Consumer Safety Inspector

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: Time-In-Grade: Applicants must meet requirements for one year at the next lower grade to be considered for the next higher grade. (e.g. one year at the GS-07 grade level for consideration for the GS-08 grade level.) Specialized experience: Experience may have been acquired in work such as consumer safety inspector or inspection aide, food inspector, public health inspector, quality inspection specialist, or similar position with responsibility for sampling, quality control and sanitation in a food manufacturing or production environment, or similar environment for other ingestible items. 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. See specialized experience definitions below. For all grade levels: This experience should encompass at least two of the following areas: Skill in applying proper techniques for collecting samples and performing field tests and examinations, Skill in developing written reports and reporting findings or results orally, Skill in maintaining effective personal contacts with a variety of individuals. (GS-5) Applicant must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to at least the GS-04 level). Specialized experience includes: experience gained under close supervision 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-7) Applicant must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to at least the GS-05 level). Specialized experience includes: In addition to the qualifications above, incumbents are expected to perform 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, or other ingestible substances, such as pharmaceuticals. (GS-8) Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-07 level). Specialized experience includes: In addition to the qualifications above, 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 HAACP 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) Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to at least the GS-08 level). Specialized experience includes: In addition to the qualifications above, incumbents are expected to have experience working at a more independent level than lower graded CSIs, such as recommending refusal of exports and providing temporary coverage at locations outside of the official duty station. Please view OPM’s Qualifications Standards, Consumer Safety Inspector Series, GS-1862. The duties of a Consumer Safety Inspector are performed in a hazardous working environment. For additional information, 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 mentally able to efficiently perform the job functions, without hazard 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 climbing 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. Must 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.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program: For more information please visit: PSLF Program Shifts and species will vary based on assignment. For additional information call Sonja McDonald at 919-326-5279 or Sonja.McDonald@USDA.GOV. This position covers plants in Norma NJ. Employee may be detailed to any shift at any plant in the Raleigh District.