Yes I understand this is a tricky one, since you rarely have a company "section" in the U.S.  Yet "department manager" or "division manager" may be misleading, since that is closer to 部長 at one level above.

課長 is sort of a trial-level managerial position, to see if you have what it takes to be among big boys - an impressive feat if you get to it before 30. (In a central government job, it's not uncommon for 課長 to be in charge of dozens of employees and multiple departments - so that would be a huge deal.) Below that is 係長, which would be close to a team lead and lower in status.

So I would say not to confuse U.S. audience, 課長レベル is closest to "group manager-level" or "department lead-level" in a corporate setting. (Hyphenated since nouns are being used as an adjective.) In this context, it would be "group manager-level staff" as they are talking about person(s) to which they'd grant the coveted leadership position.

FYI, Financial Services Agency (金融庁) has simply called 課長クラス(similar to 課長レベル) "manager-class employees" vs. "executive director-class officials" (取締役クラス) in their translated document (ref link below), so you could just say "manager-level" if no precise distinction is required. (Of course in the U.S. too, it all depends on the company/context... Microsoft calls that level manager "director.”)

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Note added at 13 hrs (2014-12-17 03:55:05 GMT)
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Sorry, should've said "person(s) to whom..." and not "person(s) to which."