Senior Tax Site Specialist

IRC Background:

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is at work in over 40 countries and 24 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities.

The IRC’s Center for Financial Opportunity (CFO) helps newly arrived refugees and other low-income individuals reach self-sufficiency by finding entry-level employment and progress to living wage jobs, learn basic financial management skills and build assets, and start small businesses. Core to CFO, is the inclusion of financial literacy and asset building services throughout all CFO services. These core services include integrated financial literacy and coaching sessions; asset building training, coaching, and individual development accounts for asset acquisition; easy access to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit; access to affordable consumer and credit building loan products; and stabilization supports to address immediate needs.

Job Overview:

The Senior Tax Site Specialist leads all aspects of the coordination and day-to-day administration of the IRC’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program across IRC’s three sites and through the supervision of up to three Tax Specialists. The position will ensure high levels of compliance and client satisfaction through the delivery of comprehensive trainings and strong oversight of staff and volunteers. This is a limited term, full-time position from October 2022 – September 2023.

Major Responsibilities:

• Lead all VITA start-up work including developing VITA work plan, budget allocation plan for site and outreach materials, coordinate with IRC IT department to ensure site-based tax services for VITA labs are functioning appropriately, and trouble shoot as necessary;
• Serve as IRC’s point of contact and representative for all VITA and EITC related collaborative groups and key partner relations including 211, United Way of San Diego, Dreams of Change, and UCSD;
• Coordinate the day-to-day operations of the IRC’s VITA site during tax season (January – April), including but not limited to:
  • Supervise and provide technical support to Tax Specialists and VITA Volunteer Tax Preparers
  • Hold tax appointments for complex tax cases and provide customer service support including resolving client grievances and returned filing issues
  • Conduct quality reviews and electronically filing tax returns;
• Coordinate the day-to-day operations of the IRC’s VITA assistance program;
• Assist with the recruitment and training of VITA Site Coordinators and VITA program volunteers prior to and during the tax season;
• Coordinate and be responsible for marketing and outreach activities for the IRC’s VITA program including volunteer outreach, EITC and VITA canvasing;
• Assist with data collection and reporting to program funders;
• Lead all aspects to ensure compliance with IRS and VITA program policies and procedures;
• Other related duties as assigned.

Job Requirements:

• Undergraduate degree in finance, accounting, or a related field; Experience in lieu of education is acceptable;
• Minimum two years of Tax preparation experience;
• Minimum one year of VITA related work experience;
• Experience in a non-profit organization preferred;
• Excellent customer service skills, including experience working with a diverse client base;
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to make presentations as well as the ability to supervise a large, diverse group of volunteers;
• Strong organizational skills and high level of attention to detail;
• High level of digital literacy; familiarity with TaxSlayer software highly preferred;
• High level of comfort, functioning and efficiency in multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary teams;
• Strong dedication to economic empowerment of low-income and underserved populations;
• Excellent written and verbal English;
• Proficiency in a second language (Spanish, Arabic, Farsi, or other high-demand language) strongly preferred.

Working Environment:**

• Standard, professional office environment; Hybrid or remote work on occasion during tax off season.
• Regular travel to off-site locations is required;
• Working hours during tax season are five days a week in alignment with the IRC’s VITA schedule: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, 9am-5pm and Tuesday and Thursday, 11AM-7PM; At least one weekend day is required;
• Access to a reliable vehicle to travel regularly throughout the service delivery area with a valid driver’s license and current insurance.

COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement: In accordance with IRC’s duty to provide and maintain a workplace that is free of known hazards and our commitment to safeguard the health of our employees, clients, and communities, IRC requires new hires to furnish proof of vaccination against COVID-19 in order to be considered for any in-office or hybrid positions. All IRC US offices require full vaccination to attend any in-office functions (e.g., meetings, trainings).

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusivity: IRC is committed to building a diverse organization and a climate of inclusivity. We strongly encourage applications from candidates who can demonstrate that they can contribute to this goal.

Equal Opportunity Employer: We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

US Benefits: We offer a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. In the US, these include: 10 sick days, 10 US holidays, 20-25 paid time off days depending on role and tenure, medical insurance starting at $120 per month, dental starting at $7 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with immediately vested matching, disability & life insurance, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support counseling and care in times of crisis and mental health struggles.