Student Veterans of America Jobs

Summary This position is located within the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Northeast Area (NEA), at the Foreign Disease Weed Science Research Unit in Frederick, MD. In this position, you will perform general trades work including heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), electrical, plumbing, carpentry, and painting for the FDWSRU complex. Responsibilities Performs minor repairs such as repairing doors, window casings, thresholds, holes in walls, broken drawers and handles, shelves, partitions, and similar items. Completes preventative maintenance and repairs on laboratory equipment, such as environmental growth chambers, effluent decontamination system and biological safety cabinets. Lays out, measures, cuts, and constructs or makes carpentry repairs to steps, doors, windows, ramps, walls, and roofs. Uses blueprints, equipment schematics, technical manuals, and similar materials to locate the source of a problem and make repairs to specific components of the system. Requirements Conditions of Employment 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. In order to qualify for this position you must meet the following by the closing date of the vacancy announcement: 05/09/2024 Qualifications will be determined under the Job Element Rating System X-118C, Qualifications Standard Handbook. While a specific length of time and experience is not required for most Wage Grade positions, you must show through experience and training that you possess the best qualified level of knowledge and skill necessary to perform the duties of this position. Qualification requirements emphasize the quality of experience, not necessarily the length. The responses to the questionnaire and your resume should be in significant detail to provide the person rating your application with a good understanding of your ability to do the job, technical knowledge, work, and training experience, etc. (For example You must have the ability to perform the duties of a Maintenance Mechanic, without more than normal supervision (Screen Out)). Applicants who do not meet the SCREEN OUT ELEMENT will not be given further consideration. Physical Effort: Many of incumbent's duties require moderate to heavy physical labor in lifting, carrying, and positioning heavy components. Incumbent works atop ladders, scaffolding, and in crawlspaces and other confined areas. The work requires close hand and eye coordination, active walking, climbing, bending, and prolonged periods of actively working on concrete floors and in muddy or otherwise slick areas. Considerable physical effort is used when working on parts or systems that are in hard-to-reach places. Work requires bending, stooping, kneeling, and working in tiring and uncomfortable positions, and using the arms for long periods of time when using hand tools, shop tools, and equipment. Must frequently carry and set up tools, parts, and equipment weighing up to 50 pounds using equipment or hand trucks for safe handling. The incumbent may perform repairs and installations from ladders, scaffolding, platforms, and other hard-to-reach places both indoors and outdoors. Working Conditions: Work is performed in extremes of temperature conditions inside and outside the buildings. Occasionally, the incumbent must work on top of tall buildings in drafty attic spaces and cramped areas with low overheads. The incumbent is subjected to risks associated with exposure to dust, dirt, mud, harmful or toxic fumes, grease, and other hazards. Outside work is sometimes performed under adverse weather conditions, including wet and windy weather. Work is often done in confined, cramped, and otherwise difficult-to-access areas, including crawl spaces below the building. The incumbent is subject to the possibility of infections, cuts, bruises, broken bones, and other injuries. The incumbent must follow prescribed safety practices and use safety equipment such as personal protective equipment, hard hats, and hard-toed shoes to avoid injury and possible hazards in the work areas. Exposures to plant pathogens contained within the facilities are generally harmless to humans, but occasionally the plants grown at the FDWSRU are noxious or could cause allergic reactions. Other Considerations: Must follow instructions regarding decontamination and biocontainment. To prevent the transmission of disease-causing organisms out of biocontainment and retention of the position, the incumbent must be able to shower out of biocontainment one or more times per day, and not have any skin condition which would prevent this; body piercings must be able to be removed prior to entry; external medical assist devices must have the ability to be removed prior to entering biocontainment and the individual must still be able to shower out without assistance. FLSA Determination: This position does not meet any exemption criteria contained in Title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, and is determined to be Non-Exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act. 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 This position does not have an education qualification requirement. Additional Information Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100. Veterans who are preference eligible or who have been separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions after three years or more of continuous active service are eligible for consideration under the Veteran's Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA). Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Employees: Permanent County employees without prior Federal tenure who are selected for a Civil Service position under Public Law 105-277 will be given a career-conditional appointment and must serve a 1-year probationary period. For more information on applying under special hiring authorities such as the Veteran's Recruitment Act (VRA), 30 percent disabled veterans, certain military spouses, Schedule A Disabled, etc., explore the different Hiring Paths on the USAJOBS website. Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) provides current or former temporary or term employees of federal land management agencies opportunity to compete for permanent competitive service positions. Individuals must have more than 24 months of service without a break between appointments of two or more years. Service must be in the competitive service and have been at a successful level of performance or better. Refer to PUBLIC LAW 114-47-AUG. 7, 2015 for more information. This position is being concurrently announced under Delegated Examining Announcement Number ARS-S24Y-12393167-JH. This announcement is open to all qualified candidates. Applying to both announcements may expand the possibilities of consideration since different referral criteria apply to each type of announcement. See the above announcement for more information. Recruitment or Relocation Incentive may be authorized. Final determination to pay an incentive will be made by the hiring official at time of job offer. This is a Testing Designated Position (TDP). Selectee must submit to a urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment and random testing thereafter. Final appointment and continued employment is conditional on negative results for illegal drug use. If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed. This position may be eligible to telework up to four days per week, based upon the duties of the position. This position may also be eligible for flexible work arrangements as determined by agency policy and any applicable collective bargaining agreements.