Summary In this position, you will work as a member of the Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center (MWEOC), Facilities Management Division, Maintenance & HVAC Section team. The MWEOC facility is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, approximately 60 miles west of Washington, DC. The ideal candidate for this position will have experience with troubleshooting and repairing of commercial boilers, heating systems, air conditioning systems, and electronic controls for HVAC. Responsibilities All MWEOC staff have emergency assignments and are considered deployed in place. Exercises and activations are planned and unplanned, and may require long hours, nights, weekends and holidays. All MWEOC employees are: (1) required to use a government-issued electronic device (to include cellular phones); (2) subject to recall during emergency situations; and (3) required to perform work in locations both above and below ground. What will I do in this position if hired? In this position, you will serve as an Air Conditioning Equipment Mechanic responsible for installing, recognizing the cause of faulty equipment, and repairing, modifying and relocating equipment to provide critical climatic conditions. Typical assignments include: Maintaining, operating, and repairing site air conditioning and refrigeration equipment and associated systems. Maintaining, operating, and repairing site heating equipment, fuel fired boilers, and associated systems. Maintaining, operating, and repairing electronic controls for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment. Troubleshooting, identifying faults, and effect repairs on a wide variety of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning/refrigeration systems. What else do I need to know? At FEMA, our mission is to help people before, during and after disasters, and every employee at FEMA has a role in emergency management. Every FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites. All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee's official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions. Promotion Potential: Future promotions will be dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, the continuing need for an employee assigned to the higher level, and administrative approval. Requirements Conditions of Employment To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo, successfully pass, and maintain a background investigation for TOP SECRET clearance as a condition of placement into this position. This may include a credit check after initial job qualifications are determined, a review of financial issues, such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs (please visit: Mythbuster on Federal Hiring Policies for additional information). For more information on background investigations for Federal jobs please visit OPM Investigations. Please ensure you meet the qualification requirements described below. Key Requirements: You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position. You must successfully pass a background investigation. Selective Service registration required. Current federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements. You must be able to obtain and maintain a Government credit card. You must be able to deploy with little or no advance notice to anywhere in the United States and its territories for an extended period of time. Please review the Additional Information section for additional key requirements. Qualifications The qualification requirements listed below must be met within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement. Applicants will be rated in accordance with the OPM Federal Wage System Qualification Standard. Although a specific length of time and experience is not required for most trade and labor occupations, you must meet any screen-out element listed, and show through experience and training that you possess the quality level of knowledge and skill necessary to perform the duties of the position at the level for which you are applying. Qualification requirements emphasis is on the quality of experience, not necessarily the length of time. Working Conditions: Air Conditioning: Most of the work is done inside, but they are occasionally required to work outside, on top of tall buildings, in drafty attic spaces, and in cramped areas with low overheads. Uncomfortable face masks and protective clothing may be occasionally worn when there is a possibility of exposure to toxic refrigerants. Mechanics are frequently subject to sudden temperature changes when working on equipment such as walk-in freezer units. Mechanics are occasionally subject to cuts, bums, electrical shocks, and respiratory ailments. Exposure to repeated, prolonged or concentrated amounts of refrigerant gases may cause toxic effects to eyes, skin, and internal organs. Heating and Boilers: The work is usually performed indoors on concrete surfaces where there is exposure to dust, dirt, chemicals, heat, steam, noise, and unpleasant odors. Mechanics occasionally service equipment outdoors under adverse weather conditions. They are continually exposed to the potential for bums, electrical shocks, cuts, strains, bruises, and chemical irritations. To reduce dangers from these and other similar conditions, they follow prescribed safety practices and use safety equipment such as safety glasses, hard-toe shoes, respirators, hardhats, and fire-retardant gloves. Physical Effort: Air Conditioning: The physical effort involves equipment in the system which is usually large and must be maneuvered into and out of specific locations while dismantling and reassembling. Mechanics frequently carry and set up parts and equipment that weigh up to 23 kilograms (50 pounds). Hoists, holders, and pulleys are operated when removing units such as large compressors, condensers, and chillers. Air conditioning equipment mechanics make repairs and installations from ladders, scaffolding and platforms where the parts of systems worked on are frequently in hard-to-reach places; therefore, stooping, stretching, bending, and kneeling are frequently for long periods of time. Heating and Boilers: Mechanics work in tiring or uncomfortable positions for long periods. The work requires frequent standing, bending, crouching, kneeling, and climbing. They occasionally work from scaffolds and platforms and may perform strenuous work while standing, sitting, or lying. They frequently lift and carry tools and equipment weighing up to 23 kilograms (50 pounds) and occasionally items weighing more with assistance of material lifting devices or other workers. 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. NOTE: Qualifications are based on breadth/level of experience. In addition to describing duties performed, applicants must provide exact dates of each period of employment (from MM/YY to MM/YY) and the number of hours worked per week if part time. As qualification determinations cannot be made when resumes do not include the required information, failure to provide this information may result in disqualification. Applicants are encouraged to use the USAJOBS Resume Builder to develop their federal resume. For a brief video on How to Create a Federal Resume, click here. Current or former FEMA Reservists/Disaster Assistance Employee (DAE): To accurately credit your experience for these intermittent positions, make sure to list the dates (from MM/YY to MM/YY) of each deployment, along with the job title and specific duties you were responsible for during each deployment. Failure to provide this information may result in disqualification. Education No Educational Substitution: There is no educational substitution for this position, and you must meet the qualifications listed in the "requirements" section of this announcement. Additional Information If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment. The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Homeland Security and its Components from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to FEMA-Misconduct@fema.dhs.gov. DHS uses E-verify, an internet based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities. The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR § 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR § 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps/VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement. A one-year probationary period is required for new Federal competitive service employees and new supervisors and managers. Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions. During the application process you will have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This is a Non-Bargaining Unit position. If this position has been identified as a Testing Designated Position (TDP) because of its security, public health, and/or public safety sensitivity, you are subject to random drug testing under FEMA's Drug-Free Workplace Plan (DWP). Refusal to be tested will result in disciplinary action up to and including removal from federal service. You must pass a pre-employment physical prior to appointment.
