Food Safety and Inspection Service
Consumer Safety Inspector
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Summary
You 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. Your experience should be acquired working in positions such as consumer safety inspector or inspection aid, food inspector, public health inspector, quality inspection specialist, or other related positions. GS-5: You 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. Your resume must show 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). Your experience should 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. GS-7: In addition to the qualifications above, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level, and you must 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. GS-8: You must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 level. In addition to the qualifications above, your 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. GS-9: You must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-8 level. In addition to the qualifications above, you must 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. Follow this link for more information on OPM's qualifications standards for the CSI position: Consumer Safety Inspector Series, GS-1862
Major Duties
YOU WILL/MAY:
Ensure that regulated establishments produce a safe product by executing appropriate inspection methods, determining non-compliance with regulatory requirements, documenting noncompliance and initiating enforcement action, where warranted.
Verify that meat and poultry slaughter and/or processing establishments’ Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOPs) and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans meet regulatory requirements
Verify that an establishment’s Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOPs) and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans effectively prevent unsanitary conditions and adulteration of products
Review records, observe plant operations, and conduct hands-on verification to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. You will also prepare detailed records of non-compliance with regulatory requirements
Determine when regulatory control action is necessary. You will assess whether the plant's corrective or preventative actions are acceptable and effective, if there are trends in non-compliance, or if enforcement action is warranted.
Conduct regulatory oversight activities inside plants in matters relating to other consumer protections (e.g., economic adulteration and misbranding).
Have contact with plant managers, owners and others to explain legal and regulatory requirements, discuss operation of the plant's SSOP, HACCP plan and other food safety programs.
Communicate and defend determinations on non-compliance issues and discuss plans for addressing non-compliance.
Work with a variety of individuals to resolve problems, clarify differences of interpretation concerning HACCP and other food safety or consumer protection requirements.
Advise other Agency inspectors, supervisors and officers on inspection and enforcement matters for which you are involved.
Perform sampling, complete surveys and conduct tests to obtain pertinent data on potential problem areas, industry trends, or other issues of current interest to the Agency
Perform health and safety verification sampling and tests for detection of specific microbes (e.g., salmonella, listeria, etc.), residues or contaminants
Assure that products approved for import are in full compliance with all applicable Federal regulations governing the importation of meat and poultry products.
Authorize the entry of all meat or poultry products that must comply with Federal regulations or refuse entry of any products which violate the requirements for admission into this country
Coordinate with other Federal agencies (e.g., the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service or U.S. Customs and Border Protection) on such matters as animal health restrictions and refused entry lots.
Required Documents
The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required legible documents may result in loss of consideration. Resume Your resume cannot be longer than two pages and must include the following: Personal information: name, address, contact information Education Work experience related to this position as described in the major duties including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; title, series, grade (if applicable); other qualifications. Your application may be disqualified if you include any of the information listed here: What should I leave out of my resume? Follow this link more information on writing a resume for a federal job: Writing a federal resume Transcripts: If you are using education to qualify, you must submit a copy of all relevant college transcripts. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application if it includes your name and the necessary course information; however, if you are selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Education must have been obtained from an accredited school, college or university If your education was completed at a foreign institution, you must submit evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation, and a fee is normally associated with this service. For a list of private organizations that evaluate education, visit the NACES website. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation Veterans' Preference: To claim Veterans' Preference, you must submit a DD-214, Certificate of Release from Active Duty, which shows dates of service and must show you were discharged under honorable conditions. If you are currently on active duty, you must submit a certification of expected discharge or release from active-duty service under honorable conditions not later than 120 days after the date the certification is submitted. Veterans' Preference must be verified prior to appointment. Without this documentation, you will not receive Veterans' Preference, and your application will be evaluated based on the materials you submit. If you claim 10-point Veterans' Preference, you must provide the DD-214 or certification requirements and proof of entitlement as listed on the SF-15 Application for 10-point Veterans' Preference. The SF-15 should be included but it is not required. Failure to submit these documents could result in the determination that there is insufficient documentation to support your claim for 10-point preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference visit FedsHireVets. CTAP, ICTAP, RPL: Surplus or displaced employees eligible for CTAP, ICTAP or RPL priority must provide: Proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination) SF-50 documenting separation (as applicable) that also shows your position, grade and duty station. Current performance appraisal with rating of at least "Fully Successful" or equivalent, and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required and legible documents may result in loss of consideration.
How to Apply
Read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., ET, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than 12:00 p.m. ET on the closing date of the announcement. Applicants who submit a resume that exceeds two pages will be removed from consideration. This agency provides reasonable accommodations (RA) to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. Contact the Agency Contact listed on this announcement to request an RA. To begin, click "Apply" and follow the instructions to complete the assessment questionnaire and attach your resume and all required documents. Verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBS transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable. We are not responsible for incompatible software or system failure, etc.