Consumer Safety Inspector at USDA-FSIS

Duties

Summary

$5,000 Sign on Bonus, Creditable Service for Annual Leave Accrual, Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, and Referral Bonus Awards are available. Shifts and species will vary based on assignment. For add'l information call Liz Meersman @ 479-717-5012. Employee will primarily work in one plant but may be detailed to any shift at any plant in the Springdale/Jackson District.

Requirements

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement, including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. Specialized experience: Specialized experience is experience that provided you with knowledge of the properties and characteristics of regulated food commodities or other products for human consumption. Such experience may have been acquired in work such as consumer safety inspector or inspection aide, food inspector, public health inspector, quality inspection specialist, or similar position with responsibility for sampling, quality control and sanitation in a food manufacturing or production environment, or similar environment for other ingestible items. See specific grade level specialized experience definitions below. For the GS-05 Level: Applicants must have at least 52 weeks of qualifying experience that provided knowledge of the properties and characteristics of regulated food commodities and substances; such as: meat, poultry, fish, eggs, or other food or beverages for human consumption, or other ingestible substances, such as pharmaceuticals. You are to show in your resume examples such as applying proper techniques for collecting samples and/or performing field tests and examinations (e.g. identifying abnormalities in the product or production environment and recommending corrective actions), developing written reports and/or reporting findings of results orally (e.g. documenting abnormalities in the product or production environment and communicating those findings to others), and/or skill in maintaining effective personal contacts with a variety of individuals (e.g. discussing findings with internal or external contacts regarding the food safety standards established in the production environment), or other similar work making determinations on products for human consumption or the production environment (e.g. ensuring conformance with established standards). Such experience may have been acquired working positions such as consumer safety inspector or inspection aid, food inspector, public health inspector, quality inspection specialist, or other related position. For the GS-07 Level: In addition to the qualifications above, applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-05 level), and incumbents are expected to have performed standard and recurrent duties on an independent basis. Your resume should demonstrate at least 52 weeks of experience in independently carrying out routine, standard assignments on a regular and recurring basis that provided you with knowledge of the properties and characteristics of regulated food commodities and substances; such as: meat, poultry, fish, eggs, or other food for human consumption, and other ingestible substances, such as pharmaceuticals. For the GS-08 Level: Applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-07 level). In addition to the qualifications above, experience must include working with the Federal Meat, Poultry, and Egg Products Inspection Acts in order to inspect meat, poultry and egg products; working with basic SSOP and HACCP principles and practices in order to verify plant HACCP and SSOP responsibilities; performing basic mathematics and elementary statistical concepts and methods to perform testing and sampling procedures; and experience in reaching and interpreting conclusions. For the GS-09 Level: Applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-08 level). In addition to the qualifications above, incumbents are expected to have experience working at a more independent level than lower graded CSIs, which may include duties such as recommending refusal of exports and providing temporary coverage at locations outside of the official duty station. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional, philanthropic, religious, spiritual, community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Please view OPM's Qualifications Standards, Consumer Safety Inspector Series, GS-1862. The duties of a Consumer Safety Inspector are performed in a hazardous working environment. For additional information, please click here. The below requirements are not an all-inclusive list. Failure to fully meet a functional requirement is not automatically disqualifying. THIS POSITION REQUIRES A PRE-EMPLOYMENT PHYSICAL: Position Requirements. Applicants must: Be physically and medically able to efficiently perform the essential job functions, without being a direct threat to themselves and others. Have full range of motion to perform rapid repetitive twisting and working with arms above shoulder level. Be able to stand and walk on slippery and uneven floors and catwalks, and climbing stairs and ladders. Be able to lift, carry, push and pull up to 30 pounds, with occasional lifting of up to 50 pounds. Have manual dexterity of the upper body, including arms, hands, and fingers with a normal sense of touch in both hands. Have good near and distance vision, be free of chronic eye disease and have correctable vision of at least 20/40 in one eye. Have the ability to distinguish shades of color. Any significant degree of color blindness (more than 25 percent error rate on approved color plate test) may be disqualifying. Individuals with some hearing loss and/or requiring hearing amplification will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is the agency in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) responsible for protecting the public's health by ensuring the safety of the Nation's commercial supply of meat, poultry, and processed egg products. USDA is a great place to start or continue your career. For more information visit FSIS. A career with the U.S. Government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Learn more about federal benefits. FSIS offers various recruitment incentives to newly hired eligible Consumer Safety Inspectors (CSI). You may be eligible for one or more of the following: $5,000 Sign on Bonus: Newly appointed only. Creditable Service for Annual Leave Accrual: Calculated to determine the annual leave accrual rate Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program: For more information please visit: PSLF Program $1,000 Employee Referral Bonus Award eligible: Paid to employees who refer applicants who are hired with FSIS. For more information on incentives, see Additional Information.