This position is located in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Office of International Affairs, Trade, and Commerce (IATC) with 29 vacancies in Kingman, AZ, Long Beach, CA, Seattle, WA, Hollywood, FL, Gloucester, MA, Hampton, VA, Indianapolis, IN, Pascagoula, MS, and Seffner, FL.
Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy BASIC REQUIREMENTS: This position has a positive Education Requirement in addition to at least one year of Specialized Experience OR substitution of education for experience OR combination (if applicable) in order to be found minimally qualified. Transcripts must be submitted with your application package. You MUST meet the following requirements: A. Education: A bachelor's or graduate/higher level degree in quality assurance or a related degree that included at least 30 semester hours in one or a combination of the following: consumer laws, biological sciences, food science, chemistry, pharmacy, physical sciences, food technology, nutrition, medical science, engineering, epidemiology, veterinary medical science, legal investigations, law enforcement, or related scientific fields that provided knowledge directly related to consumer safety officer work. The 30 semester hours may include up to 8 semester hours in statistics, or course work that included the principles, theory, or practical application of computers or computer programming. OR B. Combination of education and experience: courses consisting of at least 30 semester hours in the fields of study described in paragraph A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government. 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. To qualify at ZP-01 (GS-05) grade level: At this level, applicants that meet basic education requirements for the series are considered qualified for the position for grades GS-01 through GS-05 and ZP-01 for professional and scientific positions is two grade intervals with max equivalent grade of GS-05 at the ZP-01 level. To qualify at the ZP-2 (GS-07) level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements above, applicants must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZP-1 or GS-05 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following: Participating in performing food inspections; and Assisting in the review of records of food processing facilities inspections. OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION: One year of graduate-level education. OR SUPERIOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT (S.A.A): S.A.A. is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership: Class standing -- Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses. Grade-point average (G.P.A.) -- Applicants must have a grade-point average of: 2.9 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2years of the curriculum. Grade-point averages are to be rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9. 3. Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society -- Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies listed below. Agencies considering eligibility based on any society not included in the following list must ensure that the honor society meets the minimum requirements of the Association of College Honor Societies. Membership in a freshman honor society cannot be used to meet the requirements of this provision. OR COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: A combination of education and experience as described above.
This position is also announced under vacancy number NMFS IATC-25-12618240-ST, which is open to Status Candidates. You must apply to both announcements if you want to be considered for both. Because of the level of interest anticipated for these positions, you will be asked to select up to three duty locations for which you wish to receive consideration. You are encouraged to choose carefully and please select only those locations where you would be willing to accept a position. You may wish to consider such things as the cost of living in the duty location(s) you select. You will be referred for only those locations you choose and for which you are within reach for consideration. If you are selected you may or may not receive offers for all locations you choose. This is an open continuous announcement. The open period is 12 months. Applications will be reviewed on the established cut-off dates: December 6, 2024; January 21, 2025; March 7, 2025; April 21, 2025; June 5, 2025; July 21, 2025; September 4, 2025; and October 20, 2025. NOTE: The period of eligibility for applications is through each cut-off date. The agency will issue a list of eligible applicants at each cut-off date to hiring officials within the period of eligibility. Applicants will not need to reapply to be considered. If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses you provided in your online questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation before the vacancy closes, you may be rated 'ineligible', or 'not qualified'. If this occurs, you are eligible to reapply to a future cut-off date. If you have previously declined an offer, in order to be considered for future cutoff dates, your application must be updated. As a Consumer Safety Officer, you will perform the following duties: Conduct audits of seafood processing facilities and vessels to evaluate conformity with regulations, program policy, and industry standards for ensuring safe, healthy and quality seafood products in manufacturing processes. Perform inspections of raw and processed seafood products to evaluate the safety, quality, and health of the products in accordance with regulations, grade standards, program policy, and item descriptions or specifications. Support implementation of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) process in facility audits and inspections to identify violations, recommend corrective actions, and develop HACCP and quality management programs in processing plants and vessels in compliance with regulations and program policy. Note: The duties described above are at the ZP-2 level and the ZP-1 is the developmental grade level leading to such performance. The full performance level for this position is a ZP-3. CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT: Incumbent must possess a valid driver's license to travel to seafood processing locations, and/or transport samples for inspection, on a regular and recurring basis. Must be able to lift 50 pounds or more. Must possess and utilize sensory abilities (sight, smell, taste) which are capable of detecting and identifying abnormalities (defects) in product characteristics. Incumbent may be required to travel 25% or greater both domestically and internationally to perform inspections and audit services. This position requires the operation of a Federal motor vehicle. This position has physical requirements. This position requires the submission of a Financial Disclosure Form, OGE-450.