PDF versionJob Summary
A Commodities Specialist serves as a technical liaison between Field Work Units, Districts, and National offices on plant pest and regulatory issues (import, export and domestic), and is responsible for helping to ensure the continuity and quality control for import regulations, foreign regulations, crop production, industry practices, industry groups, inspection methodologies, and pests of concern.
Major Duties
- 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:
- Participates in the full range of commodity inspection, treatment, and certification activities.
- Serves as an authoritative source on all aspects of a particular commodity such as wood, corn, cotton, etc.
- Serves as technical resource for export and trade personnel for impacts and implementation of foreign quarantine regulations for commodities using foreign and domestic agricultural industry practices.
- Determines training needs, and develops, coordinates and conducts training for Field Operations and other PPQ employees, employees of other federal and state agencies and industry personnel.
- Develops and prepares inspection guidelines and manuals for commodities based on pest associations and foreign country requirements.
- Oversees technical commodity-specific issues on a variety of regulatory, export, and trade efforts utilized by PPQ.
- Works with wide range of agency staff to resolve technical issues involving the programs and regulations on the assigned commodity(s).
- Investigates issuances of Phytosanitary Certificates in the assigned commodity for the purpose of verifying documents and to determine adherence to export certification policy and procedures.
- Considers optimal solutions to situation(s) in order to recommend best practices addressing programmatic needs, political sensitivities, etc.
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.
BASIC REQUIREMENT: Degree: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. OR: Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. 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: Work with state, local and/or federal agencies to oversee technical commodity specific issues on a variety of regulatory, export and trade efforts. Agriculture production and commodity management practices for commodity specified below. Knowledge of import regulations, crop production, industry practices and inspection methodologies for pests of concern that are specific to a commodity(s). Analysis and interpretation domestic and foreign quarantine regulations to facilitate movement of US origin commodity(s) Ability to makes decisions which require considerable interpretation of administrative and technical guides. Planning technical approaches and determining the order of priority of individual phases of an assignment. Work with complicated trade issues and adapting and modifying control and quarantine methods and techniques. Oral and written communication among professional, scientific and academic personnel to provide training and exchange biological information necessary to effectively carry out plant pest exclusion involved with commodity(s). ***Read***Each location requires experience with the commodity as specified below. Selections will only be made for the particular location if the applicant has the experience requirements for the commodity listed with that location. Please read carefully before applying: 1 Potato Commodity Specialist needed in; Fort Collins or Aurora, CO or Boise or Idaho Falls, ID 1 Seed Commodity Specialist needed in; Des Moines, IA or Fort Collins, CO or Sacramento, CA 1 Grain Commodity Specialist needed in; Gladstone, MO or Champaign, IL 1 Forest Products Commodity Specialist needed in; Baltimore, MD or Norfolk, VA Equivalent combinations of education and experience are qualifying for this grade level. TRANSCRIPTS are required: This position requires specific coursework or a degree in a specific field to be basically qualified. 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-12 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.
Pay Range
$74,596.00 - $108,422.00