Electrician

Summary

You will work as a member of the Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center (MWEOC), Facilities Management Division, Maintenance Branch team. MWEOC is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, approximately 60 miles west of Washington, DC. The ideal candidate has a Journeyman Electrical License in the state of Virginia or state of residence, commercial and industrial electrical works skills, and high voltage electrical work experience.

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Duties

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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 primarily as an Electrician for installation, maintenance and repair work. Typical assignments include:

• Troubleshoot distribution circuits and generating and controlling equipment to locate and correct the causes of outages and improper operation; Locating faults and rapidly and safely restoring power on the campus distribution system.
• Troubleshooting and repair of electrical wiring systems and associated fixtures, controls, equipment in industrial, commercial office, and commercial buildings; tracing and repairing hard to locate defects or problems; repairing or replacing a variety of electrical equipment including light fixtures.
• Installing, modifying, repairing, maintaining, troubleshooting, testing, and loading new and existing electrical lines, circuits, systems, and associated fixtures, controls, and equipment. Examples of these are secondary power distribution lines and circuits used to supply a wide range of voltage, amperage, phase, and frequency requirements, to distribution panels, switchgear, power and control circuits, and industrial multiphase systems.
• Reading building plans, blueprints, wiring diagrams, engineering drawings, and electrical maintenance and repair manuals to install electrical lines, circuits, systems, equipment and controls.
• Interpreting and applying the National Electrical Code, local codes, building plans, and use formulas to calculate common properties. i.e. ohms law.

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.

Promotion Potential : Future promotions will be dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, the continuing need for an employee assigned to the higher level, and administrative approval.

Requirements

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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 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:

1. You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
2. You must successfully pass a background investigation.
3. Selective Service registration required.
4. Current federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements.
5. You must be able to obtain and maintain a Government credit card.
6. 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.
7. Please review the Additional Information section for additional key requirements.

Qualifications

The qualification requirements listed below must be met within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement.

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 performed both inside and outside. Electrical workers are sometimes required to make repairs and installations in bad weather; in work areas that are noisy, dirty, dusty, and greasy; on scaffolding or cranes at heights of 9 meters (30 feet) or more; and in close quarters such as manholes, or attics. They are occasionally exposed to the possibility of injury from falling, electrical shock, burns, and rotary devices such as electrical motors. They are frequently exposed to the possibility of cuts and bruises.

They are exposed to danger from explosions of equipment and cables in manholes and vaults, as well as danger from high voltage electrical shock, burns from solder, broken bones, cuts, and bruises. They are exposed to heat and noise when working in substations or power-generating facilities, to extremes of weather when working outdoors, and to unpleasant odors and wet slippery surfaces when working in manholes. They are subject to electrical burns while working around high voltage electrical lines, broken bones from falls from poles, and strains from awkward work positions. They are exposed to chemicals such as insulation oil from transformers and oil switches. They use protective devices such as earplugs, safety hats, and nonconductive gloves and footwear.

Physical Effort: Workers frequently perform moderately heavy lifting, pulling, and carrying of equipment and material weighing up to 18 kilograms (40 pounds) and occasionally, they lift or pull heavy cables and equipment weighing more than 23 kilograms (50 pounds) with the help of weight handling equipment or with assistance from other workers. They use block and tackle, pulleys, or other lifting devices. They crouch, stand, kneel, and stoop while installing, repairing, or testing electrical equipment in confined spaces such as enclosed switch gear, or in structures such as overhead bus and conduit assemblies. Workers work above ground from aerial bucket trucks and poles, at ground level, and in trenches, or manholes. Work requires bending, stooping, climbing, and standing for long periods while installing, repairing, and testing electrical equipment in manholes and on overhead distribution lines in tiring and uncomfortable positions. Electrical workers make repairs and installations from ladders, scaffolding, platforms, and other hard-to-reach places.

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.

NOTE: Qualifications are based on breadth/level of experience. In addition to describing duties performed, applicants must provide exact dates of each period of employment (from MM/YY to MM/YY) and the number of hours worked per week if part time. As qualification determinations cannot be made when resumes do not include the required information, failure to provide this information may result in disqualification. Applicants are encouraged to use the USAJOBS Resume Builder to develop their federal resume. For a brief video on How to Create a Federal Resume, click here.

Current or former FEMA Reservists/Disaster Assistance Employee (DAE): To accurately credit your experience for these intermittent positions, make sure to list the dates (from MM/YY to MM/YY) of each deployment, along with the job title and specific duties you were responsible for during each deployment. Failure to provide this information may result in disqualification

• If selected for the position, the selection must pass a pre-employment physical prior to appointment.
• Must currently possess or obtain a journeyman electrical license within 1 year of placement into this position.

Education

No Educational Substitution: There is no educational substitution for this position, and you must meet the qualifications listed in the "requirements" 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 View email address on click.appcast.io.
• 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.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

DHS offers competitive salaries and an attractive benefits package, including health, dental, vision, life, and long-term care insurance; retirement plan; Thrift Savings Plan [similar to a 401(k)]; Flexible Spending Account; Employee Assistance Program; personal leave days; and paid federal holidays.

Other benefits may include flexible work schedules; tuition reimbursement; transportation subsidies; uniform allowance; health and wellness programs; and fitness centers. DHS is committed to employee development and offers a variety of employee training and developmental opportunities. For more information, go to the DHS Careers website and select "Benefits." Disabled veteran leave will be available to any federal employee hired on or after November 5, 2016, who is a veteran with a service- connected disability rating of 30 percent or more.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.