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Food Safety Specialist - Washington, DC
Department:
Department Of Agriculture Agency: Food and Nutrition Service Job
Announcement Number:
09-FNS-282P
Food Safety Specialist
Salary Range: 86,927.00 - 113,007.00 USD /year
Open Period: Tuesday, July 21, 2009
to Monday, August 10, 2009
Series & Grade: GS-0601-13/13
Position Information: Full-Time Permanent
Promotion Potential: 13
Duty Locations: 1 vacancy - Washington DC Metro Area, DC
Who May Be Considered:
Applications will be accepted from
U.S. Citizens.
Note: Current permanent Federal employees with
competitive status,
former Federal employees who have reinstatement eligibility, and
individuals who are eligible under
special appointing authorities
may wish to apply under
announcement number XX-FNS-XXX Please refer
to that vacancy announcement for
details on eligibility and how to
apply.
Job Summary:
This position is located in
Alexandria, VA (approximately 6.4
miles outside of Washington, DC).
The mission of the Food and
Nutrition Service (FNS) is to increase
food security and reduce hunger in
partnership with cooperating
organizations by providing children
and low-income people with
access to food, a healthy diet,
and nutrition education in a manner
that supports American agriculture
and inspires public confidence.
FNS employees work at the National
Office in Alexandria, VA, in
seven regional offices, and in
field offices across the country.
They enjoy excellent Federal
career benefits, including:
· Good salaries,
· Opportunities for advancement,
· Paid annual and sick leave,
· A retirement plan,
· Health and life insurance options; and
· Alternative and flexible work schedules.
In addition, FNS provides
excellent opportunities for specialized
training through its own
facilities and outside resources. Career
guidance and on- and off-the-job
training programs are tailored to
an individual employee's needs.
Training programs are designed not
only to help employees perform
present duties, but also to prepare
them for more difficult and
responsible jobs. If you want to
apply
your knowledge and skills to food
program activities that seek to
strengthen America, there is a
challenging and rewarding career
waiting for you with FNS!
This position is targeted for
mission-focused mid-level or
experienced professionals and
requires the incumbent to serve as a
Food Safety Specialist in the
Office of Emergency Management and
Food Safety of the Food and
Nutrition Service.
Who May Apply:
If you are a status candidate, you may be
eligible to apply under
09-FNS-281.
Key Requirements:
- Applicant must be a U.S.
citizen.
Major Duties:
The position is located in the
Office of the Associate Administrator
for Program Service and Support,
Office of Emergency Management and
Food Safety of the Food and
Nutrition Service. The incumbent is
responsible for serving as an
expert on agricultural production and
food industry practices in order
to research and resolve food safety
issues.
Qualifications:
ELIGIBILITY/QUALIFICATION
REQUIREMENTS
Applicants must meet all
eligibility/qualification requirements,
including the following, by the
closing date of the announcement:
Candidates must provide sufficient
documentation at the time of
application to indicate that the
following basic requirements, as
well as additional requirements,
are met. A copy of transcript or
list of college courses
designating semester or quarter hours earned
is recommended. If selected, you
will need to verify that you meet
these requirements before
appointment.
Basic Requirements:
4-year course of study in an
accredited college or university
leading to a bachelor's or higher
degree with major study in an
academic field related to the
health sciences or allied health
sciences, such as biology,
chemistry, food science, food technology,
nutrition or agricultural
sciences, as appropriate to the work of
the position.
Minimum Qualification Requirement:
Specialized Experience:
For the GS-13 level: Fifty-two
weeks of experience at the GS-
12 level, or equivalent, that has equipped
the applicant with the
particular knowledge, skills, and
abilities to perform successfully
the duties of the position. Specialized experience includes
researching and identifying
information related to food safety
sufficient to provide technical
guidance and advice on food safety
issues, as well as respond
appropriately to food safety emergency
situations.
How You Will Be Evaluated:
Once the application process is
complete, a review of your
application will be made to ensure
you meet the job requirements.
To receive further consideration,
you must be qualified and eligible
for this vacancy. Your responses to the required
questionnaire will
be converted to a numeric
rating. This rating is a measure of
the
degree to which your background
matches the following:
· Knowledge of agricultural practices
sufficient to
analyze food safety and/or health
related situations, and make
decisions or determinations about
such situations augmented by a
knowledge of food manufacturing
processes, the food industry, and
food production processes.
· Knowledge of food safety and public
health practices
and principles sufficient to
identify disease risks.
· Skill in writing scientific, educational
and
technical reports concisely and
effectively in order to disseminate
information related to food safety
and its impact on public health.
· Skill in communicating orally and
relating
effectively with a variety of
personnel within and outside the
agency, in order to make
presentations about food safety issues.
· Ability to develop educational materials
in order to
address food safety issues.
To be well qualified, CTAP/ICTAP eligibles must receive a
rating of
at least 85 out of 100.
A review of your resume and
supporting documentation will be made
and compared against your responses
to the occupational
questionnaire. If, after reviewing your resume and/or
supporting
documentation, a determination is
made that you inflated your
qualifications and/or experience,
your score can and will be
adjusted to more accurately
reflect your abilities. Please
follow
instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your
rating.
To
preview questions please click here.
Benefits:
Federal employee benefit
information can be accessed at
www.usajobs.opm.gov/EI61.asp
Other Information:
· All males between the ages of 18 and 25
must be
registered for selective service.
· Retention in this position is subject to
the
successful completion of a
background investigation.
· Federal law requires verification of the
identity
and employment eligibility of all
new hires in the United States.
If your identity and employment
eligibility cannot be confirmed, you
may be terminated.
· Selection(s) may be made from vacancy
announcement
(s) 09-FNS-281, 09-FNS-282P, or from any other
appropriate source.
· Relocation expenses will not be paid.
· This position is covered by a Bargaining
Unit.
· The applicant selected under this
announcement may
be required to serve a one-year
probationary period.
· This announcement may be used to fill one
or more
vacancies.
· Creditable Service for Annual Leave
Accrual: Newly-
appointed employees or employees
reappointed after a break in
service may be eligible to receive
credit toward annual leave
accrual based on prior work
experience. FNS may grant service credit
for prior non-Federal work
experience or active duty uniformed
service that is directly related
to the position being filled.
Creditable service must be
determined prior to the effective date of
the employee's entry on duty. For
more information, contact the
Human Resources Specialist listed
under "Contact Information."
· The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
prohibits
discrimination in all its programs
and activities on the basis of
race, color, national origin, age,
sex, disability, and where
applicable, marital status, family
status, parental status,
religion, sexual orientation,
genetic information, political
beliefs, or because of all or part
of an individual's income is
derived from any public
assistance. (Not all prohibited bases apply
to all programs.) Persons with
disabilities who require alternative
means for communication of program
information (Braille, large
print, audio tape, etc.) should
contact USDA's TARGET Center at
(202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).
· To file a complaint of discrimination,
within 45
days of notification, write USDA,
EEO Counselor, Food and Nutrition
Service, Civil Rights Division,
Room 942-A, Alexandria, VA 22302-
1500, or call (703) 305-2195. USDA
is an equal opportunity employer.
How To Apply:
You are required to apply online
for this announcement. To do
this, complete the following
steps. You must complete this
application process BEFORE this
announcement closes. Resumes will
NOT be accepted via mail or email.
Step 1: Click on the "APPLY
ONLINE" button at the bottom of this
announcement. Follow USAJOBS' instructions to access
your account
and submit your resume. If you are not registered with USAJOBS,
click on the "CREATE YOUR
ACCOUNT NOW!" button to obtain access and
electronically build your resume.
Step 2: Once you select your resume, you will be
redirected to the
CareerConnector website to
complete the application process. If
this is your first time in
CareerConnector, you will be asked to
answer 19 questions related to
your eligibility for Federal
employment. You will be able to update this information
and save it
to your account for future
announcements.
Step 3: Once you have completed
the eligibility questions, you will
be taken directly to the vacancy application
questions. Answer all
of the questions honestly and
thoroughly. Click on the Submit
button once you have completed
your application. The vacancy
questions are available until
11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the
closing date listed on the vacancy
announcement. You must submit
all of your answers before then to
receive consideration. Always be
sure to have a copy of your entire
application emailed to you to
ensure confirmation of receipt.
Once you have submitted your
application, you can check your
status online through your MY
USAJOBS account.
Step 4: Submit all required supplemental
documentation necessary to
be found eligible for this
announcement (see the Required Documents
section). Supplemental documents may be submitted
using one of the
following methods:
FAX: CareerConnector offers a simple solution
that will
electronically attach your
documentation to your online application
for this vacancy
announcement. Simply follow the
"Faxing Supporting
Documentation" instructions,
which will provide you the necessary
cover sheets for each of your
documents so that they will be
correctly submitted to the appropriate
vacancy announcement. The
fax number will be available on
the cover sheet.
OR
UPLOAD: There are two ways in which you can
successfully
upload your supporting
documentation: (1) once you finish answering
the online job announcement
questions, you will be prompted to
upload your document(s). You will be given the choice to either
upload the document or you can
select a document that you've already
loaded on USAJOBS, OR (2) you can
upload a document to an existing
application by logging into your
USAJOBS account profile. Then,
click on "My
Applications" and search for the vacancy. Once you've
located the vacancy, click on the
vacancy and select "Apply On-
line." Move through your
existing application to the Documents page
and select "Upload" in
order to add a document to your application.
Be certain to review your complete
application for confirmation the
document uploaded and click on
"Finished" to return to USAJOBS.
Your complete online application
and any required supplemental
documentation (e.g., DD-214, SF-50 or equivalent) must be
received
by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on
the closing date of this
announcement. It is also your responsibility to ensure
that all
documents are received on time and
that the materials are readable.
Failure to do so will result in your
application being removed
from consideration for this
announcement.
NOTE: When uploading documents, only one
document can be uploaded
under each document heading. If you upload a second document under
the same document heading, the
original upload will be overridden by
the second submission. If you intend to submit two similar
documents (i.e. 2 SF-50s), you must either combine
the two documents
into one PRIOR to uploading or
upload the second document
under "miscellaneous
documents."
If applying online poses a
hardship, please contact us at the
telephone number listed on the
first page of this announcement.
Applicants MUST CONTACT US PRIOR TO
THE CLOSING DATE to speak
to someone who can provide
assistance for online submission.
Requests for extensions will not
be granted.
Required Documents:
**No attempt will be made to
solicit missing materials from
applicants who fail to submit them
by the closing date. Incomplete
applications will not be
considered.**
All applicants are required to
submit the following:
1. An application (examples:
Optional Application for Federal
Employment, OF 612; or resume). The application should address work
experience, training, education,
and awards relevant to the
qualifications requirements. For training or self-development
activities, specify course titles,
classroom hours completed and
dates. The following information must be
included in
your application:
General Information
a. Full Name
b. Mailing Address (including Zip Code)
c. Email Address
d. Phone Number
e. Citizenship
Work Experience Information (If
you do not have work
experience, you must state this in
your application.)
f. Employer Name
g. City/Town, State/Territory/Province
h. Formal Job Title (include
series/grade if Federal)
i. Start/End Dates
k. Average number of hours worked per
week
l. A description of your duties and
accomplishments
m. A description of your related
skills.
Failure to submit a complete
application will result in your
application being removed from
consideration. Do not send
position descriptions.
2. Narrative Responses. Applicants must provide complete and
thorough responses in the
narrative text boxes provided in the
assessment questionnaire. Failure to provide adequate responses
will result in your application
being removed from consideration.
3. For Applicants Claiming
Veterans' Preference: Form DD-214
or other official documentation
from a branch of the Armed Forces or
the Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA). Eligibles claiming 10-point
preference must also submit an
Application for 10-Point Veteran
Preference, SF-15 along with the
required documentation listed on
the back of the form. (For more
information on Veterans' programs,
please see the VetsInfo Guide)
In addition, the following
materials are recommended:
1. A copy of your most recent
performance appraisal, dated within
the last 18 months, including an
evaluation/rating.
2. An official transcript;
statement from the institution's
registrar, dean, or other
appropriate official; or equivalent
documentation. If you are
selected, basic requirements as described
under the
Eligibility/Qualifications Requirements section of this
announcement will be verified with
one of these documents.
For Assistance:
FNS has contracted with the
Treasury's Bureau of the Public Debt
(BPD) to provide certain personnel
services to its organization.
BPD's responsibilities include
advertising FNS vacancies, accepting
and handling applications, and
extending job offers.
For more information, contact the
Human Resources Specialist listed
under "Contact
Information" below.
Anyone needing a reasonable
accommodation for any part of the
application and hiring process may
contact the Human Resources
Specialist listed under
"Contact Information" below.
Contact Information:
Jenny
Green
Phone: 304-480-8352
Fax: 571-258-4254
Email: FESBINQUIRIES@BPD.TREAS.GOV
Or write:
USDA - Food and Nutrition Service
Adminstrative Resource Center
FESB Room A2-F
Parkersburg, WV 26106
Fax: 571-258-4254
What To Expect Next:
You can check the status of your
application at any time by logging
into your "MY USAJOBS"
account. After a review of your
complete
application package has been made,
you will be notified of your
rating and/or referral to the
hiring official. If further
evaluation or interviews are
required, you will be contacted.
The United States Government does not discriminate in employment on the
basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political
affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, age,
membership in an employee organization, or other non-merit factor.
Federal agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with
disabilities where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable
accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should
contact the hiring agency directly. Determinations on requests for
reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.
Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of
Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job
Description.
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