Clarification from the agency

ALL US CITIZENS DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.201) for this occupation.

This Carpenter position is located at a Department of Veterans Affairs facility. The work involves constructing, altering, maintaining, and repairing buildings, structures, partitions, panels, tool cabinets, bookcases, work benches, and other items using wood, wood substitutes, and composite building materials.

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Constructs, alters, maintains, and repairs building, structures, partitions, panels, tool cabinets, bookcases, work benches, and other items using wood, wood substitutes, and composite building materials.
• Constructs, installs, repairs, and modifies wood and wood substitute structures and items requiring close tolerance fit and structural soundness.
• Constructs and repairs a wide variety of structural items such as building frames, rafters, concrete forms, walls, staircases, door and window frames, interior and exterior trim, and miscellaneous items.
• Uses initiative and judgment in completing assigned work.
• Reviews work for compliance with building codes, objectives, timeliness, and quality of workmanship.
• Constructs and repairs workbenches, counter tops, bookcases, equipment cabinets, computer consoles, and items requiring limited decorative trim and molding.
• Interprets drawings, blueprints, and specifications and determining the layout and work sequences of work to be completed.
• Interprets complex instructions, sketches, blueprints; and building codes.
• Follows installation, maintenance, and repair manuals to accomplish assigned tasks.
• Uses advance shop mathematics to plan, compute, and lay out complex and exact projects with features such as arcs, tangents, and circles.
• Plans and accomplish a wide range of work sequences ranging from basic repairs to complex project segments.
• Lays out the work, determines material and equipment needs.
• Sets up and operates the full range of industrial woodworking and related machinery such as routers, band and scroll saws, and drill presses.
• Performs routine maintenance on machinery.
• Sets up and operates a wide variety of wood working machines and tools.
• Assembles items with a wide variety of joining techniques such as miters, rabbets, dados, biscuit, and mortise and tenon.
• Uses glues and adhesives to secure wood pieces, veneers, and counter tops.
• Knowledge of wood and wood substitute materials, and construction techniques

Preferred Experience: Experienced seasoned carpenter with varied skill set. Familiar with the working aspect of the other trades. Needs to work with group doing various skills other than strictly carpentry.

Work Schedule: 40 Hours a week, Monday-Friday, 7:00am - 3:30pm, EST.
Position Description Title/PD#: Carpenter/PD00306A
Physical Requirements: Work is performed in wood shops and at job sites. When working in a shop, the employee stands for extended periods of time while operating machinery. The work requires considerable bending, kneeling, and stooping. Strenuous physical exertion is sometimes required when handling heavy and bulky materials. The employee may lift and carry items weighing up to 40 pounds. The employee occasionally lifts and moves heavier items.

NOTE:

• This position is in the Competitive Service
• Veterans' Preference: Since the Direct-Hire Recruitment Authority is being used, traditional Veterans' Preference rules do not apply. Qualified Veterans will, however, be given full consideration for this position.
• Current employees must submit copies of their most recent SF50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (competitive or excepted). In some cases, more than one Sf-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.
• Interchange Agreements with Other Merit Systems: Employees who occupy medical or medical-related positions and were appointed under 38 U.S.C. 4701(1) or (3) formerly 38 U.S.C. 4104(1) and (3) must be serving in a full-time position without time limit and have served continuously for at least one year in this other merit system to be eligible to convert to the Title 5 System. Some exceptions to this rule may apply if you have previously acquired tenure under a Title 5 appointment.
• The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/.
• This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship; non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Suitable for Federal employment, determined by a background investigation
• Selective Services Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• 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.
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

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

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

EXPERIENCE: A specific length of training and experience is not required, but you must show evidence of training or experience of sufficient scope and quality of your ability to do the work of this position. Evidence which demonstrates you possess the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform the duties of this position must be supported by detailed descriptions of such on your resume. Applicants will be rated in accordance with the OPM Federal Wage System Qualification Standards.

SCREEN-OUT ELEMENT: Your qualifications will first be evaluated against the prescribed screen out element, which usually appears as question 1 in the on-line questionnaire. Those applicants who appear to possess at least the minimal acceptable qualification requirement are considered for further rating; those who do not are rated ineligible and are eliminated. The potential eligibles are then rated against the remainder of the Job Elements:

• Electrical Equipment
• Follow Directions
• Interpret Instructions, Specifications (includes blueprint reading)
• Materials
• Measurement and Layout
• Measuring Instruments
• Physical Strength and Agility
• Without more than normal supervision

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; religions; 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: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. 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.

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. Applicants will be referred in the order in which they were received.