Maintenance Worker

Summary

This position is located with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Facilities Engineering, Plains Area, in the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF), in Manhattan, Kansas.

In this position, you will be an integral member of the Grounds/Vehicle Group, performing a full range of activities involving the NBAF campus outside maintenance and landscaping.

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Duties

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• Perform the full range of outside maintenance and landscaping activities involved on campus facilities.
• Maintain work and equipment areas and work with supervisor to ensure supplies and equipment are on hand.
• Maintain surfaces such as sidewalks, steps, walls, curbs, ramps, roads, etc.
• Ensure adherence to conduct, safety, fire, care of equipment, housekeeping rules and regulations.
• Remove broken concrete and prepare subsurfaces for repair including leveling ground and tamping fill material such as sand, dirt, and gravel.
• Operate pickup trucks, panel trucks, flatbed trucks, and other vehicles (weight up to 10,000 pounds) to tow and carry equipment, lawn materials, supplies, etc.
• Prune and trim shrubs, trees, and other plants as required to obtain a proper balance between roots and top growth.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a US Citizen or US National.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
• Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
• Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served. Refer to the Next Steps section for more information.
• Direct Deposit - Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit E-Verify at
• Motor vehicle or commercial driver's license required.
• Drug Test Required.
• Vaccine(s) Required.
• Special Physical Requirements/Demands.
• SAC and full background investigation required for positions working with BSL-3 (or higher) agents, or in BSL-3/BSL-4 facilities.
• Department of Justice (DOJ) Security Risk Assessment (SRA) approval is required.
• Immunizations may be required.
• Respirator fitting and certification are required.
• Required to report or duty during emergencies, critical periods, or during times when there are Government closures due to inclement weather or lapses in funding.
• Required to lift up to 100 pounds with appropriate support.
• Require pre-employment medical examination after receipt of a conditional job offer and on a periodic basis after onboarding.
• Must pass periodic fitness for duty physicals.
• May require a baseline blood sample for employees entering and working in the biocontainment facilities.
• All personnel entering the BSL-3 or higher biocontainment facilities at NBAF shall not be in contact with specific susceptible animals and their premises away from NBAF for a period of five (5) days after leaving biocontainment.

Qualifications

In order to qualify for this position you must meet the following by the closing date of the vacancy announcement:

07/14/2026Qualifications will be determined under the Job Element Rating System X-118C, Qualifications Standard Handbook. While a specific length of time and experience is not required for most Wage Grade positions, you must show through experience and training that you possess the best qualified level of knowledge and skill necessary to perform the duties of this position. Qualification requirements emphasize the quality of experience, not necessarily the length. The responses to the questionnaire and your resume should be in significant detail to provide the person rating your application with a good understanding of your ability to do the job, technical knowledge, work, and training experience, etc. (For example You must have the ability to perform the duties of a, Maintenance Workerwithout more than normal supervision (Screen Out)). Applicants who do not meet the SCREEN OUT ELEMENT will not be given further consideration.

Working Conditions

The incumbent works both inside and outside. In the operation of equipment and other activities, the incumbent is subject to dust, dirt, grease, scrapes, burns, infections, fumes, drafts, noise, chemical dust, and varying temperatures outside including extreme temperatures. The incumbent follows prescribed safety practices and uses safety equipment to avoid injury and possible hazards in the work area. In mixing substances and applying pesticides, wears respirators, gloves, and other personal protective equipment.

The health status of personnel is monitored periodically using biologic and serologic tests and physical examinations.

Restrictions against contact with birds and livestock outside the laboratory may apply after entering high security animal facilities that are working with disease agents foreign to the United States.

For the health and safety of the incumbent and to prevent the spread of disease, immunization against diseases being studied which are transmissible to humans may be required.

To prevent the transmission of disease out of biocontainment and retention of the position, the incumbent must meet the following medical standards in a pre-employment medical examination conducted after the receipt of a preliminary job offer and on a periodic basis:

• Ability to shower out of biocontainment one or more times per day;
• Not have any skin condition which would prevent this;
• Body piercings must be able to be removed prior to entry;
• External medical assist devices must have the ability to be removed prior to entering or not impede the ability to enter biocontainment, and the individual must still be able to shower out safely without assistance;
• Ability to follow instructions regarding decontamination from biocontainment;
• Any medical condition which could create an unsafe environment for the individual or his/her co-workers, such as: insufficient control of a medical disorder which could result in sudden loss of consciousness; and inadequate vision and hearing required for safety in a laboratory environment.

Due to the contagious nature to livestock of Foot-and-Mouth disease, and other diseases under study at NBAF, Biological Safety Regulations specify a personal quarantine for employees working in BSL-3, 3 enhanced, 3 Ag and 4 biocontainment. As a condition for employment, all personnel entering the BSL-3 or higher biocontainment facilities at NBAF shall not be in contact with specific susceptible animals and their premises away from NBAF for a period of five (5) days after leaving biocontainment. Currently, restricted species are cattle, sheep, goats, deer, other ruminants, and swine. Contact with horses, birds (agricultural and pet birds) and rabbits are normally permitted, but restrictions may be placed on staff working with or near-contagious agents affecting these species. Restricted livestock or other restricted animals may not be housed on the premises where the employee lives and where quarantine cannot be enforced. Employees who violate this requirement may be removed from employment or subject to other disciplinary actions.

Physical Effort

The work requires frequent standing, stooping, bending, kneeling, reaching, and arm and leg movement to operate equipment, and exposure to vibration, jerking and jolting in operation over rough terrain. The work also involves climbing ladders and stretching to reach tree limbs, etc. and pushing carts and wheelbarrows. The incumbent is required to lift up to 100 pounds with appropriate precautions, support and/or mechanical lifting devices.

Education

This position does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.

Recruitment or Relocation Incentive may be authorized. Final determination to pay an incentive will be made by the hiring official at time of job offer.

This is a Testing Designated Position (TDP). Selectee must submit to a urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment and random testing thereafter. Final appointment and continued employment is conditional on negative results for illegal drug use.

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.

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.