Supervisory Compliance Specialist

Summary

The Supervisory Compliance Specialist oversees the FSIS Enforcement Operations Staff responsible for administering enforcement of food safety laws. Manages staff, plans and assigns work, establishes performance standards, addresses concerns, develops policies, guides legal actions, makes case determinations, collaborates with other agencies, oversees hearings, ensures regulatory compliance, and protects public health through effective enforcement and litigation.

Duties

• Serves as consultant and authoritative advisor to senior management and program officials.
• Coordinates surveillance investigation, enforcement actions, administrative hearings, legal proceedings, product disposition, and related activities across FSIS and with OGC, OIG, DOJ, and other agencies.
• Provides supervision and oversight of EOS functions and staff by planning and assigning work, establishing guidelines, deadlines, and performance standards. Conducts and reviews performance evaluations to ensure consistent performance management.
• Directs the criminal, civil, and administrative enforcement and litigation programs to enforce Federal Meat, Poultry, Egg Products, and Humane Slaughter statues and related laws and regulations to effectively support and advance organizational goals.
• Ensures effective communication and representation by engaging collaboratively with USDA leadership, Federal and State agencies, senior executives, government attorneys, Federal and administrative judges, regulated industry, and stakeholders.
• Ensures case actions, sanctions, and settlements are timely effective, and appropriate for the offenses committed, legally sustainable, and fully aligned with FSIS statutes, regulations, policies, precedent, and public health objectives.
• Conducts extensive preparation requiring strong understanding of difficult, complex, sensitive, or politically significant issues that impact program operations and FSIS’s public health mission.
• Makes case disposition decisions and recommends sanction recommendations on behalf of FSIS, and referrals for complaints, indictments, and other legal actions to USDA's Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Attorneys, and other authorities.
• Serves as an authoritative technical expert on FSIS statutes, regulations, authorities, policies, and programs providing expert guidance to senior leadership, program officials, and partnering agencies.
• Prepares and executes subpoenas, initiates and supports Federal and administrative litigation, issues warning notices, and carries out a full range of enforcement and legal actions.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. Time in Grade: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet the time in grade requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-14 level) that demonstrates in the following areas: Directing, planning, developing, and implementing criminal, civil, and administrative enforcement and litigation programs covering complex, sensitive, and precedent-setting issues. Interpreting and applying statutes, regulations, legal authorities, sanctions policies, evidentiary standards, and legal precedents in compliance and enforcement actions. Reviewing investigative reports, evaluating case evidence, determining adequacy of documentation, and making enforcement action or sanction recommendations supported by sound analysis. Preparing legal and regulatory documents such as complaints, subpoenas, declarations, settlement agreements, case referrals, and other technical materials required for administrative or judicial proceedings. Representing an agency, program, or other entity in negotiations, settlement conferences, enforcement discussions, and administrative or federal court proceedings. Serving as an expert advisor on enforcement authorities, compliance methodologies, legal processes, and policy interpretation for executives, legal partners, and external agencies. Establishing and maintaining professional liaison relationships with federal, state, and local partners; legal counsel; inspectors general; and regulated industry representatives. Developing policies, procedures, guidance materials, and management controls related to enforcement, litigation, or compliance operations. Overseeing or managing case management systems, ensuring proper documentation, adherence to standards, and timely execution of enforcement and litigation activities. Conducting or overseeing administrative hearings or proceedings associated with violations, grants of inspection, or exemptions from inspection. Providing authoritative recommendations on organizational goals, program improvements, operational changes, resource allocations, and strategic planning for enforcement or compliance programs. Supervising, managing, and directing staff engaged in complex legal, compliance, or enforcement work, including assigning work, evaluating performance, resolving complaints, administering discipline, and identifying training needs. For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here: 1801 Series 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

There are no educational requirements or substitutions for experience for this position.

How to apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments, and required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. Resumes must not exceed two pages. The application process is as follows: Click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status: Click on this: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application. Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable. Please ensure your resume does not exceed two pages. Applicants who submit a resume that exceeds two pages will be removed from consideration.