Summary In this position you will work as a member of the Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center (MWEOC), Facilities Management Division, HVAC Branch. MWEOC is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, approximately 60 miles west of Washington, D.C. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated the ability to lead senior mechanics in troubleshooting, installation 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 Leader responsible for leading others and maintenance, repair, and modification of heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and fueling systems. Typical assignments include: Assigning work to individuals and providing technical direction and/or help to accomplish difficult work steps/processes; observe work in progress, investigate work related problems, implement corrective actions, recommend solutions to staffing problems, engineering requirements and other work operations. Installing, recognizing the cause of faulty equipment, repairing, modifying and relocating equipment for simple to complex systems such as pumped refrigerant systems, interfacing with computerized building management systems. Installing, repairing, and maintaining domestic and commercial heating equipment such as oil fuel heaters, hot air furnaces, heating boilers, auxiliary equipment such as water treatments systems. Understanding logic circuits, electronic amplification and control circuits, complex electrical, mechanical and pneumatic 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. 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 a Top-Secret/SCI 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. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office. 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 by the closing date of this announcement. Ability to Lead or Supervise: Ability to lead or supervise common repairs, modifications, troubleshooting and diagnosing a variety of HVAC equipment and systems by assisting other workers with installation maintenance and repairs for special-purpose air conditioning units and systems. Must have the ability to install, repair and maintain a variety of domestic and commercial heating equipment and systems while performing these tasks/duties at least under close supervision of a supervisor or senior work leader. 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: The work is usually performed indoors on concrete surfaces where there is exposure to dust, dirt, chemicals, heat, dampness, noise, and unpleasant odors. Position also services equipment outdoors under adverse weather conditions on top of tall buildings, in drafty attic spaces, and in cramped areas with low overheads. They are continually exposed to the potential for burns, 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. Frequently subject to sudden temperature changes when working on equipment such as walk-in freezer units. Uncomfortable face masks and protective clothing may be occasionally worn when there is a possibility of exposure to toxic refrigerants. Mechanics are subject to large amounts of escaping gases when making emergency repairs. Exposure to repeated, prolonged or concentrated amounts of refrigerant gases may cause toxic effects to eyes, skin, and internal organs. Physical Effort: The physical effort involves large equipment which must be maneuvered into and out of specific locations while dismantling and reassembling. 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. 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. Please read the following important information to ensure we have everything we need to consider your application: Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position. Limit your resume to no more than two pages. The USAJOBS database will not allow an applicant to submit an application that includes a resume over two pages. Your resume serves as the basis for experience related qualification determinations, and you must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable), as it relates to this job opportunity. Please use your own words, be clear, and specific when describing your work history. We cannot make assumptions regarding your experience. Are you qualifying based on your work experience? Qualifications are based on your ability to demonstrate in your resume that you possess one year of the specialized experience for this announcement at a comparable scope and responsibility. To ensure all of the essential information is in your resume, we encourage you to use the USAJOBS online Resume Builder. If you choose to use your own resume, it must contain the following information organized by experience/position: (1) job title, (2) name of employer, (3) start and end dates of each period of employment (from MM/DD/YY to MM/DD/YY), (4) detailed description of duties performed, accomplishments, and related skills, and (5) hours worked per week (part-time employment will be prorated in crediting experience). Federal experience/positions must also include the grade level, occupational series and dates in which you held each grade level. Are you a current or former FEMA Reservist/Disaster Assistance Employee (DAE)? To accurately credit your experience from intermittent positions and Reservist Deployments, you must list the dates (from MM/DD/YY to MM/DD/YY) of deployments that are relevant to your qualifying experience, along with the job title and specific duties you were responsible for during each deployment. Determining length of General or Specialized Experience is dependent on the above information. Failure to provide the above information in your resume may result in your application being found "not qualified." 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 provides valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Education No Educational Substitution: There is no educational substitution for this position, and you must meet the qualifications listed in the "qualifications" 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. 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. A pre-employment physical is required.
