Clarification from the agency

US Citizens - Restricted to Preference Eligibles (if available) - See IMPORTANT NOTICE

In addition to full time positions, there are also part-time positions (20 hours/week). Benefits and time-off accrual will be prorated and based on your part-time work schedule.

The housekeeping aides who maintain VA facilities for Veterans and their families are essential to the patient care experience at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). A VA healthcare career as a housekeeping aide means working alongside other Veterans, who make up 85 percent of the housekeeping staff.

As a Housekeeping Aid, you will perform a full range of light and heavy cleaning duties and routine housekeeping duties providing service in patient care areas that offer complex services to Veterans including Surgery, Cardiac Catheterization, Interventional Radiology and the Organ Transplant Program. Duties include cleaning wards, patient rooms, storerooms, offices, corridors, restrooms, shower rooms, and other areas. Housekeeping Aids sweep, mop, scrub (machine) floors, vacuum carpets and upholstered furniture, empty waste baskets, clean light globes and Venetian blinds, wash walls, windows and ceilings by climbing small ladders, refill toilet tissue and towel dispensers and move furniture. Housekeeping Aids carry out assignments with minimal supervision.

Work Schedule: This is a Department that provides service 24 hours a day and may offer opportunities on all shifts including weekends and holidays.

Recruitment & Relocation Incentive: Authorized

Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. citizen
• Subject to a background/security investigation
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• May be required to serve a probationary period
• Pre-employment physical may be required
• Selected applicants may be required to complete an online onboarding process

Qualifications

PHYSICAL EFFORT: The position requires performance of work which involves light physical effort, such as that involved in using vacuum cleaners and dry mops; continually standing, bending, stooping and reaching; frequently lifting and emptying waste baskets; frequently pushing carts loaded with waste; and lifting and carrying items weighing up to 20 pounds. Also performs work which involves moderate to heavy physical effort, such as required to move heavy equipment and furniture, i.e., heavy industrial vacuum cleaners, heavy duty floor scrubbers and buffers, couches, beds, etc., and lifting, carrying and/or moving items weighing up to 40-50 pounds.

WORKING CONDITIONS: You will regularly move between contaminated/dirty environments to clean environments. You will often work in the presence of blood, body fluids and excretions. Odors may be present while using cleaning chemicals. There are potential hazards associated with Environmental Service work such as cleaning chemical splash hazards, cuts, sticks, and bumps, and bruises exists if proper precautions are not met. The work area can be noisy due to the rumbling of carts and operation of equipment. Work is generally conducted in an inside heated or air conditioned area.

Applicants will be rated in accordance with the OPM Qualification Standard Handbook X-118C (www.opm.gov/qualifications/x-118c). 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
• Follow Directions
• Handle Weights and Loads
• Reliability And Dependability
• Special Aptitude - Housekeeping Work
• Work Practices

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).

Your responses to the assessment questionnaire will be reviewed along with the information provided in your resume and supporting documentation to determine if you are qualified for the position. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your rating may be lowered and/or you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

Candidates who apply under All U.S. Citizens announcements will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. Qualified candidates will be assigned to a quality category. The categories are defined as follows:

• Best qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position;
• Well qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in some, but not all, of the requirements of the job; and
• Qualified - applicants possessing experience and/or education that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors.

Application of Veterans' Preference: Category rating and selection procedures place those with veteran's preference above non-preference eligibles within each category. Preference eligible applicants that meet the eligibility and qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent are listed in the highest quality category.

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.