Agricultural Commodity Grader; Dairy

In this position you will serve as an Agricultural Commodity Grader responsible primarily for conducting plant survey inspections of dairy processing plants by evaluating plant premises, equipment, operations, and products to determine compliance with official specifications/requirements and eligibility for official plant approval status. You may also perform grading and inspection of dairy food products.

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement, including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below.

Applicants must have three years of general progressively responsible experience, one year of which was equivalent in level of difficulty and responsibility to the next lower level in the Federal Service (equivalent to the GS-04 level) (experience may have been obtained in private or public sectors), that demonstrates the ability to:

• Identify problems, gather pertinent data, or recognize solutions.
• Plan and organize work.
• Utilize office software such as:
  Adobe, Excel, Word.

Experience must provide evidence of the skills shown above. General clerical experience (typing, filing, routine processing, or other non-specialized repetitive tasks) is not creditable.

Successfully completed a 4-year course of study, from an accredited college or university, leading to a bachelor's degree.

Equivalent combinations of education and experience are qualifying for this grade level.

Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-05 grade level) that demonstrates:

• Evaluating sanitary procedures such as processing and packaging of commodities, plant facilities, and or equipment.
• Recognizing, identifying, and describing common product characteristics relevant to the products graded such as taste, smell, color, shape, or texture.
• Experience preparing inspection reports.

OR
OR 1 full year of graduate level education in Agriculture, Science. Biology, Dairy Science, Dairy Processing, Animal Science, Food Science, Food Processing, or related subjects;

OR
Superior Academic Achievement: To qualify based on superior academic achievement, you must have completed the requirements for a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution AND
1) have a class standing in the upper third of the graduating class,
2) membership in a national scholastic honor society (excluding Freshman honor societies), or
3) must meet certain GPA requirements. GPA requirements: 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 as recorded on official transcripts or as computed based on 4 years of education, or courses completed during the final 2 year of the curriculum; OR 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 based on the average of the required course completed in the major field or courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum (GPA will be rounded to one decimal place, e.g., 2.95 rounds to 3.0 and 2.94 rounds to 2.9).

Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-07 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates:

• Inspection of agricultural commodities.
• Inspecting processing equipment and procedures used in the production of agricultural products.
• Conducting plant surveys and providing feedback to plant management.

OR Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in Agriculture, Science. Biology, Dairy Science, Dairy Processing, Animal Science, Food Science, Food Processing, or related or LL.B. or J.D., if related

Equivalent combinations of education and experience are qualifying for this grade level.