Clarification from the agency

U.S. Citizens and U.S. Nationals; no prior Federal experience is required.

Serves as the Strategic Advisory Counsel, responsible for the effective supervision, management, and performance of all legal activities within their Strategic Advisory program, encompassing cases that have been identified by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or Chief Counsel as cases that are high priority and significant importance.

The Strategic Advisory Counsel program is a field function that will work closely with the other field Area functions and the Strategic Litigation Division to ensure that the IRS clients receive quality and timely guidance and unagreed cases are effectively litigated. The Strategic Advisory Counsel will report directly to the field Deputy Division Counsel (Operations) (DDCO). The incumbent develops nationwide strategies and provides dedicated support and legal advice to high profile significant IRS compliance examinations conducted nationwide and provides effective quality legal services to both internal and external customers. The incumbent is responsible for providing executive leadership and direction to professional and support personnel through subordinate managers, for coordinating policies and programs for the delivery of legal advice and development of strategies for litigation, and for providing other support, as needed, to the IRS client, other Chief Counsel Divisions and Associate Offices, government agencies, and the public.

MAJOR DUTIES INCLUDE:

• Manages field operations and staff assigned to the Strategic Advisory program. Resolves problems in the operations of program and elevates appropriate issues to the field Division Counsel (DC) and/or DDCO, and appropriate Associate Chief Counsel as necessary to insure IRS-wide consistency.
• Assists the DC, DDCO, and Deputy Division Counsel (Technical) (DDCT) in implementing the business unit strategy and goals that enhance compliance with the tax laws. Assists the DC and DDCO in managing the budget process for all aspects of the field operations of the Strategic Advisory program.
• Participates in the design and development of integrated policies, programs, systems, and strategies to ensure fairness and accountability in the delivery of superior customer service to taxpayers.
• Provides day-to-day legal advice to IRS clients on Strategic Advisory cases and is responsible for providing timely quality support through litigation, field advice, training, and other initiatives. Works closely with Appeals offices on Strategic Advisory cases, as requested or needed.
• Develops a close relationship with the Strategic Litigation Division for coordination and information sharing, especially with Strategic Advisory cases that are approaching litigation or involve issues that impact multiple significant cases.
• Responsible for the overall management of the employees assigned to groups dedicated to the Strategic Advisory program. Ensures continued coordination, control, and direction of the Associate Area offices so that the organizational objectives, policies, procedures, and programs are implemented effectively and consistently. Delegates sufficient authority to subordinates to effectively manage their resources and to seek continuous improvement by providing a supportive environment for creativity and innovation. Ensures that performance and program goals, strategies, and organizational policies are clearly communicated to employees.
• Establishes program goals, priorities, and work schedules. Plans, assigns, and reviews work adjusts priorities and assignments as needed. Sets performance standards, evaluates employee performance, and prepares appraisals. Approves leave, takes disciplinary action when needed, and plans training and development of staff. Fosters a work environment that recognizes the value of a diverse work force and is free from discrimination and harassment due to race, color, religion, gender, age or disabling condition.
• Meets the Division's taxpayer outreach needs for legal assistance. Participates in developing issues for the Published Guidance Steering Committee.
• Performs other duties and special projects assigned and delegated, by the Division Counsel and/or Deputy Division Counsels.

Conditions of employment

• Refer to "Additional Information"
• Click "Print Preview" to review the entire announcement before applying.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National

Qualifications

To qualify for this position of Strategic Advisory Counsel 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:

A) Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs):

Unless you are currently serving under a Career Senior Executive Service (SES) appointment, or eligible for reinstatement into the SES, you must address the ECQs. Applicants must provide a narrative statement (not to exceed a total of 10 pages) that clearly documents and demonstrates possession of the competencies in the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) as established by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. The following five ECQs provide the focus for certification of executive core qualifications for initial career appointment to the Senior Executive Service.

1. Leading Change - Ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals. Ability to establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment.
2. Leading People - Ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals. Ability to provide an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts.
3. Results Driven - Ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations. Ability to make decisions that produce high-quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks.
4. Business Acumen - Ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically.
5. Building Coalitions - Ability to build coalitions internally and with other Federal agencies, State and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals.

B) Mandatory Technical Competencies (MTQs):
In addition to the Executive Core Qualifications, all candidates must show evidence of the following mandatory technical competencies in order to meet basic qualifications for this position. The narrative statements should demonstrate your specialized knowledge and technical competence. Please give concrete examples of your experience and demonstrate the complexity of the knowledge and skills you possess. You should address each MTQ separately, with the total narrative not exceeding ten pages.

Mandatory

1. Demonstrated ability to develop nationwide strategies and provide dedicated support and legal advice to high profile significant IRS top ranking officials and provide effective quality legal services to both internal and external customers.
2. Strong direct or indirect experience with tax litigation, especially with large case litigation.
3. Demonstrated experience managing all aspects of a large-scale law program that involves significant human and fiscal resources, including the ability to allocate, manage, and prioritize resources to achieve short- and long-term goals. Experience includes planning, directing, budgeting for, staffing, and evaluating such programs.
4. Demonstrated ability to review and evaluate programs for the purpose of assessing their effectiveness against overall organizational goals and objectives, and the ability to design and implement program improvements as necessary to increase efficiency and enhance organizational performance.

(Note: Failure to address these factors will result in your application being disqualified.) Narrative responses to the Technical Qualifications and Desirable Qualifications should not be more than two pages for each. Please provide the Executive Core Qualifications, Technical Qualifications and Desirable Qualifications each on separate sheets of paper.

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.

How you will be evaluated

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

Applicants will be considered based on their overall background as it relates to the position to be filled. Interviews may be held at the option of the office. All application materials and interviews, if conducted, will be used in the final evaluation and selection process.

Candidates found minimally qualified will be further evaluated by an Executive Resources Board based on the extent and quality of their experience as it relates to the Mandatory Technical Competencies and the Executive Core Qualifications needed for this position. Appropriate consideration will be given for job-related training, education, awards, publications, and supervisory appraisals of job performance. Interviews of applicants may be held at the option of the Board. Selected applicant will be subject to certification of their executive qualifications by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (unless previously certified). (Note: Current and former SES members, and other candidates who have already been OPM/QRB-certified, are not required to address the executive core qualifications. They must, however, provide documentation of certification in the form of an SF-50 showing career SES status, or an OPM issued SES qualification certificate.)

Referral: If you are among the top qualified candidates, you may be required to participate in a selection interview. We will not reimburse costs related to the interview, such as travel to and from the interview site.