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Food Inspector - $5K sign-on bonus (Orland, CA)

USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service
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Want to make a difference while having opportunities for career growth, excellent benefits, retirement, and opportunities for accelerated promotion and performance bonuses? Join the Food Safety and Inspection Service as a Food Inspector in Orland, CA at USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). The application period closes at midnight on 3/11/24. Apply now via announcement link in USAJobs! -  Click here. 

We offer excellent benefits for you and your family, both Federal and specific to FSIS. We offer opportunities for career path growth, a $5,000 sign-on bonus, accelerated promotion program, Creditable Service for Annual Leave Accrual (CSALA) incentive, referral bonus awards, Public Student Loan Forgiveness Program eligible agency, and more! Typical industry benefits represent 30% of your salary, but FSIS' benefits represent approximately 38% of your salary. View the Federal General Schedule pay scale for more information on step/pay increases (updated annually).

  • FSIS is pleased to offer a $5,000 sign on bonus paid out in one lump sum payment. This recruitment incentive requires a signed two-year service agreement, as well as satisfactory performance and conduct. The service agreement details conditions of receipt and acceptance of the incentive and is provided to new employees prior to entrance on duty. Funds will be collected for any periods of uncompleted service.
  • This position may be eligible for the Food Inspector (FI) Accelerated Promotion Program. This program makes exceptions to the time-in-grade and qualification requirements to allow a single accelerated career ladder promotion to a GS-7 in less than one year. A mandatory training plan must be successfully completed before an individual is eligible to be promoted under this program.
  • Selectees may be eligible for Creditable Service for Annual Leave Accrual (CSALA)
  • Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. For more information please visit: PSLF Program.
  • Recruitment incentives are offered based on agency staffing needs and budgetary availability; service agreements apply. For detailed incentive information see: Career Profiles | 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.

Vacancy Information/Details:

  • Shift may vary
  • Activity: Meat Slaughter
  • Species: Multiple
  • For more info, contact: sukhdeep.sidhu@usda.gov OR suyin.cai@usda.gov
  • Open & closing dates: 2/9/2024 to 3/11/2024
  • Salary: $39,576 - $63,733 per year
  • Pay scale & grade: GS 5 - 7
  • Location: 1 vacancy in Orland, CA
  • Remote job: No
  • Telework eligible:  No
  • Travel Required: 76% or greater - Job may occasionally require travel up to 76% and employee may be detailed to any shift at any plant in the Alameda district
  • Relocation expenses reimbursed: No
  • Appointment type: Permanent
  • Work schedule: Full-time
  • Service: Competitive
  • Promotion potential: 7
  • Job family (Series): 1863 Food Inspection
  • Supervisory status: No
  • Security clearance: Other
  • Drug test: No
  • Position sensitivity and risk: Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
  • Trust determination process: Suitability/Fitness
  • Announcement number: FSIS-24-MCE-12293286-AS
  • Control number: 775829000

Duties

  • Entry-level Food Inspector positions filled through this announcement 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • Should be able to read, speak, write, and effectively communicate in the English language.
  • This is a Bargaining Unit position covered by the National Joint Council (NJC) of Food Inspection Locals

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

  • The announcement will be used to collect applications from applicants and to fill vacancies as they become available. Your application is valid for 90 days following the closing date of the announcement. We are not able to predict if or when vacancies will be filled in specific geographic areas. You will be contacted when a position matching your geographic preference becomes available if you are among the best qualified applicants being considered for a position.
  • This position requires a pre-employment physical: Position Requirements
  • 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.
  • The position advertised in this vacancy announcement offers a referral bonus award of $1,000. More than one award may be given subject to criteria being met. Current FSIS employees may be eligible for this award if they refer an applicant who later enters on duty and works at least 90 days with successful performance and conduct. The referred employee will have an opportunity to list the referring employee during the application process. There are some required restrictions on this award. Ineligible employees include: 1. Employees whose regular, recurring jobs include the recruitment of new employees. 2. Employees who are otherwise excluded from receiving Achievement Awards; 3. Selecting officials or other persons associated with the selection process of the referred employee; and 4. Any of the following relatives of the referred employee: Spouse, or parents thereof; Children, including stepchildren and adopted children, and spouses thereof; Parents, including stepparents; Siblings, including stepsiblings, and spouses thereof; Any individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above. Applications will be evaluated in accordance with Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Delegated Examining Procedures using category rating. Applicants who meet basic minimum qualifications will be placed in one of two categories: Best Qualified or Qualified. Within these categories, applicants eligible for Veterans' Preference will receive selection priority over non-veterans. Category placement will be determined based on the applicant's quality of experience and the extent the possess the following competencies:

  • Communication
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Self-Management
  • Conscientiousness

Your application, including the online Assessment Questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet (a) minimum qualification requirements and (b) the resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions. Your resume must clearly support your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position. Those determined to be in the best qualified category will be referred to the selecting official for 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 competencies. 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.

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.

Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, your rating may be lowered to more accurately reflect the submitted documentation. Please follow instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to and including removal from Federal service.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployed Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. 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.

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, click here.

 

Required Documents

The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, illegible fax transmissions, delays in the mail service, your system failure, etc. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.

Resume that includes: 1) personal information such as name, address, contact information; 2) education; 3) detailed 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); 4) supervisor's phone number and whether or not the supervisor may be contacted for a reference check; 5) other qualifications. If you need assistance in creating a federal resume, click here.

If using education to qualify, you must submit a copy of your college transcripts. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application as long as it includes: student name, school name, and enough information to validate qualifications (course names, prefixes, grades, semester or quarter credit hours, date degree was awarded, etc.). If selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college, or university. Verify accreditation here: Dept of Education Accredited Schools. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit evidence that the institute was accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and is equivalent to U.S. education standards. For a list of private organizations that evaluate education, visit NACES. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

If claiming Veterans' Preference, you must submit a DD-214, Certificate of Release from Active Duty, showing dates of service and discharge under honorable conditions. If currently on active duty, you must submit a certification of expected discharge or release from active duty service under honorable conditions (no later than 120 days after the date the certification is submitted). Enlisted Record Briefs and military identification do NOT qualify as official documentation. The certification letter should be on letterhead of the appropriate military branch of the service and contain (1) the military service dates including the expected discharge or release date; and (2) the character of service. 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 material(s) you submitted.

If claiming 10-point Veterans' Preference, you must provide the DD-214 or certification requirements (see above), plus the proof of entitlement for this preference as listed on the SF-15 (Application for 10-point Veterans' Preference). The SF-15 should be included but 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 information on Veterans' Preference see: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/veterans/.

Surplus or displaced employees eligible for CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP 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), and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application (per 5 CFR 330).

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

Please read the entire announcement and the instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. The following instructions outline our application process.

Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, please 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 noon ET on the closing date of the announcement to be entered into the system prior to its closing.

This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us if you require this for any part of the application and hiring process.

To begin, click "Apply Online" and follow the instructions to complete the Assessment Questionnaire and attach your resume and all required documents.

Step 1: Create a USAJOBS account (if you do not already have one) at www.usajobs.gov. It is recommended that as part of your profile you set up automatic email notification to be informed when the status of your application changes. If you choose not to set up this automatic notification, then you will have to log into your USAJOBS account to check on the status of your application.
Step 2: In your USAJOBS account, you will have the opportunity to select your stored USAJOBS resume, create a new resume or upload a resume, and upload other relevant documents. All uploaded documents must be less than 3MB and in one of the following formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, or Word (DOC or DOCX). See "Required Documents" for details. Select the document you want to submit.
Step 3: Click "Apply Online," answer all required questions, verify the documents you selected from USAJobs transferred into the Agency's staffing system, and attach any additional documents that may not have transferred or be required. If qualifying based on education, you must submit a legible copy of your college transcript(s), with your application package, showing your conferred degree (if any), as proof that you qualify based on education. If you have not yet graduated, submit your current transcript.

NOTE: It is an applicant's responsibility to submit updated information. You can update your application or documents anytime while the announcement is open. Simply log into your USAJOBS account and click on "Application Status." Click on the position title, and then select "Update Application" to continue.

NOTE: Please 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.

If you do not have access to the Internet, you are strongly encouraged to visit your library, state employment office, or another establishment that provides internet service to complete the online application and the assessment questionnaire. If this is not an option, refer to the Alternative Methods for Applying section below for specific instructions.

Alternative Methods for Applying: If you are unable to apply using the internet, please fax your request for an application package along with your name and mailing address to: HR (Branch 1) 1-833-840-9220.

Agency contact information

Merri Stellburg

Phone: 612-852-7655

Email: merri.stellburg@usda.gov

Address:

Food Safety and Inspection Service

1400 Independence Ave SW

Washington, DC 20250

US

Learn more about this agency

 

Next steps

Your application will be reviewed to verify that you meet the eligibility and qualification requirements for the position prior to issuing referral lists to the selecting official. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted. Log into your USAJOBS account to check your application status.

We expect to make a final job offer approximately 40 days after the deadline for applications.