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Summary

The incumbent serves as a senior grader for the Specialty Crops Inspection(SCI) Division at an inspection point, processing facility or area office lab, which may involve coordinating the work of other inspection personnel. The selected applicant may perform audit verifications on the production and processes at warehouses, railroad sidings, packing plants, ports of entry, primary production operations, farms and similar facilities.

Duties

• The duties may include, but are not limited to:
• Selects samples from product lots of fresh fruits and vegetables in accordance with prescribed sampling and plans.
• Inspects products to determine the quality, condition, and/or compliance with U.S. Grade Standards or stated contract specifications.
• Prepares inspection reports based on examination of product.
• Draws and examines samples of the finished products of processed fruits and vegetables and determines grade, condition and wholesomeness.
• Makes observations to determine if plant facilities, operating methods, processing equipment and personnel are in compliance with sanitation requirements and regulations.
• Coordinates activities, schedules and work assignments for other inspection personnel assigned to the plant.
• Inspects raw product material to establish the suitability for processing.
• Conducts various audits and prepares audit reports.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a US Citizen or US National.
• Individuals who were born male after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
• 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.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
• Valid state driver’s license is required at the time of application.
• Prior to an official offer, selectee will be required to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) acknowledging/accepting that geographic mobility is a condition of employment. Failure to sign the MOU will result in withdrawal of the job offer.
• MIXED TOUR WORK SCHEDULE: Combination of Full-Time, Part-Time, and Intermittent (as needed) work schedules. No minimum amount of hours is guaranteed. Position will have a fluctuating work schedule.
• Selectee will be subject to a pre-employment medical statement and/or exam.

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.

TIME-IN-GRADE: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled.

For the GS-09 Level: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-07 level) of hands on grading in fruit or vegetables that demonstrates:

– Independently grades and/or inspects fresh and processed fruits, vegetables and related products, including difficult assignments on rare or unusual products.

– Performs the full range of grading and/or inspection tasks involved in directly supplying grading services to producers or members of the trade.

– Inspects products for compliance with all types of contract specifications and recognizes all but the extremely rare product defects or diseases.

– Makes, explains, or defends nearly all grade and/or inspection determinations, only rarely requiring technical assistance in borderline cases.

– Inspects or evaluates complicated processing equipment and procedures, and conditions of storage or transportation, such as is typical of most processed products production, and advises industry employees on product quality control procedures.

OR
Education: Must have a master’s or equivalent graduate degree in Agriculture, Mathematics, Engineering, Economics, Business, Science or related field; or two full years (36 semester hours) of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree.
OR
Combination: You must have a combination of work experience and education as described above which when combined equals to 100% of the requirement. First determine your qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level listed above; then determine your education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level listed above; and then add the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. Only graduate education in excess of one year (i.e., 18 semester hours) may be combined with experience under this standard.

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.
• This education must have been successfully completed and obtained from an accredited school, college, or university

COMBINATION OF EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE AT THE GS-09 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.

Education

This position does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

• Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Reemployment Priority List (RPL): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP or RPL eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP 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 applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.
• Locality pay will vary based upon the selectee’s duty location. A final salary determination will be made upon selection.
• Worksite Information: This position is located at the duty station(s) listed in this vacancy announcement and is not eligible for telework or remote work.
• Ability to work in an environment with exposure to freezing and/or hot temperatures, fumes, dust and odors, slippery surfaces, moving materials, handling equipment, high noise levels and in close proximity to others. The work further requires working on weekends and overtime; traveling for extended periods of time; working multiple shifts and changing/rotating shifts (i.e., first, second and third).
• You must be able to perform work that requires long periods of physical exertion to lift and move boxes, cartons and heavy packages of product (often weighing over 50 pounds); prolonged periods of standing, walking, stooping, bending, and climbing; physical coordination and finger dexterity in at least one hand to perform digital examinations of commodities; normal or corrected vision in at least one eye for distance, depth perception, and color to detect abnormalities in product; the ability to assure safety in a highly-mechanized and/or noisy environment through adequate or correctable hearing; use of both legs, arms and hands to perform carrying, pulling, pushing, reaching above the shoulder, kneeling, grasping, and working with hands in water; and the ability to determine product quality organoleptically (e.g., through sight, smell and/or taste).