These positions are located within the Grounds Section of the Engineering Service at the VA Boston Healthcare System in Jamaica Plain, MA. The Laborer performs duties which involve grounds and maintenance work, including moving materials, assisting other type journeymen due to urgency of work to be accomplished, gardener's helper, policing grounds, moving furniture, truck driver's helper, loading and unloading trucks and other various duties.

Duties

Duties include, but are not limited to, the following: Follows general instructions to perform work that requires moderately heavy physical effort and may involve a number of successive steps or processes; Uses common hand tools and simple power equipment such as hatchets, hand saws, clippers, buffers, grinders, screwdrivers, weed trimmers, low pressure sprayers, powered push lawn mowers, and powered pavement vacuums; Uses shovels to dig ditches where grading and sloping is required; Fills holes with dirt and levels bumps using shovels, hand tampers, and rakes; Dig holes for plants and posts; Uses simple powered push lawn mowers, edgers and trimmers, waters ground, lays sod, and clears small trees and bushes using hand tools; Performs grounds maintenance on grades or slopes; Digs ditches and trenches with picks and shovels where dirt is hard and compact; Operates large, walking-type power mowers and simple riding-type mowers with limited adjustments; Adjusts blades for cutting height, prepares gasoline/oil mixtures for powered equipment, and cleans and lubricates mowers; Uses concrete, gravel, and/or asphalt to fill and level holes in damaged roads; Breaks up pavement using jackhammers; Clears sidewalks using large, industrial-type, powered snow blowers and shovels; Cuts trees, using axes or chain saws; Washes buildings using a high-pressure sprayer; Separates, stacks, carries, and loads/unloads materials, supplies, and packages; and, Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday; 7:00am-3:30pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized

Requirements

Qualifications

PHYSICAL EFFORT AND WORK CONDITIONS: The work of this position requires very heavy physical effort in operating large, riding mowers on grades and in areas with bushes, trees, and other visible obstacles that require significant maneuvering and lever control. Frequently lift and move equipment and components weighing over 50 pounds. Work is performed mainly outside in varying weather temperatures and in dry, humid, and/or damp conditions. Work area may be cramped, dirty, noisy, dusty, etc. May be exposed to fumes, smoke, or gases and may work with solvents, grease, and oils. Work around machinery and moving parts and around moving objects or vehicles. The equipment, tools, and tasks involved at this level frequently require extreme care and use of safety gloves, ear plugs, safety glasses, or respirators to avoid severe injuries. Applicants will be rated in accordance with the OPM Federal Wage System Qualifications. For this position, the job element method is used to match what you, the applicant, can do against what the work calls for. Your knowledge, skills and abilities will be compared to the knowledge, skills and abilities (called job elements) needed for success. Your qualifications will first be evaluated against the prescribed screen out element (WG-2 and higher only; screen-outs are not applicable to WG-1). Applicants who appear to meet the screen out element are considered for further rating; those who do not are rated ineligible and are eliminated from consideration. The potential eligibles are rated against the remainder of the job elements. While a specific length of training and experience is not required, your responses to the questionnaire must be supported by detailed descriptions of your experience on your resume. You will be rated on the following Job Elements as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Dexterity and SafetyInterpret Instructions, Specifications (other than blueprint reading)Use and Maintain Tools and EquipmentWork Practices IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. 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, knowledge, and skills 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 job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Contacts

• Address VA Boston Healthcare System 940 Belmont Street Brockton, MA 02301 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]