Clarification from the agency

IRS Career/Career Conditional Employees. Open to Office of Chief Counsel employees on career/career-conditional appointments or with personal competitive status.

WHAT DOES A SETTLEMENT OFFICER DO? As a Settlement Officer you are responsible for the administration and resolution of issues which were not previously resolvable within the Service. In this role, you provide the opportunity for the taxpayer and the Service to settle tax disputes without litigation, and encourage taxpayer cooperation and voluntary compliance. In those instances where the dispute is not resolvable, the Settlement Officer clarifies the issues and provides Counsel and/or the Department of Justice with a refinement of the contested legal questions and facts. The Settlement Officer has a tremendous amount of responsibility and serves in an essential role within the Service.

As a Settlement Officer you will:

• Conduct Appeals conferences for the settlement/resolution of tax cases which have the most complex technical collection issues, and settle a variety of technical issues which are within Appeals jurisdiction.
• Analyze case files, supporting documents and other information which related to tax liability. Review cases for adequate technical development of issues, and remedy defects or inadequacies in cases or on issues either independently or by referral to the appropriate Service component.
• Research case issues to determine and apply the law to the facts presented. Where issues are unclear or where a clear precedent is lacking, determine the appropriate resolution based upon relevant factors including reasonableness, adjudication trends and settlement practices.
• Deal professionally and effectively with taxpayers, representatives and co-workers. Conduct Appeals conferences with dignity, impartiality and an orderly manner. Consistently demonstrates high technical skill and full knowledge of case issues.
• Keep current with significant changes in the Internal Revenue Code, regulations, the IRM, court decisions, and other tax publications which relate to assigned areas of responsibilities (e.g. Trust Fund Recovery Penalties).
• Act as a "resources person" on collection matters for Appeals personnel. Provides "expert advice" on collection matters for Appeals personnel.

WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OTHER IRS CAREERS? If you want to find out more about IRS careers, visit us on the web at www.jobs.irs.gov

Conditions of employment

• Refer to Other Information
• Click "Print Preview" to review the entire announcement before applying.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National
• IRS Employees with Career or Career Conditional Appointments

Land Management Eligibles must provide all required documentation to verify eligibility, prior performance, and qualifications for the target position. You can find information on the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act and eligibility HERE.  Land Management Eligibles must compete under competitive merit promotion procedures and meet all applicable requirements as such (time-in-grade restrictions do not apply).

Qualifications

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

GS-13 LEVEL: You must have one (1) year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position includes: demonstrates knowledge of Appeals policies, procedures and practices relevant to the Appeals collection work in order to work cases and resolve issues. Your experience must demonstrate knowledge of tax laws and administrative procedures relating to liens and levies to ensure full taxpayer compliance and counsel taxpayers on alternatives; experience using various collection procedures such as Offer in Compromise and installment agreement to advise and discuss collection alternatives with taxpayers. Your experience must also demonstrate knowledge of Internal Revenue Code, IRM, court decisions, and other tax publications related to assigned areas in order to research cases, apply relevant tax law to issues that are unclear or where a clear precedent is lacking, and determine the appropriate resolution based upon relevant factors including reasonableness, adjudication trends and settlement practices for collection issues; Experience applying knowledge of standard accounting and financial analysis techniques to analyze financial information (e.g., analyzing taxpayer transcripts, case files, financial books and records and other information to determine collectability for case resolution). Experience applying knowledge of Compliance/Collection investigative procedures, subject matters, organizational structure, and office policies and practices that pertain to the most complex Appeals collection issues. Experience applying in-depth knowledge of available on-line systems, research materials and technology to research taxpayer information and resolve taxpayer inquires. In addition, your experience must demonstrate skill in communications and interpersonal relationships to work effectively and professional with taxpayers and their representatives in resolving collection issues. Examples include: conducting conferences for the settlement/resolution of tax cases which have the most complex technical collection issues.

- The experience may have been gained in the public sector, private sector or Volunteer Service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-timework 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.

In addition to the above requirements, you must meet the following, if applicable:

You must have been at the GS-12 level for 52 weeks (time-in-grade requirement).

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, 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 may result in a “not qualified” determination.

Rating: Your application will be evaluated on the CJEs of the position to be filled per the National Agreement Article 13.
Your application will also be rated and ranked among others, based on your responses to the online questions, regarding your experience, education, training, performance appraisals and awards relevant to the duties of this position. IRS employees may obtain most recent awards listing at https://persinfo.web.irs.gov/
Your rating may be lowered, if your responses to the online questions are not supported by the education and/or 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 (telephonic and/or in person at the discretion of the Selecting Official in accordance with hiring polices). We will not reimburse costs related to the interview such as travel to and from the interview site.

If you are a displaced or surplus Treasury employee eligible for the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), you must receive a score of 80 or better to be rated as well qualified to receive special selection priority.