Agricultural Commodity Grader (Meat)

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement, including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. FOR THE GS-05 GRADE LEVEL: General experience: Applicants must have three years of progressively responsible experience, one year of which was equivalent in level of difficulty and responsibility to the next lower level in the Federal Service (equivalent to the GS-04 level), experience may have been obtained in the private or public sectors. The experience must demonstrate the ability to: Analyze problems to identify significant factors, gather pertinent data, and recognize solutions. Plan and organize work. Communicate effectively orally and in writing. Experience must provide evidence of the skills shown above. General clerical experience (typing, filing, routine processing, or other non-specialized repetitive tasks) is not creditable. OR 4-year course of study leading to a Bachelor’s degree. Equivalent combinations of education and experience are qualifying for this grade level. FOR THE GS-07 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-05 grade level) that demonstrates: Determine the grade, quality, and/or acceptability of livestock, or food grade product, and/or evaluate the sanitation, refrigeration, other facility procedures of food in production, processing, packing, storage, and/or transportation. This could include examination by sensory evaluation and use of instruments designed for field examination of products (i.e. processing plant, warehouse, livestock operation, food establishment, supermarkets, hotels, or similar workplace) to determine quality against regulations and official standards while maintaining permanent records. OR 1 full year of graduate level education in Agriculture, Mathematics, Engineering, Science, Business, Economics, or a related field. OR Superior Academic Achievement: To qualify based on superior academic achievement, you must have completed the requirements for a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution AND 1) have a class standing in the upper third of the graduating class, 2) membership in a national scholastic honor society (excluding Freshman honor societies), or 3) must meet certain GPA requirements. GPA requirements: 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 as recorded on official transcripts or as computed based on 4 years of education, or courses completed during the final 2 year of the curriculum; OR 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 based on the average of the required course completed in the major field or courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum (GPA will be rounded to one decimal place, e.g., 2.95 rounds to 3.0 and 2.94 rounds to 2.9).Equivalent combinations of education and experience are qualifying for this grade level. TRANSCRIPTS are required if: You are qualifying for the position based on education. You are qualifying for this position based on a combination of experience and education. You are qualifying for this position based on Superior Academic Achievement. This education must have been successfully completed and obtained from an accredited school, college, or university. COMBINATION OF EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE AT THE GS-05/07 GRADE LEVEL: Applicants may have combinations of successfully completed education and specialized experience to meet total qualification requirements. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify for that grade level. 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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
This position is located in the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), Livestock & Poultry Program (LP), Quality Assessment Division (QAD), Grading Services Branch. The incumbent of this position performs the full range of meat grading and quality assurance monitoring duties. A Recruitment Incentive may be available for this Announcement.