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.

The housekeeping aids 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. Veterans rely on the skills of these professionals to keep patient areas clean and safe by addressing spills quickly, discarding trash, installing light bulbs in halls and rooms, and vacuuming and polishing floors.

Major Duties:

• Performing reliably and dependably is based on past work and/or school performance.
• Using proper cleaning solutions and/or chemicals to successfully remove stains from a variety of surface (floors, carpet, tile, walls, etc.)
• Applying appropriate cleaning solutions to various types of floors (linoleum, wood, or marble), walls, and ceilings to clean and maintain such surfaces
• Cleaning and sanitizing restrooms: urinals, commode, sink, mirror, etc.
• Cleaning patients' rooms using sanitizing chemicals that will not compromise patients' health to disinfect surfaces.
• Removing soiled linen from ward areas or clinics using the proper collection methods for handling possible contaminated items
• Keeping a stock of cleaning materials and equipment needed to do your work.
• Operating powered equipment such as scrubbing machines, buffers, carpet cleaning machines and/or industrial vacuums
• Keeping equipment, cords, hoses, etc., clean and properly stored when not in use.
• Performing routine maintenance on cleaning equipment such as changing filters and brushes on vacuum cleaners and floor buffers.
• Pushing, pulling, lifting, carrying or moving cleaning equipment around for several hours or more at a time
• Standing/walking for several hours or more while cleaning and moving furniture.
• Emptying trash cans at various locations several times a day.

Work Schedule: Various tours of duty available
Position Description Title/PD#: Housekeeping Aid/PD99909S
Physical Requirements: The position demands continuous walking, standing, stooping, kneeling, pulling, and pushing. The work requires the occasional use of heavy powered cleaning equipment (e.g., wall washers, industrial type buffers0 weighing over 50 pounds. The duties necessitate considerable dexterity, hand, foot, and eye coordination, and concentration as well as visual acuity to see dirt, dust, and debris.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
• Subject to a background/suitability investigation
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• May serve a probationary period
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• A complete application package; Resume, Transcripts, etc.
• 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.

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:

• Dexterity and Safety
• Follow Directions
• Handle Weights and Loads
• Reliability And Dependability
• Special Aptitude - Housekeeping Work
• Work Practices

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.