A general class & comp adjustment effort across APHIS.
Under successive Rumik Consultancy task orders, HSG supports APHIS in reviewing and adjusting how its positions are classified and paid. Gilda (CTR, MRP-APHIS) leads the effort and tasks specialists with slices of it — the COPEG Panama position descriptions are one such slice, in one location, in one workforce. The platform is built to run the whole mandate.
What you may have seen — the COPEG Panama position descriptions — is one slice she tasks out. Her actual mandate spans the workforces, locations and pay systems below.
Many APHIS workforces, each with its own occupational mix
Different programs mean different position families, classification standards and pay constructs — all inside one mandate.
Plant Protection & Quarantine
Plant-health safeguarding specialists & inspectors at ports and plant inspection stations
Veterinary Services
Veterinary medical officers & animal-health technicians; import/export & laboratories
Wildlife Services
Wildlife biologists & specialists in the field
Animal Care
Animal-welfare inspectors
International Services
Overseas program staff & locally employed (FSN) staff — COPEG Panama, Moscamed, preclearance
Business Services (HR / Budget)
Shared HR, budget and administrative backbone for MRP-APHIS
- Headquarters — Riverdale, MD
- Ports of entry — land borders, airports, seaports
- Plant inspection stations (nationwide)
- Veterinary import/export centers & laboratories
- Wildlife field stations
- International posts — Panama (COPEG / Pacora), Guatemala & Mexico (Moscamed), preclearance (e.g., Matamoros)
- GS — Domestic federal positions — OPM classification standards and factor evaluation (FES); locality pay.
- FSN / LE — Overseas national positions — local compensation plans and FSN grading.
- FWS — Trades, craft and labor positions paid on the wage-grade schedule.
The compensation levers she works
Classification sets the grade; these are how pay actually gets adjusted across the workforce.
Locality pay alignment
Confirm correct locality-area assignment and grade alignment for like positions.
Special salary rates
Hard-to-fill occupations (e.g., veterinarians, STEM) — establish or refresh special rates.
Recruitment / retention incentives
Justify and document recruitment, relocation and retention incentives.
FSN local comp plans
Wage-survey-driven adjustments to overseas local compensation plans.
Pay equity & grade alignment
Resolve inconsistent grades across comparable positions and locations.
Reclassification
Re-grade for accretion of duties, title/series corrections and reorganizations.
The position-production line we run today
This is the part Jelani helps with: turning an APHIS-IS tasking into a finished, certified position description. The same line generalizes to every workforce.
Tasking types
New / revised Position Description
DS-298 → JF-298 conversion
Job Description Help Sheet
KSAs — pre / post-hire
Qualification / experience justification
Contracts & Grants Responsibility Form
NSDD-38 change request / reclassification
Decision memo / recruitment package
The 12-step pipeline, every position
- 01Tasking receivedIntake
APHIS-IS HR emails a request to Gilda's usda.gov address; she forwards it to the team with the source files and an often same-day deadline.
- 02Gather inputsSources
Pull the current DS-298 / prior PD, the incumbent's daily activity logs, the duties overview, the org chart, and the COPEG resources spreadsheet.
- 03Select & convert the formForm
Move legacy DS-298 content onto the JF-298 10.25 template, mapping DS-298 Sec. 14/15 → JF-298 Sec. 11; or merge a Master PD onto the template.
- 04Build Section 11 — Major DutiesDuties
Rebuild duties from the activity logs into functional areas with time percentages that total exactly 100%.
- 05Draft the 8 job requirementsRequirements
Pre-hire knowledge, post-hire knowledge, pre-hire skills/abilities, education, non-supervisory experience, supervisory experience, language, training.
- 06Complete the Help SheetJDHS
Transfer into the Template JDHS 10.25 — org chart, line/project/contractor management & FTE, freedom to act, relationships, conditions, KSAs, competencies.
- 07Generate KSAsKSAs
Derive pre/post-hire knowledge, skills & abilities and benchmark education and experience to market standard.
- 08Write justificationsJustify
Defend any changed minimums (e.g., experience 7→10 yrs) with a concise, well-supported rationale — kept tight for review.
- 09ClassificationClassify
Confirm official title, series, FSN grade and FLSA; complete the Section 8 classification and certification fields.
- 10CGRF / change requestsSpecial forms
For CORs, compile the CGRF across every contract; handle NSDD-38 reclassifications and decision memos as tasked.
- 11Gilda's reviewReview
Senior review for accuracy, length and house rules (supervised counts, language levels, banned references); resolve open questions.
- 12Certify & returnDeliver
Export to the exact government forms and return to APHIS-IS for the Employee → Supervisor → Section Chief → HR certification chain.
The forms
The official PD form. Section 11 = major duties (% time); Section 8 = classification & certification.
Older form being converted to JF-298; duties sit in Sec. 14, qualifications in Sec. 15.
Analytical companion: org chart, supervision / FTE, freedom to act, relationships, conditions, KSAs, competencies.
Pre/post-hire KSAs plus education and experience minimums.
For COR positions — one row per contract (value, term, role) plus the signature chain.
Reclassify or reprogram a mission position under chief-of-mission authority.
The incumbent's daily logs — the raw evidence Section 11 duties are rebuilt from.
The COPEG Panama position set (+ Matamoros)
A single location inside International Services — the standing book Jelani helps produce. Multiply this by every workforce and post to picture the full mandate.
| Code | Position | Status |
|---|---|---|
| APHIS13 | Biologist — Methods & Development Dept. Head313201-R0150582 · the worked example | In progress |
| APHIS02 | Engineer (also COR — CGRF across 34 contracts) | Delivered |
| APHIS03 | Agricultural Scientist | Vacant |
| APHIS06 | Fleet Manager / Administrative Clerk | Delivered |
| APHIS07 | COPEG Finance SpecialistKSAs + experience justification | Delivered |
| APHIS08 | Budget Analyst | Delivered |
| APHIS12 | IT Analyst-Programmer | Delivered |
| — | Secretary / Administrative Assistant | Delivered |
| — | Legal Advisor | Delivered |
| — | Security Assistant | Vacant |
| — | Veterinarian Specialist | Delivered |
| 312804 | Matamoros (MX) Customs Expediter & Warehouse ManagerAV0058 · Master PD merged onto JF-298 | Delivered |
The whole production line, on one real position.
The PD Builder runs the COPEG Biologist through every stage — the first working cut of the model.
Open the model