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.

Duties

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

• You must be a US Citizen or US National.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
• Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
• Successful completion of one year probationary period, unless previously served.
• Direct Deposit – Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/
• Valid State Motor Vehicle Driver's License Required.
• Pesticide Applicators License Required.
• Position is located at a Biocontainment Facility.
• Drug Test Required.
• Ability to lift up to 50 lbs.
• SAC and full background investigation required for positions working with BSL-3 (or higher) agents, or in BSL-3/BSL-4 facilities.
• Department of Justice (DOJ) Security Risk Assessment (SRA).

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.

Contacts

• Address Agricultural Research Service 10300 Baltimore Avenue Beltsville, MD 20705 US
• Name: Juliana Hensley
• Phone: (571) 669-3483
• Email: [email protected]