U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Criminal Investigator - Direct Hire 'AMENDED'

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

Summary

Positions under this announcement are being filled using a Direct Hire Authority (DHA).

Click on "Learn more about this agency" button below to view Eligibilities being considered and other IMPORTANT information.

WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OTHER IRS CAREERS? Visit us on the web at www.jobs.irs.gov

AMENDED TO EXTEND CLOSING DATE TO 2/14/2024

Learn more about this agency
Help

Overview

  • Hiring complete
Help

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

Open to U.S. Citizens/Nationals

Videos

Help

Duties

WHAT IS THE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION (CI) DIVISION?
A description of the business units can be found at: https://www.jobs.irs.gov/about/who/business-divisions

IRS-CI Special Agents (SAs) are duly sworn federal law enforcement officers throughout all 50 states and US territories including special agent attachés located in 11 countries. As a SA, you will combine your accounting skills with law enforcement skills to investigate financial crimes. SAs fill a unique niche in the federal law enforcement community due to IRS-CI's broad jurisdiction of Title 18 and Title 31 crimes, in addition to our primary tax enforcement mission. SAs are known for their financial investigative expertise in areas, such as, tax fraud, public corruption, cybercrimes, narcotics, terrorism, and much more. Today's sophisticated schemes demand the analytical ability of financial investigators to trace transactions through complex financial records.

The following are the duties of this position at the full working level. If this vacancy includes more than one grade and you are selected at a lower grade level, you will have the opportunity to learn to perform these duties and receive training to help you grow in this position.

  • The Special Agent plans and conducts investigations relative to criminal statutes of tax administration, financial crimes, and other related offenses, which vary in levels of complexity and scope. The majority of the time is spent on investigations involving most or all of the following characteristics:
    • Indirect accounting methods to establish evidence
    • Precedent setting legal or investigative questions
    • Highly complex or unusual accounting problems
    • Information obtained from diversified sources gathered over a wide section of the country
    • Interrelationship of facts and evidence that are difficult to identify because of numerous holding companies, entities, etc.
    • A mixture of legal and illegal activities
  • Performs other investigative and enforcement duties such as:
    • Testifying as a Government witness
    • Assisting the U.S. Attorney during the preparation of case for trial
    • Conducting collateral inquiries
    • Providing protection to persons and property
  • Obtains, evaluates, integrates, and recommends actions on information items to identify larger areas of noncompliance (e.g., major profession, occupation, industry, or wide geographic area).
  • May serve as a team leader and/or expert consultant in the information gathering function.
  • Conducts or participates in surveillance, armed escorts, dignitary protection, undercover operations, execution of search and arrest warrants, seizures, etc.
  • Protects the government's interest in enforcement activities.
  • Maintains good physical condition in order to conduct criminal investigations, surveillance, protective assignments, undercover assignments, etc.

Help

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • If you are in a telework eligible position, you may be directed to temporarily telework on a full-time basis due to COVID 19. Employees must be within a 200-mile radius of their official assigned post-of-duty (POD) while in a telework status. Once normal operations resume, employees may be directed back to the office to perform the duties of their position. Telework eligibility does not guarantee telework; employees must meet and sustain IRS telework eligibility requirements and supervisor's approval to participate in the IRS Telework Program. As a reminder - If you are selected for a position, you are responsible for reporting to your designated POD (location) on the negotiated start date or as directed by management.
  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National and provide proof of U.S. Citizenship. (Birth certificate showing birth in the U.S; Unexpired U.S. Passport; Certificate of Citizenship or Naturalization; or Report of Birth Abroad of a U.S. Citizen (Form FS-240))
  • Undergo a review of prior performance/conduct and an income tax verification. Refer to "Get Your Tax Record" at http://www.irs.gov/(https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript) to check the status of your account, balance owed, payment history, make a payment, or review answers to tax questions. If you are not in compliance, you will be determined unsuitable for employment with IRS.
  • Must successfully complete a background investigation, including a FBI criminal history record check (fingerprint check).
  • Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency.
  • 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. These documents must be unexpired original or certified copies.

Qualifications

Federal experience is not required. 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.

You must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement OR at the time of referral:

GL-07 SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-5 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position includes experience in or related to investigation of criminal violations that provided the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the IRS Special Agent. Experience must have required: (1) the exercise of tact, initiative, ingenuity, resourcefulness and judgment in collecting, assembling, and developing facts, evidence and other pertinent data through investigative techniques which included personal interview; (2) the ability to make oral and written reports and presentations of personally conducted or personally directed investigations, examinations, or inspections; AND (3) the ability to analyze and evaluate evidence and arrive at sound conclusions. To be qualifying, this experience must have been acquired in investigative work related to the ACCOUNTING OR AUDITING OF BUSINESS OR COMMERCIAL PRACTICES OF SUBJECTS INVESTIGATED.
OR
EDUCATION: You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows:
  • One full year of graduate level education which included or was supplemented by at least 15 semester/23 quarter hours in accounting plus an additional 9 semester/14 quarter hours from among the following fields: business law, economics, finance, tax law or money and banking. OR
  • Superior Academic Achievement - A bachelor's degree, with one of the following: A GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale for all completed undergraduate courses or those completed in the last 2 years of study, or a GPA of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale for all courses in the major field of study or those courses in the major completed in the last 2 years of study, or rank in the upper one third of the class in the college, university, or major subdivision, or membership in a national scholastic honor society recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies.
NOTE: Superior Academic Achievement is credited only if you have completed all the requirements for a bachelor's degree which included or was supplemented by at least 15 semester/23 quarter hours in accounting plus an additional 9 semester/14 quarter hours from among the following fields: finance, economics, business law, tax law, or money and banking.

GL-09 SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-7 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position includes: experience in or related to investigation of criminal violations that provided the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to successfully perform the duties of this position. The experience must have been acquired in investigative work related to the ACCOUNTING OR AUDITING OF BUSINESS OR COMMERCIAL PRACTICES OF SUBJECTS INVESTIGATED. Experience must be sufficient to demonstrate the ability to gather intelligence, analyze and evaluate raw investigative data, prepare comprehensive written investigative reports, and investigate complex claims involving suspected crimes or alleged fraud. Examples of qualifying experience include: Investigating criminal cases requiring the use of recognized investigative methods and techniques and that may have included appearing in court to present evidence; Supervising OR conducting interviews or interrogations that involved eliciting evidence, data, or surveillance information; Investigating computerized business and/or accounting systems and forming sound conclusions as to related criminal business practices and compliance with Federal laws and regulations.
OR
EDUCATION: You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows:
  • Two 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education. OR
  • a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree (i.e., L.L.B. or JD) AND All of the above education requirements must be supplemented by at least 15 semester hours (or 23 quarter hours) in accounting, AND an additional 9 semester hours 14 quarter hours) from among the following or closely related fields: finance, economics, money and banking, tax law, and business law. OR
COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: You may qualify by a combination of experience and education. Options for qualifying based on a combination will be identified in the online questions.

For examples of specialized experience, click here.

You must also meet the following special requirements:

MAXIMUM ENTRY AGE:
Provisions of Public Law 93-950 and Public Law 100-238 allow the imposition of a maximum age for original appointments to a law enforcement officer position within the Federal government. The date immediately preceding your 37th birthday is the final date of referral for selection. This age restriction does not apply to those who have previously served in a Federal civilian (not military) law enforcement position covered by Title 5 U.S.C. Section 8336 (c) provisions and preference eligible veterans.

You must pass a medical examination prior to being appointed. This position requires moderate to arduous physical exertion involving walking and standing, use of firearms, and exposure to inclement weather. Manual dexterity with free motion of fingers, wrists, elbows, shoulders, hips, and knee joints is required. Arms, hands, legs, and feet must function sufficiently in order for applicants to perform the duties satisfactorily.

Vision: Near vision, corrected or uncorrected, must be sufficient to read Jaeger type 2 at 14 inches. Normal depth perception, peripheral vision, and the ability to distinguish shades of color-by-color plate tests are required. If you have undergone refractive surgery, you must meet Treasury approved requirements, including documentation that you have passed exam and protocol testing. Visual acuity requirements are expressed in terms of the Snellen vision test. Uncorrected distant vision must test 20/200, and corrected vision must test 20/20 in one eye, and 20/30 in the other.

Hearing: Hearing loss, as measured by an audiometer, must not exceed 30 decibels (A.S.A. or equivalent I.S.O.) in either ear in the 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz ranges. You must be able to hear the whispered voice at 15 feet with each ear without the use of a hearing aid.

Other Medical Requirements: You must possess emotional and mental stability. Any condition that would hinder full, efficient performance of the duties of this position or that would cause an individual to be a hazard to himself/herself or to others is disqualifying.

All of the medical requirements MUST be met at the time of initial examination/test. Applicants failing to meet the medical requirements at the time of their initial examination/test will be considered ineligible for the position.

For more information on qualifications please refer to OPM's Qualifications Standards.

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.

  • Note: If substituting Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) for experience at the GS-7 level, please note that grade-point averages are rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9. The Qualifications requirements above will reflect if SAA is accepted for this position and the online questionnaire will offer the option to select SAA as a qualifying response.
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.

Applicants who are graduating from an accredited university within 9 months and will meet all related educational criteria described in the announcement may apply for the position but cannot receive a final job offer prior to certification that they have completed their qualifying educational curriculum.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. You must show proof the education credentials have been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education program. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. Click here for Foreign Education Credentialing instructions.

Additional information

  • A 3 year probationary period with limited appeal rights is required.
  • This is a non-bargaining unit position.
  • Have salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer.
  • Males born after December 31, 1959, must certify registration with Selective Service System or exemption.
  • We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.
  • Salary range reflects min-max locality pay for all locations listed and will be adjusted for selected duty location. Pay tables: Law Enforcement Officer.
  • Work irregular and recurring overtime on evenings, nights, and weekends resulting in an average of 50 hours per week over the calendar year, per Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP) regulations.
  • Commuting distance for Law Enforcement Availability Pay (Required). IAW Title 5 CFR 550.182(D) the agency must determine that a criminal investigator is generally/reasonably accessible to perform unscheduled duty based on the needs of the agency. The provisions of Treasury Directive 74-06 Home-to-Work Transportation Controls paragraph 3(d) require that special agents reside within 50 miles of their official duty station to be considered for Home-to-Work transportation (only granted/waived by Treasury).
  • Drug test with negative result is required prior to appointment and subject to random drug testing.
  • Possess/maintain a valid state motor vehicle operator's license on appointment.
  • File a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report w/i 30 days of appointment and annually afterward.
  • Sign a mobility agreement.
  • Carry/use a firearm. Maintaining firearm proficiency is mandatory. Ineligible for this position if ever convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, unless pardoned or conviction was expunged/set aside.
  • Complete/previously completed the Criminal Investigation Training Program (CITP) course(s) at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Glynco, GA.
  • Complete a pre-employment medical examination by an authorized Government physician; be determined physically fit to perform strenuous physically demanding duties.
  • Undergo regular physical examinations to maintain a level of physical fitness IAW the standards/policies of this agency.
  • Employment of any candidate selected for this position may be conditional on classification and/or audit of federal tax returns (may include up to 2 years of returns).
  • Employment of any candidate selected for this position will be conditional on obtaining/maintaining a High-Risk Security Clearance.
  • Obtain/use Government-issued charge card for business-related travel.
Though many locations may be listed, you will be limited to a maximum of five (5) location choices. Please consider each location carefully when applying and make your selections in priority/preference order. If you are selected for a position at one of your location selections, that location will become your official post of duty.

This is an open continuous announcement. The IRS anticipates filling approximately 360 vacancies. Applicants may apply at any time during the open period. However, applicants are referred on a first-in first-out basis. Qualified applicants applying early and successfully completing the assessment process will be referred before those applying later. Contingent upon funding and space requirements, one or more vacancies may be filled at the locations listed in this announcement as they become available.

Read more

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

This position will be filled through the Direct Hire Authority. Under this authority, competitive rating, ranking, and veterans' preference procedures do not apply. Your application will be considered based on education, training, and quality of your experience. For more information on Direct-Hire Authority visit: OPM Direct Hire Fact Sheet.

Your application must include 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.

Referral: Applicants who meet the basic qualification requirements may be referred to a selecting official for consideration. Candidates 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 practices). We will not reimburse costs related to the interview such as travel to and from the interview site.

If you are a displaced Federal employee (eligible for the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP), you must be found "well qualified" for the position. Well qualified is defined as: experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position, demonstrated by meeting all the competencies for this position.

Help

Required Documents

The following documents are required and must be provided with your application. All application materials, including transcripts, must be in English.

  1. Resume - Your resume MUST contain dates of employment (i.e., month/year to month/year or to present). To ensure you receive full credit for relevant experience, include the hours worked per week. We recommend that your resume not exceed 5 pages, only the first 5 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications. If including Federal service experience, provide pay plan, series and grade, i.e. GS-0301-09. Your resume must NOT include photographs, inappropriate content, or personal information such as age, gender, religion, social security number. If your resume does not contain the required information specified, or contains prohibited information as listed above, your application will be determined incomplete, and you will not receive consideration for this position. (Cover letters are optional.) Please view Resume Tips.
  2. Online Application - Questionnaire
  3. Education - See Education Section above
  4. Registration/License (If Applicable) - active, current registration/license
  5. Veterans' Preference (If Applicable) - If claiming veterans' preference, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 (Member 4 copy), or other official documentation from a branch of the Armed Forces or the Department of Veterans Affairs showing dates of service and type of discharge. Ten-point preference eligibles must also submit an Application for 10-point Veteran Preference, SF-15, along with the required documentation listed on the back of the SF-15 form. For more information on veterans' preference view FedsHireVets.
  6. Military Spouses (If Applicable) - You MUST submit verification of the marriage to the service member(i.e., a marriage license or other legal documentation verifying marriage) AND (1) a copy of your spouse's active military orders; OR (2) verification of your spouse's 100% service-connected disability (e.g., VA Letter and/or DD-214); OR (3) verification of the service member's death while on active duty (DD-1300/Death Certificate). You are not eligible if you were not married to the veteran at the time of death or have since remarried.
  7. Current and Former Federal Employees Documentation (If Applicable) - You MUST submit a copy of your most recent SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) or equivalent personnel action form which shows your current grade and competitive service status. (The "position occupied" block on the SF-50 reflects "1" and your "tenure" block reflects "1" or "2".) If you are applying for a higher grade, it is recommended to provide an SF-50(s) (or equivalent) which clearly demonstrates you meet the 52-week time-in-grade requirement (e.g., Promotion with an effective date more than one (1) year old, Within-Grade-Increase at the highest grade held).
  8. Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) (If Applicable) - IRS CTAP eligibles can apply for jobs within and outside the commuting area. Treasury CTAP eligibles can apply for jobs within the commuting area. Find required documentation at: Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP).
  9. Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) (If Applicable) - If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee, click CTAP/ICTAP for eligibility and a detailed list of required documents.
  10. High School Diploma (or equivalent) - If you are 16 or 17 years of age, you MUST submit documentation of graduation from high school (or equivalent); OR completion of a formal vocational training program; OR statement from school authorities agreeing with your decision to pursue employment rather than continuing your education.
Please note that if you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, you will not be considered for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible).

Help

How to Apply

This Direct Hire Public Notice is to gather applications that may or may not result in a referral or selection. Your application will remain active through the open period of this Public Notice. Applicants will be referred on a first in, first out basis. Those applicants who are applying earlier in the process will stand a much better chance of being referred for consideration in the selection process.

The following instructions outline our application process. You must complete this application process and submit any required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on 02/14/2024 in this announcement. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. ET, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, please contact us by noon ET on 02/14/2024. To preview the Application Questionnaire, please click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11827837

  • To begin the application process, click the "Apply Online" button.
  • You will be re-directed to USA STAFFING to complete your application process; answer the online questions and submit all required documents. (To submit supporting documents, import documents from USAJOBS to the appropriate document types. If the document you need was not imported from USAJOBS, you may upload it directly into this application. To protect your privacy, we suggest you first remove your SSN).
  • To complete, you must click the "Submit Application" button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on 02/14/2024.
To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account (https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login). There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Update Application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.

To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account: https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login . All of your applications will appear on the Welcome page. The application record in your USAJOBS account provides an Additional Application Information page that provides information regarding the documentation you submitted and any correspondence we have sent related to this application. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.

Read more

Agency contact information

IRS Cincinnati External
Address
CI
1111 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20224
US
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

Treasury believes in a working environment that supports inclusion; please view our reasonable accommodation policies and procedures at https://www.jobs.irs.gov/midcareer/reasonable-accommodation.html. We will provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; please contact us if you require this for any part of the application and hiring process.

Once your application package and online questionnaire is received you will receive an acknowledgement email. You are responsible for checking status updates and notifications in USAJOBS. Hard copy notifications will not be sent to you. You may check the status of your application for this position 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. If your email mailbox is full or blocked (SPAM) you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.

The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Treasury and its bureaus from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to the Department of Treasury by email at, FairChanceAct@treasury.gov.

To learn more, please visit our page at: Treasury.gov/fairchanceact.

Read more