The IRS is bringing in a new, but familiar, federal official to helm the agency’s long-term workforce strategies.

Traci DiMartini will step in as IRS’ human capital officer, Federal News Network confirmed with a source familiar with the decision.

DiMartini, currently chief human capital officer at the General Services Administration, will take on the IRS role at the end of June after resigning from her GSA position. She has been GSA’s CHCO for close to three years.

In her role at GSA, DiMartini led the office of human resources management, tasked with overseeing HR for the agency’s 12,000 employees. During her time at GSA, DiMartini helped lead efforts to expand remote and hybrid work schedules for employees, as well as helped develop more training opportunities for managers. With DiMartini’s support, GSA piloted recruitment efforts using the Subject Matter Expert Qualification Assessment (SME-QA) process, a method that relies on subject matter experts to vet and screen candidates in a particular field. The agency also partnered with the Office of Personnel Management’s HR Solutions to share certificates for entry-level acquisition talent, under DiMartini’s management.

GSA did not immediately respond to Federal News Network’s request for comment about the decision, or plans for who will take over as the agency’s CHCO.

DiMartini has also served as CHCO at both the Peace Corps and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, as well as the Agriculture Department’s director for human resources enterprise management systems and the Office of Personnel Management’s first-ever career deputy director for the CHCO Council.

DiMartini’s position change means she will no longer serve as part of the CHCO Council, a cohort of federal human capital leaders who help inform workforce policy decisions governmentwide. Trevor Norris, CHCO at the Treasury Department, serves on the council for the overall department that houses IRS.

As IRS HCO, DiMartini’s work will likely involve developing strategies to staff up significantly at the agency. IRS set a goal of bringing in 20,000 new hires by the end of fiscal 2024 in its most recent strategic plan. IRS intends to hire 10,000 employees before the end of this fiscal year, and close to an additional 10,000 employees the following year, mostly in taxpayer services and enforcement positions.

The recruitment plans come as IRS grapples with an aging workforce. IRS employees are, on average, older than the federal workforce overall — which is already at a tipping point for retirement eligibility. At IRS, nearly two-thirds of the workforce will be eligible for retirement in the next six years, with a growing number of newer employees voluntarily resigning. And with the recent $20 billion cut to IRS’ funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, as part of the debt ceiling agreement, the agency’s plans to hire tens of thousands of new feds are less certain.

IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel has said IRS is working on a longer-term hiring plan to strategize workforce growth over the next decade.

“This is a historic time at the IRS, and Traci brings a strong background in human resource management across government that will be a great addition to our leadership team,” Werfel said in an email statement to Federal News Network. “With transformation work underway at the IRS, her experience in future of work initiatives and other projects positions her to help the IRS develop, build and retain a workforce that can help taxpayers and the nation. The IRS team is excited to welcome her to this critical position.”

DiMartini will take over for David Aten, who currently serves as IRS’ acting human capital officer.

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