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Criminal Investigator - Direct Hire

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
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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

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Overview

  • Accepting applications
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This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

Open to U.S. Citizens/Nationals

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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.

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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:

GS-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.

GS-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

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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.

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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).

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How to Apply

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Agency contact information

IRS Cincinnati External

Email

covingtonpersonnel1@irs.gov

Address

CI - Criminal Investigation
1111 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20224
US
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Next steps

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