Summary This position is located within the Engineering Service at the Albany VAMC in Albany, NY. The position regularly operates vehicles that have hydraulic @type lift gates, air brakes, that have a gross vehicle weight in excess of 28,000 pounds. Responsibilities Duties may include, but are not limited to the following: Perform preventative maintenance on the vehicles they are using. Operate vehicles over a variety of roads including interstate highways, narrow country roads winding grades and in close quarters. Transport workshop materials, food carts, hemodialysis supplies, laboratory specimens, surgical equipment along with very heavy hospital equipment requiring the use of a truck with a gross vehicle weight in excess of 28,000 #'s and a loading capacity of four tons or more with hydraulic @type lift gates. Assist patients in wheelchair van. Operate a bus with a capacity of more than 20 passengers when transporting patients, Nursing and Recreation Therapy staff to and from off-station activities. Operate a four-wheel drive dump truck with a gross vehicle weight of 29,500 #'s and weight capacity of four tons, a pickup truck and to assist the snow removal crew during winter clean-up operations or trips to area landfills. Make oral and written trip reports concerning mileage, time spent, and gasoline and oil purchased on assigned trips. He/she reports all deficiencies in operation of vehicles to the Motor Vehicle Operator Foreman. Reports all accidents which occur to assigned vehicle and will complete any forms which may be required at the scene of the accident. Perform other related duties as assigned. DESIGNATED DRUG-TESTING POSITION: Applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Applicants will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test result is received. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Pre-employment physical required Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications PHYSICAL EFFORT AND WORK CONDITIONS: Must be able to perform tasks necessitating significant physical efforts such as lifting meal trays, hemodialysis solutions, workshop materials, medical equipment and pushing carts and loaded pallet jacks into and out of cargo @type vehicles, up and down stairways and/or ramps as required. Must also be able to lift litter and wheelchair @type patients into and out of ambulances, wheelchair vans and/or up and down stairways and/or ramps as required. Must be able to assist non-ambulatory patients into and out of staff vehicles. Will be responsible for lifting up to 125 pounds. The motor vehicle operator is required to work outside and is occasionally exposed to bad weather conditions while loading and unloading food carts, workshop materials, medical equipment, supplies and patients. The operator drives in all @types of traffic and weather and is exposed to the possibility of serious accidents. The operator is subject to cuts, bruises, or sprains as a result of accidents while driving and/or loading and unloading cargo and/or medical center related equipment or patients. 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: Drive Safely Interpret Instructions, Specifications (mobile equipment operations) Motor Vehicles Operate Safely (Non-Motor Vehicle) Reliability And Dependability Without more than normal supervision Work 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 Additional Information Note: Per "Executive Order 14251: Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs", this position is no longer eligible for bargaining unit participation. Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
