Food Inspector (Slaughter)

Summary
This position's work schedule will occur at irregular intervals and is not continuous or steady. As an Intermittent Food Inspector applicant, please review the conditions of employment carefully.
Work Schedule: Shift may vary
Species: Cattle
For additional information, contact: Suzette Woerner @ 972-861-7661
This job is open to

• Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)
  Federal employees who meet the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee.
• The public
  U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Duties

• Entry-level Food Inspector positions filled through this announcement generally work in slaughter plants. Our Food Inspectors:
• Examine food animals in privately-owned meat or poultry plants.
• Perform their duties before and after slaughter, guaranteeing that the product is not contaminated.
• Maintain sanitation procedures.
• Are a valued member of a dynamic team that ensures the product is fit to eat and compliant with Federal laws.

Requirements
Conditions of Employment

• U.S. Citizenship required.
• Successful completion of a pre-employment medical examination.
• Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
• Selectee may be subject to satisfactory completion of a one year probationary or trial period.
• Must be at least 18 years of age.
• Be available for on-call work as needed.
• Be available for all shifts and able to report for duty within 1 hour after receiving a request (by phone).
• Provide coverage for in-plant positions within a specified geographic area or plant.
• The number of hours you may work is limited to 1,280 hours in a service year.
• This position is an Excepted Service appointment and doesn't provide benefits.
• Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
• If you are newly hired, the documentation you present for purposes of completing the Department Homeland Security (DHS) Form I-9 on your entry-on-duty date will be verified through the DHS "E-VERIFY" system.
• 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/
• If you are selected, you may need to complete a Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) prior to being appointed to determine suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation.
• False statements or responses on a resume or application can jeopardize employment and may be grounds for disciplinary action, including removal from Federal service.
• Direct Deposit - Per Public Law 104-134 every Federal employee is required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of that employee's choosing.

Qualifications
The duties of a Food Inspector are performed in a hazardous working environment. To experience what it's like to work in a slaughter plant as a Food Inspector, please click here. For additional information about training, please click here. The below requirements are not an all-inclusive list. Failure to fully meet a functional requirement is not automatically disqualifying.
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 climb 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.

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including the following specialized experience and/or education, as defined below.
For the GS-5 level: Applicants must have one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience that was obtained after your 16th birthday. Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the applicant's knowledge, judgment, interpretive ability, and technical skill associated with the production of a finished product which meets all prescribed standards of quality and confirms with approved production methods. Such experience may have been gained in the following:

• Experience in a slaughter or processing plant, or a comparable manufacturing or production activity which prepares food for human consumption. This experience must demonstrate skills in sorting good from bad; applying, interpreting, and explaining standards, making decisions, and communicating with others.
• Experience as a meat cutter/butcher in a wholesale or retail meat/poultry business, provided a full range of responsible duties are performed such as cutting or butchering, sanitation, dealing with customers, meeting customer standards, use of judgment, interpretation of various requirements, and sorting acceptable from unacceptable.
• Quality control or laboratory analytical experience in the food industry or other similar production environments. An example of qualifying experience may be a Veterinary Technician conducting lab tests, assessing animals and/or partial examination of animals, performing necropsies, monitoring animals under anesthesia and administering medications.
• Supervisory responsibilities in the food or livestock industry, which demonstrates the applicant applied and has effective skills in communicating job requirements, evaluating results of work methods or processes, applying instructions, and interpreting standards or regulations. Responsibility for management or supervision of a full scale commercial or industrial livestock or poultry enterprise.
• Commercial restaurant or kitchen chef or cook responsible for proper food preparation, safe food handling and sanitation practices and judgment recognizing abnormalities in food.

OR
Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree in an accredited college or university that included at least 12 semester hours in biological, physical, mathematical, or agricultural sciences. If you are qualifying based on education, you must submit a copy of your transcripts when you apply; failure to do so will result in an ineligible rating. If you are selected for a position, official transcripts must be sent directly from your college, in paper form in a sealed envelope or in a secure, certified official electronic format to our Minneapolis Human Resource Operations Division prior to reporting for duty.
Note: Education is not creditable for positions above the GS-5 level.
For the GS-7 level: For positions above GS-5, applicants must have demonstrated one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression in the organization in which the position is being filled.
Specialized experience is regulatory food inspection work which involved either ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection of red meat animals, poultry, fish, or seafood; or inspection of production of processed products involving red meat, poultry, fish, seafood, or egg products.
This experience must have demonstrated:

• Knowledge of general sanitation practices, laws, and regulations governing the food industry.
• Knowledge of Federal laws and regulations pertaining to fitness of red meat animals, poultry, fish, or seafood for human consumption; or knowledge of Federal laws and regulations applicable to the processing of red meat, poultry, fish, seafood, or egg products; and
• Ability to communicate effectively with supervisors and workers in the food industry.

The resume you provide must demonstrate the required experience as referenced in the announcement or you will be rated as ineligible for GS-7.
For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here.
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
See above, there is no education substitution for GS-7.
Additional information
THIS POSITION REQUIRES A PRE-EMPLOYMENT PHYSICAL. Position Requirements.
This position does not have a regularly scheduled tour of duty. The number of hours worked during one week may fluctuate between 1 to 40 hours and there will be no consistency in the days or hours worked each week.
This announcement may be used to fill additional like vacancies should any occur in the announced duty location(s).
Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployed Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP/ICTAP applications must receive a rating of at least 70 out of a possible 100.
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact: USDA's TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).
It is the policy of the Government not to deny employment simply because an individual has been unemployed or has had financial difficulties that have arisen through no fault of the individual. See more information at: CHCO Council.
Promotion Potential: If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed.
Assignment Restrictions: FSIS Directive 4735.9, Office of Field Operations Assignment Restrictions and Rules on Gifts from Regulated Industry FSIS Directive 4735.9 Revision 2 (usda.gov), sets out the Agency's specific procedures regarding ethical employee conduct, specifically related to employee assignment restrictions and gifts from regulated establishments. Please click on this link and read directive prior to applying.
Veterans Policy

• Benefits
  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. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
  Review our benefits
  Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Applications will be reviewed to determine if they meet the basic qualifications for this position, specifically the specialized experience/education requirements.
Applicants will not be ranked in category or score order. All applications that are verified to meet the basic qualifications will be referred to the selecting official after applying Veterans' Preference.
All answers provided in the online process must be substantiated by a resume and/or college transcripts. If, upon review, it is determined that your resume and/or supporting documents do not support your answer choices, your application may be removed from consideration.
**REMINDER** Applicants - Be sure that experience/education as described on your resume contains accurate and sufficiently detailed information to clearly demonstrate that you have the listed specialized experience/education requirements. All information used to evaluate your application must be received by the closing date of the announcement. Once the position is closed, no additional information will be accepted.
Clicking the link below will present a preview of the application form, i.e. the online questionnaire. The application form link below will only provide a preview and does not initiate the application process. To initiate the online application process, click the "Apply" button to the right.
To view the application form, visit:https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12330247

• Benefits
  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. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
  Review our benefits
  Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
• Required Documents
  As a new or existing federal employee, you and your family may have access to a range of benefits. Your benefits depend on the typ...