The positions are located in the Office of Field Operations. This is an open continuous announcement that is used to collect applications for a VRA specific apprenticeship program from applicants and fill vacant positions as they become available. If selected you will serve as an apprentice for one year with eligibility to be converted to a non-temporary appointment upon successful completion of the apprenticeship program.
Summary
The positions are located in the Office of Field Operations. This is an open continuous announcement that is used to collect applications for a VRA specific apprenticeship program from applicants and fill vacant positions as they become available. If selected you will serve as an apprentice for one year with eligibility to be converted to a non-temporary appointment upon successful completion of the apprenticeship program.
This is an open continuous announcement for a one year VRA Apprenticeship Program that will be used to select interested applicants as positions become available. All applicants must be VRA eligible to be considered for the position.
Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
Successful completion of a pre-employment medical examination.
Selectee must be able to obtain and maintain a NACI security clearance. If selected you may be subject to a National Agency Check and Inquiry (NACI).
Selectee may be subject to satisfactory completion of a one year probationary or trial period.
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 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. Your application or resume must clearly show that you possess the appropriate experience requirements.
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 conforms 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 or 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.
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.
For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here.
Education
Education may be used to qualify in lieu of specialized experience.
For the GS-5 level: 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.
Additional information
Shifts, activities, travel and overtime requirements will vary by individual vacancy.
The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Services has authority to recruit and fill Permanent (Career/Career-Conditional) positions under Direct Hire Authority. Under this authority, any U.S. citizen may apply.
Pay rates vary depending on location and may be higher or lower than the amount shown. Please visit the Office of Personnel Management's website for additional information on pay rates.
This position has the potential for mandatory overtime, weekend and holiday work, variable tours of duty, travel and other work life challenges.
If you are retired from the Federal Government and are selected for this vacancy, your retirement annuity may be offset from your pay.
The FSIS Apprenticeship Program is approved for the training of Veterans and other eligible persons under programs administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Veterans may be entitled to education benefits through their GI Bill® or other education benefits when participating in the FSIS Apprenticeship Program.
E-Verify: Federal law requires agencies to use the E-Verify system to confirm the employment eligibility for all new hires. If you are selected as a newly hired employee, the documentation you present for purposes of completing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Form I-9 on your entry-on-duty date will be verified through the DHS E-VERIFY system. Under the system, the new hire is required to resolve any identified discrepancies as a condition of continued employment.
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.
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.
Please click Veterans Policy for further information about veteran specific hiring options.
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.
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.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to provide complete information about their job-related experience and education. Your resume must document that you meet the Qualification Requirements detailed above. Applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements established for the position and geographic location selected will be placed in the Eligible category.
Applications will be evaluated in accordance with Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Qualification Standards. Applicants who meet the basic minimum qualification requirements will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. Placement will be determined based on the applicant's quality of experience and the extent s/he possesses 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 qualified will be referred to the selecting official.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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; and 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 please click here.
College transcripts: If education is required or you are using education to meet a qualification requirement, you must submit a legible copy of your college transcripts. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application; however, it must include student name, school name, and enough information to validate qualifications such as course names, prefixes, grades, semester or quarter credit hours, date degree was award, etc. Further, if you are 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, visit Dept of Education Accredited Schools. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. For a list of private organizations that evaluate education, visit NACES. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.
Documentation showing VRA eligibility
DD-214, Certificate of Release from Active Duty, which shows 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 not later than 180 days after the date the certification is submitted. 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 of 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 more information on veterans preference see https://www.usajobs.gov/help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/veterans/.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
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.
Please read the entire announcement and the instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. The following instructions outline our application process.
You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically. We are available to assist you during normal business hours. Applying online is highly encouraged. If applying online poses a hardship, please contact our office for an alternate method. All electronic and hardship application packages with supporting documents must be complete to be considered.
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 document 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. You must submit a legible copy of your college transcripts, with your application package, showing your conferred degree and/or required coursework, as proof that you meet the educational requirement. 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.
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 2) 1-833-840-9219
Food Safety and Inspection Service
1400 Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20250
US
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.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
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; and 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 please click here.
College transcripts: If education is required or you are using education to meet a qualification requirement, you must submit a legible copy of your college transcripts. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application; however, it must include student name, school name, and enough information to validate qualifications such as course names, prefixes, grades, semester or quarter credit hours, date degree was award, etc. Further, if you are 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, visit Dept of Education Accredited Schools. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. For a list of private organizations that evaluate education, visit NACES. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.
Documentation showing VRA eligibility
DD-214, Certificate of Release from Active Duty, which shows 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 not later than 180 days after the date the certification is submitted. 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 of 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 more information on veterans preference see https://www.usajobs.gov/help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/veterans/.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
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.
Please read the entire announcement and the instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. The following instructions outline our application process.
You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically. We are available to assist you during normal business hours. Applying online is highly encouraged. If applying online poses a hardship, please contact our office for an alternate method. All electronic and hardship application packages with supporting documents must be complete to be considered.
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 document 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. You must submit a legible copy of your college transcripts, with your application package, showing your conferred degree and/or required coursework, as proof that you meet the educational requirement. 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.
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 2) 1-833-840-9219
Food Safety and Inspection Service
1400 Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20250
US
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.
Fair and transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
