Austin Community College Hiring for ACC GROW Associate I: Certified Tax Preparer and Site Coordinator (Hourly) at Highland Campus Full Time

Job Posting Closing Times: Job postings are removed from advertising at 12:00 A.M. on the closing date e.g., at midnight on the day before the closing date.

If you are a current Austin Community College employee, please click this link to apply through your Workday account.

Austin Community College is a public two-year institution that serves a diverse population of approximately 41,000 credit students each Fall and Spring semester. We embrace our identity as a community college, as reflected in our mission statement. We promote student success and community development by providing affordable access, through traditional and distance learning modes, to higher education and workforce training, including appropriate applied baccalaureate degrees, in our service area.

As a community college committed to our mission, we seek to recruit and retain a workforce that:

• Reflects the diversity of our community

• Values intellectual curiosity and innovative teaching

• Is attracted by the college’s mission to promote equitable access to educational opportunities

• Cares about student success and collaborates on strategies to facilitate success for under-represented populations

• Welcomes difference and models respectful interaction with others

• Engages with the community both within and outside of ACC

Commitment to Equity and Inclusion

ACC is committed to the ongoing systemic changes needed to ensure the increased recruitment, inclusion, retention, and completion of historically underserved and underrepresented populations. Through continual strategic community engagement and professional development of administrators, faculty, staff, and students, the college demonstrates its dedication to fostering a culture and climate for equitable outcomes.

ACC is proud to serve a diverse student body as an open-access and low-cost institution. Dedicated faculty members are excellent professors who help students achieve their educational goals and are sensitive to our students’ diverse cultures and socio-economic backgrounds. In 2017 our faculty adopted a Statement of ACC Faculty Values. This Statement affirms that ACC’s faculty members value collaboration, service, agency, scholarship, inclusion, and teaching, all of which attest to our commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion at the heart of our mission.

Job Posting Title:

ACC GROW Associate I: Certified Tax Preparer and Site Coordinator (Hourly)

Job Description Summary:

ACC GROW partnership with Foundation Communities allows Austin Community College students to merge academic learning directly with career competency development. This position will provide site management, client intake, tax preparation, and quality review at the tax site, providing an opportunity for students to learn, apply, and strengthen real-world essential job skills to be better prepared to meet the contemporary demands of employers.

Job Description:

Austin Community College (ACC) GROW (Guided Reflections On Work) program is partnering with Foundation Communities, a local nonprofit organization and community service provider, to offer free tax preparation at the Highland ACCelerator during the Spring 2024 semester. Through this partnership, ACC GROW will hire a team of currently enrolled ACC students to staff the site. This position will provide site management, client intake, tax preparation, and quality review at the tax site.

Students who are hired for the position through ACC GROW are required to participate in the GROW career development coaching series that focuses on the eight core career competencies identified by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). This competency development approach focuses on the application of each individual student’s academic learning and the acquisition and strengthening of the following core career competencies: (1) Career & Self Development; (2) Communication; (3) Critical Thinking; (4) Equity & Inclusion; (5) Leadership; (6) Professionalism; (7) Teamwork; (8) Technology/Digital Fluency.

Primary Duties/ Responsibilities

• Site Management:

  • Ensure efficient operations of the tax site by managing opening and closing procedures, maintaining the site space according to ACCelerator guidelines, and coordinating client service delivery.

  • Transmit completed tax returns to the IRS in TaxSlayer (the web-based tax preparation software provided by the IRS) for clients who opt for e-filing.

  • Process acknowledgements of returns electronically transmitted, and work with the Foundation Communities’ transmitting team to resolve rejected returns and re-transmit them.

• Intake: Conduct intake interviews with clients, which includes validating clients’ identity, screening for eligibility, reviewing client documents, and ensuring clients are ready to proceed in the tax preparation process.

• Tax Preparation: Prepare individual tax returns for eligible taxpayers, including community members and ACC students, faculty, and staff, at the tax site using the web-based TaxSlayer software.

• Quality Review: Review completed returns for accuracy in TaxSlayer and ensure clients understand what is on their return.

• Serve as a resource for clients by answering questions before, during, and after the preparation of a tax return

• Protect client confidentiality

• Effectively use email, scanning software, Google Drive, and other technology in site operations

• Attend tax team meetings hosted by Foundation Communities

• Utilize IRS publications and Foundation Communities resource materials to build expertise throughout the tax season

Minimum Requirements

• Complete all specified paid training and tax certifications (no previous experience is required, and support is provided throughout the training period)

  • Required training dates

    • Saturday, December 16, 2023, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. at Prosper South

    • Monday, January 8, 2024, 6 – 7 p.m. virtual

    • Tuesday, January 9, 2024, 6-7 p.m. virtual

    • Saturday, January 13, 2024, 9 – 4 p.m. location TBD (in-person)

    • Saturday, January 20, 2024, 9-4 p.m. location TBD (in-person)

• Attend weekly staff meetings, in-person, Wednesdays from 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. at Prosper Center South, 2900 S I-35 Frontage Rd, Austin, TX 78704

• Professional demeanor with excellent communication and customer service

• Ability to learn quickly

• Strong interpersonal skills

• Proficiency with technology and knowledge of computer operations and software

• Proficient in English (reading, writing, and speaking)

Preferred Requirements

• Experience working in a fast-paced environment

• Successful completion of at least one tax course (e.g. ACNT 1331 or 1392)

• Experience in tax preparation

• Ability to communicate in multiple languages both written and verbal proficiently (Spanish, Arabic, or American Sign Language)

Skills & Competencies developed

Tax preparation, tax returns, accounting, customer service, management, technology, tax preparation software, proofreading, critical thinking, problem-solving, leadership, interpersonal and verbal communication, organizational and time management, interacting with diverse groups

Required Education

• Must be enrolled in an ACC program of study (college credit, continuing education, or adult education)

Pay Rate

$22.00/Hour

Number of Openings:

12

Job Posting Close Date:

October 20, 2023Clery Act

As required by the US Department of Education, employees are required to report violations under Title IX and, under the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act), select individuals are required to report crimes. If this position is identified as a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), you will be notified, trained, and provided resources for reporting.

Disclaimer

The above description is an overview of the job. It is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and responsibilities of the job, nor is it an all-inclusive list of the skills and abilities required to do the job. Duties and responsibilities may change with business needs. ACC reserves the right to add, change, amend, or delete portions of this job description at any time, with or without notice. Employees may be required to perform other duties as requested, directed, or assigned. In addition, reasonable accommodations may be made by ACC at its discretion to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions of the job.