Tax Notice Resolution Specialist Lead

Overview

The Tax Notice Resolution Specialist Lead serves as a key technical and operational resource for the Tax Notice Resolution team. This role provides guidance on complex agency notices, supports escalations, and acts as a subject-matter expert. The Lead also maintains direct ownership of assigned agency notice cases, including high-profile customers, complex jurisdictions, and elevated-risk matters—functioning as both a working specialist and a technical resource to support consistent, accurate, and timely resolution.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary technical backup for Supervisors when unavailable, supporting daily operations, team priorities, workload coordination, and performance monitoring.
• Guide specialists through complex federal, state, and local agency notices by answering technical questions and supporting high-touch, high-risk, or escalated customer matters.
• Support queue management by assigning cases, balancing workloads, monitoring service-level deadlines, and reviewing aged, reopened, reassigned, or escalated cases.
• Maintain an active caseload and personally manage assigned agency notice cases, including complex, high-risk, high-profile customer accounts and challenging federal, state, and local jurisdiction issues.
• Review agency notices and related account activity to determine the issue, required response, responsible party, potential financial exposure, and appropriate resolution path.
• Research payroll tax filings, payments, registrations, account numbers, tax rates, employee and employer data, correspondence history, and agency records to identify root cause and validate corrective action.
• Coordinate responses and follow-up with federal, state, and local tax agencies, customers, internal partners, and third-party providers; maintain clear records of contacts, commitments, supporting documentation, and next steps.
• Support resolution activities such as filing corrections, payment research, penalty and interest review, abatement requests, account reconciliation, registration or account updates, and referrals to the appropriate internal team when action falls outside Tax Notice Resolution ownership.
• Assist with quality assurance by reviewing case documentation, response accuracy, follow-up cadence, customer communication, and closure evidence; coach specialists to improve first-touch resolution and prevent repeated notices.
• Identify trends, recurring agency issues, upstream process gaps, and training needs; report findings to leadership and contribute to process improvements, knowledge articles, job aids, and enhancement requests.
• Deliver professional, timely, and accurate updates to internal and external customers, clearly explaining notice status, risk, ownership, actions taken, outstanding requirements, and expected next steps.
• Meet established quality, productivity, service-level, and compliance expectations while contributing to a collaborative, accountable, and high-performing team.

Competencies

• Self-motivated and proactive, able to take initiative and drive complex cases toward resolution independently.
• Strong analytical, investigative, and problem-solving skills with a data-driven mindset and exceptional attention to detail.
• Skilled in root cause analysis, able to evaluate incomplete or conflicting information, assess risk, and determine an appropriate course of action.
• Proven ability to manage competing priorities, agency deadlines, escalations, projects, and follow-up commitments in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong understanding of federal, state, and local payroll tax requirements, including withholding, unemployment insurance, filing, payment, registration, penalty, interest, and account maintenance concepts.
• Ability to interpret agency notices, account transcripts, filing and payment records, payroll data, and supporting documentation.
• Knowledge of case management, quality assurance, documentation, escalation, and service-level best practices.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to explain complex tax issues clearly and professionally to customers, agencies, and internal partners.
• Professional, dependable, and able to exercise sound judgment and maintain confidentiality when handling sensitive customer, employee, and tax information.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills with consistent prioritization, documentation, follow-through, and ownership.
• Collaborative and team-oriented, with the ability to coach peers, provide constructive guidance, and build effective cross-functional relationships.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite; advanced Excel skills and experience using case management, payroll, tax, and reporting systems are preferred.

Qualifications

• Associate's degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• 2+ years of payroll tax experience, including experience researching or resolving federal, state, or local tax agency notices.
• Working knowledge of payroll and payroll tax functions, including tax filings, payments, registrations, account reconciliation, and amendment processes.
• Experience communicating with tax agencies and interpreting agency correspondence, account records, and resolution requirements.
• Experience using case management systems and ERP or payroll platforms such as Workday, PeopleSoft, or similar systems preferred.
• Demonstrated experience providing peer guidance, training, quality support, or informal leadership preferred.

Preferred Qualifications

• Payroll tax outsourcing or third-party service provider experience.

Location

Remote (#LI-REMOTE)

Supervisory Responsibility

None