Summary You will serves as a Federal Program Manager and provides broad oversight on behalf of Specialty Crops Inspection Division on the technical aspects of the Federal-State shipping point inspection, grading and auditing programs in management territories consisting of several States under provisions of cooperative agreements between the States' Agriculture Departments, or other Cooperator Programs, and Specialty Crop Inspection Division. Responsibilities The duties described are for the full-performance level. At developmental grade levels, assignments will be of more limited scope, performed with less independence and limited complexity. The duties may include, but are not limited to: Plans and conducts reviews of all aspects of the shipping point grading and inspection program to evaluate the respective State Cooperator's compliance with the Federal Quality System Service Standard. Reviews the Cooperator's training programs for prospective licensees and their refresher training programs to ensure that they adequately cover the principles of conduct and grading procedures. Recommends and authorizes qualified licensees to perform supervisory work on behalf of Specialty Crops Inspection Division. Interprets the official specialty crops grade standards and inspection methods, office procedures, visual aids, handbook updates, directives, and other written instructions. Communicates during the inspection season with Cooperator managers in an effort to build, improve and/or maintain relationships. Works with industry officials in determining equitable fees for the various @types of grading services which will provide for the operation of the Federal-State grading inspection service. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement, including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. FOR THE GS-11 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-09 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates: Applying grading standards and/or inspection regulations to make difficult, controversial, and borderline determinations and to recognize and identify extremely rare commodity defects and diseases; Serving as technical expert performing final grading on reviews, making appeal determinations, resolving controversies, or providing broad technical guidance on difficult and controversial grading inspection problems; OR Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related. FOR THE GS-12 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-11 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates: Providing oversight, direction and coordination to operational activities; providing technical supervision to personnel regarding sampling, inspection and certification of fresh and processed fruits and vegetables and specialty crops; Developing new initiatives and processes when programs change; Communicating logically and concisely in both oral and written form when rendering decisions and/or interacting with management, employees and industry. NOTE: There is no education substitution at this grade level. FOR THE GS-13 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-12 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates: Interacting with affiliated managers to supervise the technical aspects of fruit, vegetable and nut inspection; Planning, assigning, organizing, controlling, and coordinating work of self and others on a regional level involving various government agencies in the area of fruit, vegetable and nut commodities; Organizing and planning of one or more programs, providing information, or taking action concerning basic marketing and/or inspection operations pertaining to a broad field of marketing fruits, vegetables and nuts. NOTE: There is no education substitution at this grade level. TRANSCRIPTS are required if: You are qualifying for the position based on education. You are qualifying for this position based on a combination of experience and education. This education must have been successfully completed and obtained from an accredited school, college, or university. COMBINATION OF EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE AT THE GS-11 GRADE LEVEL: Applicants may have combinations of successfully completed education and specialized experience to meet total qualification requirements. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify for that grade level. 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 Please see above for education qualification requirement information. 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. First time hires to the federal government normally start at the lowest rate of the salary range for the grade selected. Locality pay will vary based upon the selectee's duty location. A final salary determination will be made upon selection. Promotion Potential: 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 here. This position involves Mobile Work: Mobile work is characterized by routine and regular travel to conduct work in customer or other worksites as opposed to a single authorized alternative worksite. Examples of mobile work include site audits, site inspections, investigations, property management, and work performed while commuting, traveling between worksites, or on Temporary Duty (TDY).
