Clarification from the agency

Open to U.S. Citizens/Nationals

Vacancies will be filled in the following specialty areas: Independent Office of Appeals - Examination Appeals

The following are the duties of this position at the full working level.

• Holds conferences and negotiates issues with taxpayers/representative to resolve tax disputes in a fair and impartial manner. Taxpayers are often officers of publicly traded companies and representatives are typically from the most prestigious national law and accounting firms.
• Area 9 is a national program made up of four teams located throughout the country. Area 9 has primary responsibility for the largest cases in Appeals, generally Large Corporate Compliance Program Cases (LCC) and Industry Cases (IC) with multiple complex tax issues with over $10 million dollars in dispute. This work is accomplished by the incumbent and a team of several employees. Team members are typically experts in a particular aspect of federal taxation and are often grade 14 Technical Specialists, International Specialists or Appeals Officers.
• Communicates and fosters dialogue with peers, customers and partners. Leads several teams that work cases and coaches individual employees in the accomplishment of team objectives and effective problem- solving.
• Advises and coaches team members regarding their team assignments. Provides appropriate and substantive feedback on team assignments to the team member and his/her immediate manager. This feedback is both written and oral; provided on a timely and ongoing basis; addresses the appropriate critical job elements and aspects; and follows guidelines prescribed by the Chief Appeals, the Director, and the Appeals Area Director as to timing, form and content of the feedback.

Conditions of employment

• Probationary Period - All newly appointed employees to the competitive (or excepted) service are subject to a probationary (or trial) period. During this time, your performance, conduct, and suitability for continued employment will be evaluated. You will not automatically convert to permanent status at the end of the probationary (or trial) period. Your supervisor must affirmatively determine that continued employment is in the best interest of the Federal service. If no certification is made before the probationary (or trial) period ends, your appointment will be terminated. You are encouraged to actively engage with your supervisor, seek feedback, and understand role expectations. Additional guidance and support will be provided during onboarding.
• Government Credit Card - Obtain and use a Government-issued charge card for business-related travel.
• Tax Audit -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.

Key Eligibility Requirements:

• U.S Citizenship - Must be a U.S. Citizen or National and provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
• Selective Service Registration - Males born after December 31, 1959 are required to be registered with the Selective Service System or prove they are exempt from having to do so.
• Personal Identity Verification (PIV) - Must provide 2 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.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS SHOWN IN QUALIFICATIONS OR ADDTIONAL INFORMATION SECTIONS

Qualifications

Federal experience is not required. Experience may have been gained in the public sector, private sector or through 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/day/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week, on your resume.

You must meet the following requirements by the cut-off dates as shown in announcement under the 'How to Apply' section.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE GS-15: You must have 1 year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-14 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position includes: Experience with accounting principles and legal principles to resolve tax disputes of a corporate and complex nature; Experience that demonstrates knowledge of basic and intermediate accounting principles, theories and practices (for examples, mergers, acquisitions, consolidations, statistical analysis, transfer pricing agreements, foreign transactions) to analyze and interpret accounting books, records, or systems specifically to determine tax liabilities; Experience interpreting the tax law, applying litigation procedures, and evaluating the meaning of the statutes, regulations, court decisions, congressional intent and other interpretive sources. Experience with tax issues including complex legal issues that arise from tax transactions (e.g., mergers, acquisitions, consolidations, statistical analysis, transfer pricing agreements, and foreign transactions); Experience preparing, examining or analyzing corporate business accounting functions to distinguish differences between financial statements generated in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and those used for tax reporting purposes; Experience differentiating between the financial characteristics and tax implications of business entities (for example, reorganizations and restructuring) and ensuring entities are classified correctly; Experience in Corporate and Industry tax issues (such as: inventory valuation (LIFO,) transfer pricing agreements, corporate investments and revenue recognition, life insurance, property and casualty insurance, reallocation of corporate income); Experience in negotiating the resolution of tax disputes in situations with corporate consolidations, corporate mergers, and corporate foreign transactions.

AND

You must also meet the following requirements:

MINIMUM AGE REQUIREMENT: Minimum age for federal employment is 18 years old, or at least 16 years old and have:

• • Graduated from high school or been awarded a certificate equivalent to graduating from high school; or
  • Completed a formal vocational training program; or
  • Received a statement from school authorities agreeing with your preference for employment rather than continuing your education;

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

How you will be evaluated

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

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. Applicants who disqualify themselves will not be evaluated further.

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

• Decision Making
• Influencing/Negotiating
• Principles of Accounting
• Tax Law
• Teamwork
• Workload Management

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

Rating: Category rating will be used to rank and select eligible candidates. If qualified, you will be assigned to one of two quality level categories, CAT A/B, CAT C.

Referral: Eligible applicants who apply by the initial cut-off date, and are among the highest category, may be referred to a selecting official for consideration. Candidates, if required to participate in a selection interview (telephonic and/or in person at the discretion of the Selecting Official in accordance with hiring practices), will be interviewed in category group order. If additional vacancies exist, remaining applicants will be considered in category order as needed by cut-off date.

Veterans' preference is applied after applicants are assessed. Qualified preference eligibles who have a compensable service-connected disability of 10 percent or more (CPS, CP) are placed at the top of the highest category on the referral list (except for scientific or professional positions at the GS-9 level or higher). Remaining preference eligibles are placed above non-preference eligibles within their assigned category.

If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee (eligible for the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP), you must receive a rating of category CAT A/B to be rated as "well qualified" to receive special selection priority.

If you are selected, you will be subject to all requirements listed in the Requirements, Qualifications, and Additional Information sections of this announcement which includes, Prior Employment/Tax Checks, Fingerprint/Criminal History checks.