General Attorney (Tax) - Senior Technician Reviewer (Energy Branch) at U.S. Department of the Treasury in Washington, DC

Summary

Office of Chief Counsel, IRS, seeks enthusiastic individuals to serve taxpayers fairly and with integrity by providing correct and impartial interpretation of the internal revenue laws and the highest quality legal advice and representation for the IRS. Please click "Learn more about this agency" to find out more about Chief Counsel's various offices, to view some of the workplace attributes that Chief Counsel's workforce rates most favorably, and to hear from employees themselves.

Duties

The Senior Technician Reviewer (STR) serves as a technical expert in the Energy Branch for the Office of the Associate Chief Counsel, Energy, Credits, and Excise Tax Division (ECE). The technical areas for which the branch is responsible involve one or more of the specialty areas of tax law under ECE's jurisdiction, including tax matters involving natural and renewable energy resources, business and energy-related tax credits and incentives, and excise taxes. The STR is responsible for some of the most complicated, visible, and unusual assignments and projects in the branch. In consultation with the Branch Chief, the STR is responsible for the assignment of selected cases and projects to the attorneys within the branch and for review of attorney work product.

As a General Attorney (Tax) Senior Technician Reviewer, you will:

Serves as a legal and technical consultant to the Branch Chief, Deputy Associate Chief Counsel (ECE), Associate Chief Counsel (ECE), and other officials in the Office of Chief Counsel on legal and policy matters involving the work of the branch, or that may affect the work of other branches of ECE, or other components of the Office of Chief Counsel. These matters require the STR to conduct detailed and extensive research on complicated legal issues and develop recommendations as to the positions to be taken by the branch and the Office.
Serves as a technical reviewer, and in some cases as the initiating attorney, for assignments involving the development and promulgation of regulatory and sub-regulatory guidance, the technical review of tax legislation, and the provision of legal advice to the IRS and other stakeholders on complex technical issues within the branch's jurisdiction. In addition, the STR acts as a reviewer, and in some cases as the initiating attorney, for private letter rulings, technical advice memoranda, and other forms of written legal advice, and litigation support assignments related to Tax Court, refund, and appellate litigation.
Serves as a principal attorney in charge of recommending policies and developing procedures and regulations implementing new or amended legislation for specific areas of tax law. The STR ensures that these policies, procedures, and regulations are consistent with the intent of the law and are administratively sound, efficient, and economical in operation.
Mentors, trains, and develops attorneys in the technical subjects of the branch and the day-to-day workflow and structure of the Office of Chief Counsel and the IRS. Performs activities in the subject matter of the branch including legal assistance, appellate recommendations, and litigation support. Many of the issues presented for decision are submitted after extensive consideration in the field and elsewhere and cover a broad range of tax law issues requiring interpretation of the Internal Revenue Code, tax regulations, published rulings, court cases, and other technical materials.
Serves as a project manager, assigns (in consultation with the Branch Chief) work to the attorneys in the branch, advises them on the approach to take, reviews work products, and provides the Branch Chief with performance feedback on work performed. Makes recommendations on the need for initiating, consolidating, or eliminating projects.
As needed, the STR conducts conferences and represents the IRS on specific issues of a highly complex nature with taxpayers and their representatives.
Analyzes transactions or issues and examines data to advise Chief Counsel trial attorneys and/or the Department of Justice in litigation matters.
Participates in the resolution of some of the most complex technical problems presented by taxpayers or their representatives, and gives advice on important technical, legal, and policy matters to the Associate Chief Counsel (ECE), Deputy Associate Chief
Counsel (ECE), and other Chief Counsel officials.
As appropriate, the STR speaks or engages in panel discussions before business and professional groups on technical and legal matters relating to the work of the branch.
When required, the STR fills in for the Branch Chief and performs the full range of duties of that position. In situations where procedure does not require signature by a higher official, the STR takes final action with respect to work prepared in the branch. Otherwise, the STR may make decisions in the remaining instances for referral to higher levels.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

Refer to "Additional Information"
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Must be a U.S. Citizen or National

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements detailed below by the closing date of this announcement. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application.

To qualify for this position of General Attorney (Tax) Senior Technician Reviewer you must meet the qualification requirements listed below by the closing of this announcement:

Basic Requirements for General Attorney (Tax) Senior Technician Reviewer:

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;

GS-15 Experience Requirements:

1 year of general professional legal experience from any area of expertise; plus
3 year(s) of professional legal tax experience

Professional Legal Tax Experience is defined as: Experience related to Internal Revenue tax laws, regulations, and decisions applicable to

Tax matters concerning all phases of energy production (to include extraction or harvesting of natural resources);
Energy-related production tax credits and investment tax credits;
Other tax issues ancillary to energy production (such as normalization)
The research credit under * 41;
The energy industry, including related federal government agency experience; AND/OR
Tax litigation.

At least one year of this experience must be equivalent to the work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-14).

Note: Only experience gained after Bar Admission may be credited as Professional Legal Experience.

Education Substitution: An LL.M. degree in the field of the position (tax, GLS-related, orP&A- FOIA/Disclosure related field) may be substituted for the one year of the general legal experience listed above.

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.

Referral: Professional Order will be used to refer and select eligible candidates. Veterans' preference is applied after applicants are assessed. Preference eligibles will be listed at the top of the certificate in alphabetical order and considered before non-preference eligibles. All other candidates will be listed in alphabetical order. 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.

Required Documents

A complete application includes 1. A resume, 2. Vacancy question responses, and 3. Submission of any required documents. Please note that if you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, you may not be considered for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible).

All applicants are required to submit a resume either by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one of their own choosing. (Cover letters are optional.) To receive full credit for relevant experience, please list the month/year and number of hours worked for experience listed on your resume. We suggest that you preview the online questions, as you may need to customize your resume to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions. Please view .

In addition, applicants are required to submit:

An unofficial or official transcript(s) for your J.D. degree or LL.M. degree (an official transcript is required if you are selected)
A memorandum of interest summarizing your interest in the position

Current Chief Counsel Employees are also required to submit:

A copy of your most recent, signed, completed annual performance appraisal which includes the final rating. If it is not dated within the last 12 months or if you have not received a performance appraisal, please explain why in your application
A Supervisory Report for Supervisory or Management Positions (ERB Form 1-88, Rev 7/2020) regarding your suitability for the position as completed by your current supervisor. You are responsible for notifying your supervisor that this report must be received no later than five workdays after the closing date of this announcement.

Education Documentation: 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. See "Education" for more details.

Certificate of Good Standing: A certified original copy of your certificate of good standing from your State Bar will be required if you are selected.

VETERANS' PREFERENCE DOCUMENTATION: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Office of Chief Counsel considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. If you are claiming veterans' preference, you must submit a copy of your Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, 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 , along with the required documentation listed on the back of the SF-15 form. For more information on veterans' preference, view .