Tax Specialist

***THIS ROLE IS ELIGIBLE TO BE FULLY REMOTE***

 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 VITA Tax Specialist assists with the coordination and day-to-day administration of the IRC’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program at one of the IRC’s sites (City Heights, Mission Gorge, El Cajon). In 2021, the IRC’s VITA program assisted almost 2,000 individuals and families with free tax preparation. These services brought over $4 million in tax refunds back to low-income communities. This is a short term, full-time position from October 2022 - April 2023.

Major Responsibilities:

• Oversee the day-to-day operations of the IRC’s VITA site during tax season (January – April 2022), including but not limited to:
  • Coordinating, managing, and providing technical support to volunteer tax preparers
  • Scheduling tax appointments and providing customer service to clients
  • Conducting quality reviews and electronically filing tax returns;
• Complete the IRS Link and Learn tax training at the Advanced level as well as the Site Coordinator Training;
• Complete partners’ VITA trainings, and attend EITC coalition meetings
• Assist with the recruitment and training of VITA program volunteers prior to and during the tax season;
• Coordinate marketing and outreach activities for the IRC’s VITA program, including volunteer outreach, the development of EITC presentations, VITA canvasing, and representing IRC at community fairs;
• Assist with data collection and reporting to program funders;
• 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; or mix of equivalent years of related work experience and education;
• Previous experience with personal income tax preparation required;
• 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 computer literacy; familiarity with TaxSlayer software highly preferred;
• High level of comfort, functioning and effectiveness in multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary teams;
• Strong commitment 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: 

• Office work, professional environment;
• 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;

Compensation: Posted pay ranges apply to US-based candidates. Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget.  Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirement.

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. 

#LI-GR1

#LI-Remote