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VOLUNTEER TAXPAYER ADVOCACY PANEL MEMBER

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

WHAT DOES A VOLUNTEER TAXPAYER ADVOCACY PANEL MEMBER DO? Taxpayer Advocacy Panel members are strictly volunteers and will not receive a salary. You have a unique opportunity to contribute to improving your tax administration system by becoming a member of the IRS Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP). The mission of the TAP is to listen to taxpayers, identify taxpayers’ issues, and make recommendations for improving IRS service and customer satisfaction.

The TAP serves as an advisory body to the Secretary of the Treasury, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, the National Taxpayer Advocate, and IRS Division Commissioners to improve IRS service and customer satisfaction. Panel members serve a three-year appointment.

WHAT IS THE TAXPAYER ADVOCATE SERVICE (TAS) DIVISION? If you're ready for a challenging career opportunity, consider a career with the Internal Revenue Service Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS). The Taxpayer Advocate Service is an independent organization within the IRS. The TAS mission is to assist taxpayers in resolving their problems with the IRS (Case Advocacy), and to identify and propose administrative and legislative solutions to mitigate those problems (Systemic Advocacy).

There is 1 vacancy to be filled in each of the following States: Alaska, Arizona, California, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington.

The TAP is also seeking to include at least one (1) additional member to represent international taxpayers. For these purposes, “international taxpayers” are broadly defined to include U.S. citizens working, living, or doing business abroad or in a U.S. territory

Alternate panel members are being recruited in all 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico.

Applicants selected from these locations will serve a three-year membership term beginning in December 2017, or be chosen as an alternate member to be considered for membership if a vacancy occurs in their location during the next three years.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
03/08/2017 to 04/24/2017
Salary
$0 to - $0 without compensation
Pay scale & grade
GS 00
Location
107 vacancies in the following location:
IRS Nationwide Locations, United States
107 vacancies
Travel Required
Occasional travel - May involve infrequent overnight travel to attend multi-day meetings/events. (Note: Panel members will be reimbursed by the IRS for authorized travel expenses.)
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Temporary - 3 years
Work schedule
Full-time - Volunteer Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Member
Service
Promotion potential
00
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Announcement number
17CS1-TAX0000-0000-00-KK
Control number
465447700

This job is open to

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Duties

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As a Volunteer Taxpayer Advocacy Panel member you will:

  • Serve in an advisory capacity to the IRS through meetings and focus groups;
  • Solicit taxpayer input on specific issues and channel the feedback to the agency;
  • Identify, prioritize, and elevate as necessary, taxpayer issues to the IRS;
  • Participate in taxpayer outreach opportunities by speaking to individuals and groups about the Panel;
  • Annually report and publish the results your teams work.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Please refer to "CONDITIONS OF VOLUNTEER TAS-TAP PROGRAM" below.
  • Click "Print Preview" to review the entire announcement before applying.

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Qualifications

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

BASIC REQUIREMENTS - Volunteer TAP Members Must:

  • Be willing to commit approximately 200 to 300 volunteer hours per year to the Panel;
  • Be current with all Federal tax obligations;
  • Pass an FBI criminal background check;
  • Not be a federally registered lobbyist; and
  • Not be a current Treasury or IRS employee or have worked for the Treasury or IRS within the past three years.
  • Not be a current volunteer TAP member or have served as a volunteer TAP member within the last three years.
For the volunteer Taxpayer Advocacy Panel to be most effective, the members of the Panel must possess good interpersonal communication skills, organizational skills, and have access to a computer. Members should also have the ability to problem solve within a group of other civic-minded professionals.

Outreach to the public is vitally important to the success of the TAP. As a member you will be expected to identify and participate in various outreach activities to solicit input from taxpayers about IRS products and services. Members should have good listening skills and the ability to interact with groups and individuals to solicit feedback from the public. Ideal candidates should be able to separate their personal views from TAP/IRS issues.

TAP includes members from all segments of the population with varying backgrounds and experiences; they represent the view of the average American taxpayer. There is no specialized tax experience required to serve on the TAP. Members will be provided the information needed to effectively contribute to the panel.

Additional information

WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT:
You may check the status of your application for this program at any time by logging onto the USAJOBS "My Account" tab and clicking on "Application Status". For a more detailed update of your application status, you may click on "more information."
Please notify us if your contact information changes after the closing date of the announcement. Also, note that if you provide an email address that is inaccurate or if your mailbox is full or blocked (e.g., spam-blocker), you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this program.

CONDITIONS OF VOLUNTEER TAS-TAP PROGRAM: The selection of any candidate selected for this program may be conditional upon the following:

  • Must successfully complete a background investigation, including an FBI criminal history record check (fingerprint check).
  • Undergo income tax verification.
  • Undergo Citizenship verification

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. Please be sure that your resume includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this program; failure to provide sufficient evidence in your resume may result in a "not qualified" determination.

Rating: Your application will be evaluated on the competencies of the program in the following areas: Teamwork, Interpersonal Skills, Oral and Written Communications, Problem Solving, Computer Skills, Project Management, Influencing/Negotiating, and Volunteerism.
Your application will also be rated and ranked among others, based on your responses to the online questions, regarding your experience, education, and training relevant to the duties of this program.

Referral: If you are among the top candidates, your application may be referred for consideration. We will not reimburse costs related to the interview such as travel to and from the interview site.

  • The most qualified candidates will be interviewed by a team comprised of IRS staff and a current TAP member.
The Department of the Treasury will review the recommended candidates and make final selections.

To preview questions please click here.

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