Compliance Investigator- Miles City Area

To be considered for Department of Livestock positions, applicants must complete the online application and submit any required application materials online through the State Careers website: Statecareers.mt.gov.

This recruitment is open until filled with a first review of applicants on August 1, 2025. 

Materials Required of Applicants:  

• Cover Letter- In your cover letter please describe any relevant experience with compliance, regulation enforcement or  with food safety and how you might use that experience to carry out the duties of this position.  Include specific details. Limit your cover letter to one page.
• Resume
• References:  References will be requested from finalist applicants prior to being made a job offer, however is not a submission requirement at this time. 

Reasons to work for the Montana Department of Livestock: Our work matters! We are proud of the work we do, to find out more about the Department of Livestock visit our website HERE.

Benefits of working for the Department of Livestock: The ability to work and play in the beautiful state of Montana is one of the benefits you will love about this opportunity!  Other fantastic benefits include:

• Health Coverage
• Retirement plans
• Paid vacation, sick leave and Holidays
• Work/life balance
• Flexible schedules
• Opportunities and room for professional growth
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness- Employment with the State of Montana may qualify you to receive loan forgiveness- click HERE to learn more!

*Notice Regarding Position Location:  Based on demands of the Department, living within 45 Miles of  Miles City, Montana is required.   Other reasonable  distances beyond the 45 mile range may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Bureau/Work Unit Overview:  Montana’s Meat and Poultry Inspection Bureau’s is an important unit within the Department of Livestock.  The mission is to ensure that meat and poultry slaughtered, processed, and stored within the state meet all state and federal requirements for wholesome and unadulterated products.  This is accomplished through product and site inspections, licensing, product labeling, and laboratory testing.

Job Overview: 

 The Compliance Investigator conducts routine inspections and investigates potential violations of relevant state and federal statues to ensure that meat and poultry products in commerce within Montana are wholesome, not adulterated, and correctly labeled and packaged.  The Compliance Investigator is responsible for enforcing state and federal law governing the production and sale of meat and poultry products.  The Compliance Investigator primarily works alone, travels extensively, and is responsible for implementation of the compliance program within the Meat and Poultry Inspection Bureau.  Typical activities within the compliance program include investigating potential violations of state and federal law, detaining violative product in commerce, ensuring appropriate legal sanctions are carried out, providing regulatory oversight of businesses subject to meat and poultry inspection laws, and ensuring meat and poultry food products in commerce in Montana comply with all relevant state and federal laws.

Other Essential Functions  Include: 

• Conducts inspections of various facilities and businesses that handle, store, process, or sell meat and poultry products including retail stores, restaurants, warehouses, meat depots, custom exempt facilities, and official establishments. 
• Conducts in-depth investigations when there is reason to suspect a business may be violating federal or state law governing the production and sale of meat and poultry products.
• Reviews records, observes regulated products in the possession of the business, provides outreach/education to the business owner/operator, and collects other relevant information such as invoices, bills of sale, and other business documents
• Determines if the establishment under review complies with all relevant state and federal laws and takes appropriate action if the establishment is out of compliance
• Acts as a liaison with other Federal, State, and local authorities and industry officials. 

Physical and Environmental Demands:

·           Travel – The Compliance Investigator travels around the state to conduct routine inspections and investigations on a regular basis.  Follow-up and recordkeeping work may be conducted from a home location, but work load is driven by time spent in regulated businesses.

o   In-state travel is   Usual (75% or more )

o   Overnight travel is Routine (25% or more )

o   Out-of-state travel is Rare – The Compliance Investigator may occasionally travel to an out of state federal training or national meeting

            Requires work in meat and poultry processing facilities that will expose the Compliance Investigator to high levels of noise, vibration, dust, dirt, blood, sharp objects, heavy weights, exposed/moving machinery, and contagious diseases.  The Compliance Investigator must be able to use appropriate protective clothing and safety equipment and observe safety precautions.

Expected Hours of Work:  Typical work hours are variable, depending on work demands.  The Compliance Investigator usually works independently and may set a schedule based on the workload and needs of the department.  Usually work is conducted Monday through Friday during regular business hours.

•  May require 8 or more hours a day using a computer.
•  May involve fieldwork. This position is an assigned field position and conducts remote work, independently away from an established agency office.
•   May require more than a 40-hour workweek with fluctuating workload, priorities, and deadlines. 

Overtime: The ability to work overtime (more than 40 hours in a standard work week) is an essential job function. The position workload fluctuates and may be unpredictable due to  circumstances that may not be under agency control, which may include but are not limited to; deadlines, requests for work product  from the Governor, legislature or the Board of Livestock; inclement weather, road conditions, hours of operation of producers, and relief coverage due to employee absence(s). 

 Driving:  The ability to drive a state motor vehicle safely and for long distances is an essential job function.  The work requires you to make trips independently  through the course of the work day.  Other employees are not usually available to drive on your behalf.  The work requires  traveling in and around the assigned area which may be more than 30 miles one-way and rural with no other viable form of transportation to get from one assignment to another.  

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (Behaviors):

Required for the first day of work:

• Ability to learn,  interpret  and adhere to policies, practices, laws and regulations enforced by the Meat and Poultry Inspection Bureau (Federal Meat Inspection Act, Poultry Products Inspection Act, Code of Federal Regulations, Montana Code Annotated, and the Administrative Rules of Montana)
• knowledge of and ability to appropriately apply investigative and interview techniques to obtain complete information or reconstruct missing/withheld information.
• Basic knowledge or ability to learn  of the livestock, meat, and poultry industries in Montana and ability to enforce relevant statutes and regulations withing this industry.
• Ability to apply and adhere to the Montana Department of Livestock equal opportunity and civil rights policies, goals, responsibilities, and objectives
• Ability to read, interpret, and communicate complex legal and regulatory documents

• Ability to synthesize information obtained through investigation, analyze for compliance, and make supportable recommendations
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to work independently.
• Ability to provide customer service in a regulatory environment.