This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional similar vacancies. VACANCY INFORMATION: (Fargo, ND) Consumer Safety Officer (EIAO) SJ-541, GS-0696-11/12 Headquarters Est. M7610, Fargo Packing Company. Shift: Monday to Friday, 7 AM to 3:30 PM. Activity: Food Safety Assessments, Investigation and Outreach, recall effectiveness checks. Employee may be detailed to any shift at any plant in the Des Moines district. For add. information, contact: Dr. Randy Kumpost 515-480-8070.

Duties

Performs comprehensive assessments of the design of a slaughter or processing plant’s individual control systems to make an overall food safety assessment Conducts product and environmental sampling and send the samples to a laboratory for verification analysis. Conducts complex inquiries into alleged or apparent irregularities associated with in-plant administrative or civil enforcement matters, particularly those related to the safety of meat, poultry and egg products produced at official establishments. Prepares reports of investigative findings concerning violations of meat, poultry, and egg product inspection regulations Makes recommendations to the Raleigh District Office regarding enforcement actions and assists with the preparation of enforcement related documentation Analyzes corrective actions submitted by plant officials in response to notices of intended enforcement and suspension actions. Obtains information from plant officials and FSIS inspection personnel regarding potential adulterated or misbranded products.

Requirements

• You must be a US Citizen or US National.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt (see https://www.sss.gov/Home/Registration).
• Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
• Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served.
• Direct Deposit: Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
• Must pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, including your rights and responsibilities, visit E-Verify at https://www.e-verify.gov/

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. Specialized experience: In order to meet the specialized experience requirement, you will need to have completed 52 weeks of progressively responsible specialized experience at or equivalent to the next lower grade level. This experience may be gained under GS, PHHRS, another pay band system, or any combination of GS, pay band, or other experience. Specialized experience is defined as under supervision and/or guidance from senior personnel, verify safety systems for the production of products intended for consumption (e.g., food, pharmaceuticals, drinking water, biological specimens, etc.). This may include verifying of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans, Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOPs), Sanitation Performance Standards (SPS), Sanitation, pathogen reduction verification procedures, food security verification procedures, and other consumer protection activities (e.g., economic adulteration and misbranding, E. coli or Salmonella reduction procedures, etc.), or any interactions of these systems. This may also include experience working with federal or state regulatory requirements and enforcement actions, applying investigative methodology, documenting case files for administrative or civil enforcement actions including the collection of evidence and testimonies, implementing or monitoring recall activities and/or consumer complaints, assessing the comprehensive design and/or implementation of food safety systems, assessing microbiological sampling and testing programs, and/or monitoring quality control procedures within a food safety environment. Slaughter experience is NOT considered specialized experience. To qualify for the GS-11: 52 weeks or more of specialized experience at the next lower grade level (generally, the GS-9 level). Education can be used in lieu of specialized experience as defined below: 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree OR A combination of education and specialized experience - the minimum education requirement of courses consisting of at least 30 semester hours in the fields of study described above, plus appropriate experience and additional education. To qualify for the GS-12: 52 weeks or more of specialized experience at the next lower grade level (generally, the GS-11 level). Specialized experience is defined as independent and regular responsibility for verifying safety systems for the production of products intended for consumption (e.g. food, pharmaceuticals, drinking water, biological specimens, etc.). In addition to meeting the specialized experience (as stated for the GS-11), your experience for the GS-12 may come from food processing, manufacturing practices, statistical process control, microbiological testing, laboratory analytical procedures, and/or other technical areas that might affect food safety. 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.

Education

This position has a minimum education requirement to qualify at either of the advertised grades. All applicants need to meet the minimum education requirements for this position. The minimum education requirement is:

A bachelor's or graduate/higher level degree in quality assurance or a related degree that included at least 30 semester hours of related course work (i.e. consumer laws, biological sciences, food science, chemistry, pharmacy, physical sciences, food technology, nutrition, medical science, engineering, epidemiology, veterinary medical science, legal investigations, law enforcement, or related scientific fields that provided knowledge directly related to consumer safety officer work). The 30 semester hours may include up to 8 semester hours in statistics, or course work that included the principles, theory, or practical application of computers or computer programming.

OR

Combination of education and experience - courses consisting of at least 30 semester hours in the fields of study described in the paragraph above, plus appropriate experience (as described under the Qualifications section) or additional education.

Please view OPM's Qualifications Standards, Consumer Safety Series, GS-0696.

Contacts

• Address Food Safety and Inspection Service 1400 Independence Ave SW Washington, DC 20250 US
• Name: Annie Kuseske
• Phone: 612-852-7636
• Email: [email protected]