement plans penalties and excise taxes related to qualified retirement plan failures. At least one year of this experience must be equivalent to the work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-14). Note: Only experience gained after Bar Admission may be credited as Professional Legal Experience. Education Substitution: An LL.M. degree in the field of the position (tax, employee benefits) may be substituted for the one year of the general legal experience listed above. 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: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov) Additional Information We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies. Relocation expenses are not authorized. This is a non-bargaining unit position. We offer opportunities for telework. We offer opportunities for flexible work schedules. Conditions of Employment Continued: Subject to a 1-year trial period (unless already completed). Subject to a 1-year supervisory or managerial probationary period (unless already completed). Subject to a Tenure Commitment of up to 3 years. 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. Obtain and use a Government-issued charge card for business-related travel. File a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report 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)