Summary
With nearly 1,700 attorneys, IRS Chief Counsel is the largest tax law firm nationwide. Our attorneys are among top tax law practitioners and some of the very best legal minds found anywhere. Together with the IRS, we serve the public by applying the tax code with fairness and integrity. After pausing hiring in 2025, we now seek new law graduates and experienced attorneys to join us.
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IRS Office of Chief Counsel
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Learn about our Legal Divisions
This job is open to
Internal to an agency
Current federal employees of the hiring agency that posted the job announcement.
Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)
Federal employees whose job, agency or department was eliminated and are eligible for priority over other applicants.
Clarification from the agency
See "Who May Apply" in the "Qualifications" section for more information on who is eligible to apply for this position.
Duties
The role of General Legal Services is to serve as in-house counsel to the IRS and Office of Chief Counsel, providing legal services over a broad spectrum of matters, including labor and employment, ethics, fiscal, appropriations, procurement, contracts, and technology. The Office of Chief Counsel, General Legal Services (GLS) handles non-tax matters and employs approximately 73 attorneys and 8 paralegals. Work in the GLS Area Counsel field offices is focused on providing advice, support, and litigation representation for IRS and Chief Counsel management in administrative fora and in arbitration, with the majority of case work centering on labor, EEO, and personnel law. The field offices also provide assistance to the Department of Justice in federal courts on such matters, as well as for suits against IRS employees, and may assist with processing claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act.
As a Claims Manager you will:
- Plan, direct, and coordinate the receipt, processing, review, and payment of claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), the Small Claims Act (SCA) and the Military Personnel and Civilian Employee' Claims Act (MPCECA).
- Prepare and/or review and accept correspondence with the claimants and claimant representatives, including vouchers for payment on claims. Determine when legal review is required for claims under the FTCA, and, upon such legal review, determine whether denial, compromise, payment in part, or payment in full is appropriate on the claims.
- Develop and maintain systems to ensure that vouchers for payment are forwarded to and reviewed by appropriate office, including Beckley Finance Center and the Bureau of Fiscal Service Fund Branch.
- Plan, develop, compile, and present cost data and related information and utilize systems to track and evaluate the processing of all information related to claims against the United States and IRS. Prepare charts, graphs, and narrative information for management and conduct program analysis involving GLS processing and review of claims.
- Execute declarations or affidavits regarding the processing of administrative FTCA claims for filing in Federal district courts when required in suits against the United States under the FTCA.
- Coordinate with attorneys on legal matters related to damage claims against the United States; make recommendations for improving and streamlining the legal and administrative work of the office, including but not limited to processing and reviewing claims.
This is not an all-inclusive list. If selected you will have the opportunity to learn to perform the duties of the position and will receive training to help you grow in the position.
Requirements
Conditions of employment
- Refer to "Other Information"
- Click "Print Preview" to review the entire announcement before applying.
- Must be a U.S. Citizen or National
Qualifications
Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected. See "Required Documents" for a list of document requirements for all employment authorities.
- Career Transition Assistance Program
- Current Chief Counsel Employee
To qualify for this position of Claims Manager, you must meet the qualification requirements listed below by the closing of this announcement. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience.
For GS-12:
Specialized Experience: Your resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-11 grade level or pay band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. Specialized experience is defined as: Experience preparing a variety of legal documents and performing legal research to determine compliance with regulation and policy; experience assisting with the development and maintenance of control systems for information management and tracking; experience applying analytical techniques to solve problems and make recommendations.
Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone--no substitution of education for experience is permitted.
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.
Time in Grade Requirement for GS-12: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent (GS-11).
Education
This job does not have an education qualification requirement.
Additional information
- We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.
- Relocation expenses are not authorized.
- This is a non-bargaining unit position.
- We offer opportunities for flexible work schedules.
Conditions of Employment Continued:
- 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.
- 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.
- This position requires that the successful candidate undergo personnel vetting, which includes a background investigation and enrollment upon onboarding into "Continuous Vetting." Enrollment in Continuous Vetting will result in automated record checks being conducted throughout one's employment with Treasury. The successful candidate will also be enrolled into FBI's Rap Back service, which will allow Treasury to receive notification from the FBI of criminal matters (e.g., arrests, charges, convictions) involving enrolled individuals in near real-time. For more information about individual rights, Noncriminal Justice Applicant's Privacy Rights - FBI, FD-258 Privacy Act Statement - FBI, and SEAD-3-Reporting-U.pdf (dni.gov).
Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the
Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. 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.
You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):
- Accountability
- Arithmetic/Mathematical Reasoning
- Attention to Detail
- Customer Service
- Data Analysis
- Decision Making
- Flexibility
- Information Management
- Integrity/Honesty
- Interpersonal Skills
- Learning
- Oral and Written Communication
- Reasoning
- Self-Management
- Stress Tolerance
- Teamwork
To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
The USA Hire Assessments includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment.
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.
To preview the application questionnaire, click the following link:
https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12931227
Referral:If you are among the top qualified candidates, your application may be referred to a selecting official for consideration. 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. 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 score of
80 or better to be rated as "well qualified" to receive special selection priority.
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.) Please limit your resume to two-pages. Applicants with resumes exceeding two-pages will be removed from consideration. 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 Resume Tips.
Current and Former Federal Employees - Documentation Relating to Your Federal Employment
- Submit a copy of your SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, which shows your current (or most recent) grade and competitive service status. (The "position occupied" block on the SF-50 should show a "1" and your "tenure" block should show a "1" or "2".)
- Indicate on your application the highest permanent grade you have held; if this grade is different from your current grade, submit a copy of an additional SF-50 showing this grade.
- Submit a copy of your most recent, signed, completed annual performance appraisal which includes the final rating (include signed revalidation, if applicable). 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.
Current Chief Counsel Employees on an Excepted Service Veteran's Recruitment Appointment (VRA) or Schedule A (Employee with Disability) Appointment
- If you are eligible in this category, you are required to submit an SF-50 showing current Chief Counsel Excepted Service VRA or Schedule A (Employee with Disability) Appointment (block 24 must be a "1" or "2" AND block 34 must be a"2.").
Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) Documentation
- If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee, click CTAP/ICTAP for eligibility and a detailed list of required documents.
If you are requesting a reasonable accommodation to the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, submit documentation to support your request, including the Reasonable Accommodation Request Form found here. (
https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire)
How to Apply
Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date (04/24/2026) of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows:
- Click the Apply Online button.
- Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
- Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date.
- If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice.
- Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials.
- Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.
- Set aside about two (2) hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link.
- Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused.
Visit the
USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at
https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us.
To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.
To view the announcement status or your application status, visit https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/howto/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.
Next steps
Based on your application and your responses to the application questionnaire, you may be presented with instructions on how to access the USA Hire system to complete the online assessments. The online assessments must be completed within 48 hours following the close of this announcement. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation for the assessment should you have a disability covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Your assessment results will be kept on record for one year and used toward future positions for which you might apply that require the same assessments.
To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. 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/.