Summary The Gardener (Tractor Operator) requires knowledge of gardening procedures and skill in growing and tending lawns, flowers, shrubs, and trees. The work involves preparing for plants, seeding, and thinning, transplanting, trimming, pruning, fertilizing, aerating, mulching, spraying, and dusting of grass, ground cover, flowers, shrubs, and trees. This position is located in the Grounds Section of Facilities Management at the James Mountain Inhofe VA Medical Center in Tulsa, OK. Responsibilities Duties include, but may not be limited to the following: Must have a knowledge of gardening practices pertinent to the Tulsa, Oklahoma area, particularly in diagnosing and controlling plant diseases, planting and transplanting plants and proper watering practices, Determines the proper @type, time of season and application of fertilizers and herbicides for contractor application. Preparing for plants, seeding, and thinning, transplanting, trimming, pruning, fertilizing, aerating, mulching, spraying, and dusting of grass, ground cover, flowers, shrubs, and trees. Determines the quantities of plants, seeds, etc. needed for specific areas. Direct and performs tasks such as watering of all lawns, policing grounds, snow and ice removal, use of hand tools, mowing of lawns utilizing push @type lawn mowers, weed eaters, weeds flower beds, trims shrubs and trees, and mulches shrubs and flower areas. Cleans all engineering storage areas when required. Responsible for the maintenance and minor repair of all equipment utilized by grounds maintenance. Accomplishes snow removal when requested and under the directions of the Grounds Supervisor which might entail change of shifts, after hours, weekends or holidays; will report for duty as directed or called for. Uses of grounds equipment, mowers, weed-eaters, snow blowers, hand tools, tractor, edger, fork-lift and street sweepers, and will be required to do maintenance and preventive maintenance of all grounds equipment. Accomplishes all other duties assigned to provide grounds maintenance of the medical center. Ensures that all equipment is maintained, is oiled and in safe operating condition before uses. Properly cleans and checks equipment before storing and report to supervisor any equipment not in proper or safe operating condition. Anticipates routine repair of equipment and seasonal requirements to insure the maintenance of a high degree of quality and professional appearance. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Full time, Monday - Friday 6:00 am to 2:30 pm 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 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 (SCREEN OUT) Must have the ability to do the work of a Gardener (Tractor Operator) without more than normal supervision. Qualifying experience includes performing gardening tasks such as preparing for plants, seeding and thinning, transplanting, trimming, pruning, fertilizing, aerating, mulching, spraying, and dusting of grass, ground cover, flowers, shrubs, and trees; determining the quantities of plants, seeds, etc. needed for specific areas; determining application of fertilizers and herbicides; watering of all lawns, policing grounds, snow and ice removal; using of grounds equipment, mowers, weed-eaters, snow blowers, hand tools, tractor, edger, fork-lift and street sweepers; maintenance and preventive maintenance of all grounds equipment. Note: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hour worked per week. Quality Ranking Factors are skills, knowledge, abilities, or other worker characteristics which could be expected to result in superior performance on the job. Quality ranking factors will not be used for screening but may be used as ranking criteria. Applicants with higher proficiency levels may rank above those with lower proficiency levels on a quality ranking factor. A Quality Ranking Factor has also been requested by the facility to help determine which of the basically qualified applicants are likely to be better qualified for a position. The Quality Ranking Factor for this position is: Experience effectively utilizing fungicide or other chemicals. Physical Effort: Incumbent must be physically fit, as work tasks require frequent walking, standing, bending, stooping, pushing of carts, lawnmowers, edger's and wheelbarrows. Work task may involve occasional lifting and carrying heavy (approximately 50 pounds) with frequent lifting and carrying of moderately heavy objects (up to 40 pounds) such as grass seed, trash bags, ice melt, containers, trimming and waste. Other physical effort involves pulling, climbing, working with hands over head. Must have the ability to be on feet for long periods of time either standing, walking or working off ladders. Climbs ladders to prune and/or trim shrubs and trees. Working Conditions: Primary work will be in the exterior grounds and parking areas of the medical center. Incumbent is required to use all the proper tools and safety equipment to protect himself/herself, staff, patients and visitors. Other assignments can be in any area of the VA Eastern Oklahoma Health Care System (EOVAHCS). Will be exposed to the possibility of cuts, bruises and insect bites. Work is often dirty and dusty. Work is inside and outside, and off ladders and scaffolds. Outside work will involve exposure to a variety of weather conditions as is expected in the Muskogee, Oklahoma area. 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 Safety Interpret Instructions, Specifications (includes blueprint reading) Materials Measuring Instruments Quality Ranking Factor Technical Practices Use and Maintain Tools and Equipment Without more than normal supervision 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.
