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Program Analyst

Department of Agriculture
Food Safety and Inspection Service
REGULATIONS DEVELOPMENT STAFF

Summary

This position is in the Regulations Development Staff (RDS) of the Office of Policy and Program Development. RDS has primary responsibility for the analysis and development of all FSIS regulations published in the Federal Register and subsequently incorporated into the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

This vacancy is also being announced concurrently with vacancy announcement FSIS-26-MCE-12981158-JKM under Pathways (Recent Graduates Program) procedures.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Posted yesterday · Apply by 07/07/26
Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on July 7, 2026
Location
Few vacancies in the following locations:
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Salary
$90,234 - $154,280 per year

Salary may vary based on duty station.

Pay scale & grade
GS 12 - 13
Promotion potential
13
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
No
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Other
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
FSIS -26-MMP-12988916-TMP
Control number
873911400

Duties

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  • Develop regulations for food safety and consumer protection activities, including drafting instructions for field staff and regulatory programs.
  • Plan, coordinate, and execute the development, clearance, and publication of new FSIS regulations.
  • Collaborate with subject matter experts to create the form and content of regulations, directives, and notices.
  • Implement innovative approaches to regulatory activities to enhance the quality of FSIS regulations.
  • Analyze industry issues and developments affecting meat, poultry, and egg products, recommending changes to FSIS program operations and regulatory requirements.
  • Determine necessary regulatory actions and instructions for FSIS personnel after operational changes are planned.
  • Schedule and carry out the implementation of regulatory actions ranging from straightforward to complex rulemaking.
  • Draft regulations with clear and legally sufficient expressions of FSIS program requirements and policies.
  • Oversee the development and writing of directives and notices, resolving conflicts and ensuring consensus among management officials.
  • Provide analytic and evaluative assistance to improve FSIS regulatory analysis and development functions by investigating and disseminating regulatory initiatives and studies.
  • Propose improvements to FSIS regulatory documents, including readability enhancements and incorporation of graphics, charts, and tables.
  • Inform FSIS management of regulatory and strategic initiative progress through briefing papers and personal briefings.
  • Coordinate with FSIS staff on public affairs and congressional relations related to regulatory initiatives.
  • Assist in setting up new FSIS regulatory programs or significantly impacting the implementation of existing programs.
  • Evaluate public comments on proposed regulations, recommend appropriate changes, and coordinate review of responses by program staff.
  • Work closely with the Office of the General Counsel to resolve legal issues in proposed regulations and consult with relevant stakeholders to address concerns.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a US Citizen or US National.
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
  • May be required to successfully complete a probationary or trial period, unless previously served. Refer to the Next Steps section for more information.
  • 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/.
  • False statements or responses on a resume or application can jeopardize employment and may be grounds for disciplinary action, including removal from Federal service.
  • 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.

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 the time in grade requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled (e.g. one year at the GS-11 grade level for consideration for the GS-12 grade level).

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: To be considered minimally qualified for this position, you must demonstrate that you have the required specialized experience for the respective grade level in which you are applying. Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience must be described for grade level advertised. The specialized experience requirements for this position are:

At the GS-12 level, applicants must demonstrate one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level that includes particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. This experience must include all of the following or equivalent:

  • Drafting proposed and final rules and other Federal Register documents, ensuring they are accurate, complete, and compliant with agency standards and procedural requirements.
  • Conducting research and analysis of statutes, regulations, policy documents, prior rulemakings, and program information to develop the rationale and content for regulatory documents.
  • Drafting written responses to stakeholders, such as petition responses, that clearly explain statutory and regulatory requirements, agency policy, and program processes.
  • Drafting guidance for industry and drafting internal instructions, such as notices or directives, that communicate regulatory or program requirements.
  • Serving as the lead for dockets, coordinating with economists, risk assessors, policy analysts, and technical specialists to obtain and incorporate needed information.
  • Planning and managing regulatory projects, including establishing timelines, tracking milestones, coordinating reviews, resolving routine drafting issues, and preparing materials for clearance.
  • Collaborating with legal counsel to address comments or revisions needed to ensure documents comply with the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and other statutory or procedural requirements.
  • Preparing memos, briefings, reports, and decision materials that communicate regulatory issues, analytical findings, and policy context to leadership.

At the GS-13 level, applicants must demonstrate one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 level that includes particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. This experience must include all of the following or equivalent:
  • Drafting significant proposed and final rules that involve novel policy issues or have greater economic or programmatic impact, producing work that generally requires limited supervisory revision.
  • Conducting complex research and analysis of statutes, regulations, policy documents, public comments, and technical information to address challenging or emerging regulatory issues and develop the rationale and content for regulatory actions.
  • Preparing written responses to stakeholders, such as petition responses, that clearly explain statutory and regulatory requirements, agency policy, and program processes, including those involving more complex or sensitive matters.
  • Leading the development of guidance for industry and internal instructions, such as notices or directives, ensuring content is clear, accurate, and aligned with regulatory requirements, including for more complex or high-priority topics.
  • Serving as the lead for significant dockets, coordinating with economists, risk assessors, policy analysts, and technical specialists to ensure all components supporting the rule are completed accurately, consistently, and on schedule.
  • Managing significant regulatory projects, including planning work, monitoring timelines, identifying and addressing complex drafting or coordination challenges, and ensuring documents are ready for internal and external clearance.
  • Collaborating with legal counsel to confirm that significant documents comply with the APA and other statutory or procedural requirements.
  • Preparing memos, briefings, reports, and decision materials for leadership that present complex regulatory issues, alternatives, impacts, and recommended actions clearly and effectively.
For positions with a career ladder up to GS-13, specialized experience is progressively more demanding at each level and must clearly demonstrate increasing technical knowledge, independence, and responsibility related to drafting regulations, analyzing program issues, and developing instructions or policy documents.

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

To qualify for a GS-0341-12/13 position, you must meet the specialized experience; there is not education substitute for this grade.

For definitive requirements, please refer to the OPM Administrative Officer Series (0343) standards

Additional information

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment 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 applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.

Veterans who are preference eligible or who have been separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions after three years or more of continuous active service are eligible for consideration under the Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA).

Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Employees: Permanent County employees without prior Federal tenure who are selected for a Civil Service position under Public Law 105-277 will be given a career-conditional appointment and must serve a 1-year probationary period.

For more information on applying under special hiring authorities such as the Veterans Recruitment Appointment (VRA), 30 percent disabled veterans, certain military spouses, Schedule A Disabled, etc., explore the different Hiring Paths on the USAJOBS website.

This position is being concurrently announced under Pathways Announcement Number FSIS-26-MCE-12981158-JKM. This announcement is open to all qualified candidates. Applying to both announcements may expand the possibilities of consideration since different referral criteria apply to each type of announcement. See the above announcement for more information.

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.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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 based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

  • Accountability
  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Flexibility
  • Influencing/Negotiating
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork
  • Decision Making
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reasoning
  • Written Communication

The assessment includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

Your application, 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. In addition to the online questionnaire, applicants for this position will be evaluated by one or more subject matter experts. If a panel is conducted, subject matter experts may review your resume to determine your qualifications and assign a rating based on the required competencies. Please ensure that your resume does not simply list job duties but also highlights accomplishments that demonstrate possession of the required competencies. Applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements and are determined to be among the best qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. Non-Competitive candidates and applicants under some special hiring authorities need to meet minimum qualifications to be referred.

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 all 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 including removal from the Federal service.

To preview the application questionnaire, click the following link:https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12988916

Food Safety and Inspection Service

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is the agency in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) responsible for protecting the public's health by ensuring the safety of the Nation's commercial supply of meat, poultry, and processed egg products.

For more information on USDA and the Food Safety and Inspection Service, visit FSIS.

Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.

Agency contact information

Tiffany Pescini
Phone
612-852-7764
Email
tiffany.pescini@usda.gov
Address
Food Safety and Inspection Service
1400 Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20250
US

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