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Veterinary Medical Officer (District Veterinary Medical Officer)

Department of Agriculture
Food Safety and Inspection Service
Many Circuits
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Positions are located in the Office of Field Operations, Des Moines District and reports to the District Office with assigned area of in-plant coverage as determined by Agency. This position serves as primary contact for all veterinary duties associated with food safety, animal welfare, foreign animal disease surveillance, ante-mortem and postmortem procedures and dispositions, and export certification.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
06/17/2025 to 06/24/2025
Salary
$105,383 to - $137,000 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Locations
Many vacancies in the following locations:
Denison, IA
Ottumwa, IA
Dakota City, NE
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Employee may be detailed to any shift at any plant within the Des Moines District
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
13
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
FSIS-25-MMP-12750839-TJR
Control number
838898700

Duties

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  • Interpret and analyze guidelines and regulations.
  • Implement guidelines, policies, and regulations to provide personnel support.
  • Conduct research and investigations to make judgments and recommendations.
  • Foster working relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
  • Communicate guidelines and process to plant personnel.
  • Draft recommendations, reports, and guidance documents.
  • Apply veterinary medical concepts, principles, and practices.
  • Perform routine onsite humane handling and good commercial practices.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a US Citizen or US National.
  • Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
  • 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.
  • Must pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, including your rights and responsibilities, visit E-Verify at https://www.e-verify.gov/

Qualifications

Please reference the specific Office of Personnel Management (OPM) qualifications standards for the 0701 Job Series.

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and education, as defined below.

Time in grade: Applicants must have one year of time in grade at the next lower grade to be considered for the next higher grade (e.g. one year at the GS-12 grade level for consideration for the GS-13 grade level).

Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience at the next lower grade to be considered for the next higher grade (e.g. one year at the GS-12 grade level for consideration for the GS-13 grade level).

Your 52 weeks of specialized experience must demonstrate the ability to perform, plan or manage veterinary medical activities. Qualifying experience includes:

  • Experience applying and enforcing policies, practices, and regulations.
  • Knowledge of veterinary medical concepts, scientific literature, and emerging issues related to food safety.
  • Experience in coordination of new or revised veterinary medical policies, methods, or procedures.
  • Experience interpreting and applying the rules, regulations, policies, and procedures of the inspection program such as humane handling, antemortem, postmortem, inspection procedures conducted in slaughter establishments, Hazardous Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP), or Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOP).
  • Experience establishing and maintaining relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
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

In order to meet the basic educational requirements for the GS-0701, applicants must have completed a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree or equivalent degree, i.e., Veterinary Medical Doctor (VMD), obtained at a school or college of veterinary medicine accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education (AVMA). The AVMA website has a listing of all AVMA-accredited veterinary medical schools.

OR

Graduates of foreign veterinary medical schools that are not accredited by the AVMA Council on Education must meet the following requirements: click here

Additional information

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 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.
  • 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.
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, RPL/CTAP 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 applications must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.

This announcement may be used to fill additional like vacancies should any occur in the announced duty location(s).

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. To see more information visit CHCO Council.

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 and competencies listed in this vacancy announcement. Only those highly rated by the subject matter experts will be referred to the selecting official. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the preliminary resume and education (if applicable) reviewrequired for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

  • Accountability
  • Decision Making
  • Oral Communication
  • Organizational Awareness
  • Technical Competence (Veterinary)
  • Written Communication
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 and other application materials 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.

Preference will be applied to applicants who move forward after the pre-certificate evaluation. 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.

To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and assessment questionnaire, this position requires a preliminary resume and education review to evaluate competencies and education required to perform the job.

Note: If after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. 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 view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12750839

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