The incumbent of this position serves as a Federal Program Manager and provides broad oversight on behalf of Specialty Crop 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 the Specialty Crop Inspection Division.
Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement, including specialized experience, as defined below. TIME-IN-GRADE: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. 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 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in Agriculture, Botany, Crop Production, Agronomy, Product Processing, Food Chemistry, Technology, Quality Control, or related disciplines. NOTE: Equivalent combinations of education and experience are qualifying for this grade level. 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.
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:
Evaluates subordinate State Cooperator supervisors’ performance by on-site observation and review of records and informs them when corrective action is necessary.
Approves and verifies the effectiveness of any corrective actions proposed or implemented by the State Cooperator Agencies as a result of the review findings.
Recommends and authorizes qualified licensees to perform supervisory work on behalf of SCI Division.
Provides technical and administrative guidance to Cooperator employees assigned to Terminal Markets or auditing functions within the service area.
Communicates no less than monthly during the inspection season with Cooperator managers in an effort to build, improve and/or maintain relationships.
Collaborates with Cooperator officials and industry leaders in planning and directing existing grading, inspection and certification programs and audit-based verification programs.