Federal

EXECUTIVE ASSOCIATE FOR REGULATORY OPERATIONS

Food Safety and Inspection Service ยท Department of Agriculture
๐Ÿ“ Springdale, Arkansas ES-00 $192,332 - $204,121/yr
Posted: Mar 25, 2026 Deadline: Apr 15, 2026 (Closes in 11 days days left)

About This Position

This position is designated as SES, Career Reserved. USDA structures its SES positions into position levels. This is a position level 1 with a salary range of $192,332 - $204,121 per year. Exceptions to the salary cap may be considered in certain circumstances. SES employees are also eligible to receive bonuses and performance-based awards. Visit http://www.opm.gov/ses/ for additional information and benefits for SES employees.

Qualifications

The application process used to recruit for this position is RESUME-ONLY. DO NOT submit separate Executive Core Qualifications/Technical Qualifications in lieu of a resume. Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Candidates will not be hired based on their race, sex, color, religion, or national origin. To meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position, you must show that you possess the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ) and Technical Qualifications (TQ) related to this position within your resume - NOT TO EXCEED 2 PAGES using 0.8-inch margins and 11-point font. Resumes over the 2-page limit, will not be reviewed beyond page 2 or may be disqualified.

Your resume should include examples of experience, education, and accomplishments applicable to the qualification(s). If your resume does not reflect demonstrated evidence of these qualifications, you may not receive consideration for the position. There is NO requirement to prepare a narrative statement specifically addressing the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) or the Technical Qualifications (TQs).

EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS (ECQs): The ECQs were designed to assess executive experience and potential, not technical expertise. They measure whether an individual has the broad executive skills needed to succeed in a variety of SES positions. All applicants must address the ECQs.

Your resume must address each ECQ and should describe your experiences and accomplishments/results.

Your resume should be clear, concise, and emphasize your level of responsibilities, scope and complexity of programs managed, program accomplishments, policy initiatives undertaken and the results of your actions.

NOTE: Current career SES members, former career SES members with reinstatement eligibility, and SES Candidate Development Program graduates who have been certified by OPM do NOT need to address the ECQs.

  1. Commitment to the Rule of Law and the Principles of the American Founding: This core qualification involves the demonstrated knowledge of the American system of government, commitment to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law, and commitment to serve the American people. (Competencies: Knowledge of the American System of Government, Commitment to the Rule of Law, Civic-Mindedness) 2. Driving Efficiency: This core qualification involves the demonstrated ability to strategically and sufficiently manage resources, budget effectively, cut wasteful spending, and pursue efficiency through process and technological upgrades. (Competencies: Fiscal Responsibility, Managing Resources, Leveraging Technology) 3.

Merit and Competence: This core qualification involves the demonstrated knowledge, ability and technical competence to effectively and reliably produce work that is of exceptional quality. (Competencies: Technical Skills, Problem Solving, Agility and Resilience) 4. Leading People: This core qualification involves the demonstrated ability to lead and inspire a group toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals, and to drive a high-performance, high-accountability culture. This includes, when necessary, the ability to lead people through change and to hold individuals accountable. (Competencies: Accountability, Developing Others, Executive Judgement) 5.

Achieving Results: This core qualification involves the demonstrated ability to achieve both individual and organizational results, and to align results to stated goals from superiors. (Competencies: Operation Mindset, Innovation, Strategic Thinking) For more information regarding the SES and ECQs, please visit SES Executive Core Qualifications. TECHNICAL QUALIFICATION (TQ):

In addition to the ECQs, applicants must clearly demonstrate in their resume that they meet the following technical qualification(s). MANDATORY TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS (TQs): All applicants must submit a written narrative response to the following TQs.

You must address each TQ separately. Each TQ narrative must not exceed two (2) pages. Please give examples and explain the complexity of the knowledge possessed and the sensitivity of the issue you handled.

Describe your knowledge of and expertise in meeting food safety regulatory challenges. In doing so, provide a specific example of how you used critical thinking and effective communication in managing the public health functions of a multidisciplinary, geographically dispersed, food regulatory program. Describe your experience in evaluating complex food safety regulatory information to identify potential compliance issues and develop a timely response that considers public health impact, regulatory scope, and political environment.

Please include specific examples and impact of your actions. Describe your experience in leading teams and programs in a complex, geographically dispersed, multi-faceted operating environment.

Major Duties

The Executive Associates for Regulatory Operations (EARO} in the Office of Field Operations {OFO) are responsible for managing and administering the nation's meat, poultry and egg products inspection and verification program.

Supervise one or more District Offices.

Provide overall planning, leadership, administration, and evaluation of assigned Districts.

Oversee recall management activities, food emergency incident responses, and outbreak investigations.

Assure implementation of new or revised procedures and programs.

Serve as the national level representative in the resolution of industry appeals originating in assigned Districts.

Participate with other OFO executives in shaping policy and programs for the Agency's inspection and compliance activities.

Develop and foster cooperative relationships with numerous and varied individuals and groups, including industry groups, consumer groups, union officials, and state, federal and international food safety partners.

Education

There are no positive education requirements for this position.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated on the quality and extent of your total accomplishments, experience, and education (if applicable).

Your application will be rated and ranked by a review board using only the information submitted within the application package. Applicants who do not demonstrate in their resume sufficient possession of the ECQs & TQs will be determined to be ineligible for further consideration. Unless you have already been certified by a Qualifications Review Board (QRB) in the past, you must be certified by a QRB after selection and before appointment can occur.

Once the application process is complete, a review of your resume and supporting documentation will be conducted. If you meet minimum qualifications, your Application Package will be further reviewed to determine if you possess the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ) and Technical Qualifications (TQ) listed above. ECQs and TQs must be thoroughly addressed within your two (2) page resume.

Separate narratives will not be accepted or reviewed. Highly Qualified applicants may undergo one or more interviews and may be referred to the selecting official for further consideration. Upon selection, if not already a member of the SES serving under a career appointment, the individual selected must have his/her executive qualifications certified by the U.S.

Office of Personnel Management's SES Qualifications Review Board (QRB) before appointment to this position. The selected individual's application will be forwarded to the OPM for review and certification by the QRB, unless the selectee provides evidence of their noncompetitive status (i.e., a current SES, OPM QRB certified SESCDP graduate, or SES reinstatement eligible). Upon QRB certification, the selected individual will be required to serve a one-year probationary period.

For more information regarding the SES, go to https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/senior-executive-service/. To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12907281

Additional Information

Consideration for competitive selection for this position is open to all persons within the area of consideration who meet the basic qualifications. Race, color, age, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, political beliefs, religion, marital or family status, disability, and other non-merit factors will not be considered.

1.

This position is covered under the post-employment restriction of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-521). This law also requires the selectee to file an Executive Personnel Financial Disclosure Report (Standard Form 278), within 30 days of appointment.

  1. Applications sent in U.S. Government postage-paid envelope and submitted through Federal Agency courier services will not be considered.
  2. The 1993 Hatch Act Reform Amendments prohibit oral and written political recommendations for Federal jobs.
  3. Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must be registered with the Selective Service System before they can be employed by an executive agency of the Federal government. This requirement does not apply to Agency employees appointed before November 8, 1985.
  4. All application forms are subject to the provisions of the Privacy Act and become the property of USDA. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an Equal Opportunity Employer. USDA prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs).

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication or program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD). Reasonable Accommodation: This agency provides reasonable accommodation for applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency at 202-260-8128.

The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be on a case-by-case basis. Effective January 1, 2010, OPM must authorize any employment offers we make to current or former (within the last 5 years) political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-career SES employees in the executive branch. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-career SES employee in the executive branch, you must disclose that to the Human Resources Office.

How to Apply

ONLY SUBMIT THE MATERIALS REQUESTED BY THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes: - Complete Resume - Other supporting documentation as required. Please see the "REQUIRED DOCUMENTS" section and review the applicant checklist link to determine if there other documents you are required to submit.

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin. Failure to submit the required documentation by 11:59 pm EST of the closing date will result in loss of consideration. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., Monday - Friday).

Applying online is highly encouraged. If applying online poses a hardship, please contact our office during business hours well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages with supporting documents must be submitted no later than noon on the closing date of the announcement in order to be entered into the system prior to its closing.

This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact us if you are requesting this. It is important that you are complete and thorough in your resume. Please be sure to include and address all ECQs and TQs in your resume.

A sample 2-page resume that incorporates ECQs can be viewed at this link: Guide to SES Qualifications Candidates who do not submit a complete application package as indicated in this announcement will not be considered. Please be sure to remove all PII (e.g. SNN, DOB, etc.) from all documentation.

Spell out acronyms the first time used. Please do not submit documents that are not requested in the vacancy announcement. Step 1: Create a USAJOBS account (if you do not have one) at www.usajobs.gov.

It is recommended that as part of your profile you set up automatic email notification to be informed when the status of your application changes. If you choose not to set up this automatic notification, then you will have to log into your USAJOBS account to check on the status of your application. Step 2: Create a resume with USAJOBS or upload a resume into your USAJOBS account.

Customize your resume to ensure it documents duties and accomplishments you have gained that are directly related to this position in order to verify that qualifications are met.

Your resume must support your responses to the online questionnaire (you may preview the online questionnaire by clicking on the link at the end of the How You Will Be Evaluated section of the job announcement). Step 3: Click "Apply Online" and follow the prompts to complete the Occupational Questionnaire and attach any additional documents that may be required. You can update your application or documents anytime while the announcement is open. Log into your USAJOBS account and click on "Application Status." Click on the position title, and then select "Update Application" to continue.

NOTE: 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.

Required Documents

Your resume should contain information sufficient to make a valid determination that you fully meet the specialized experience requirements as stated in this vacancy announcement. It is recommended that you include the following information: 1. 2-page ECQ/TQ based Resume. DO NOT submit Executive Core Qualifications or Technical Qualifications in lieu of a resume.

  1. Current or former career SES members must provide an SF-50 showing current status or reinstatement eligibility.
  2. Applicants who have successfully completed an OPM-approved SES Candidate Development Program must submit a copy of their certification.
  3. Current or former Federal civilian employees, please provide a copy of your most recent SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action). Education (if applicable): A copy of your transcript(s) or a separate course listing showing the college name, course title, department, hours earned (quarter or semester), and grade.

If you have completed any part of your education outside the U.S., you must submit the evaluation of your foreign education that has been prepared by an accredited organization. The National Association for Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) can provide a list of who can evaluate your foreign education. For additional information, visit DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the salary for the EXECUTIVE ASSOCIATE FOR REGULATORY OPERATIONS position at Food Safety and Inspection Service?
The salary range for this position is $192,332 - $204,121/yr. This is a ES-00 position on the General Schedule pay scale. Actual pay may vary based on locality adjustments.
Where is the EXECUTIVE ASSOCIATE FOR REGULATORY OPERATIONS job located?
This position is located in Springdale, Arkansas. This is an on-site position.
What qualifications do I need?
The application process used to recruit for this position is RESUME-ONLY. DO NOT submit separate Executive Core Qualifications/Technical Qualifications in lieu of a resume. Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rul...
How do I apply for this position?
Apply through USAJobs.gov by clicking the 'Apply on USAJobs' button. You'll need a USAJobs account, a federal-style resume, and supporting documents. The deadline is Apr 15, 2026.
Is a security clearance required?
No security clearance is required for this position.
What does ES-00 mean?
ES-00 refers to the General Schedule grade level. Higher grades require more experience and offer higher pay. Visit our GS Pay Scale page for full salary tables by grade and locality.
What benefits do federal employees receive?
Federal employees receive comprehensive benefits including health insurance (FEHB), retirement through FERS, Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) with government matching, paid annual and sick leave, paid parental leave, life insurance, and student loan repayment programs.