Gardener (Motor Vehicle Operator)

Summary

This position serves as a gardener within the Facilities Management Section at the Kansas City VA Medical Center. The incumbent is required to work with minimal supervision to perform a wide variety of duties to improve and maintain the appearance of lawns, trees, shrubs, plants, walkways, recreational areas, roads and parking lots at this facility.

Duties

• The incumbent serves as a Gardener (Motor Vehicle/Tractor Operator) within the Facilities Management Service of the VA Kansas City Health Care System. The position is responsible for maintaining, protecting, and improving the medical center's exterior grounds, landscaped areas, ornamental plantings, and related infrastructure. Major duties include: - Performs gardening and grounds maintenance duties, including soil preparation, planting, transplanting, thinning, pruning, fertilizing, mulching, pest/disease control, and maintaining flower beds, trees, shrubs, lawns, and interior plants. Exercises expert judgment in identifying plant health issues and applying corrective measures to promote proper growth, vigor, appearance, and long-term sustainability. - Selects and applies proper fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, fertilizers, lime, and other materials in accordance with manufacturer guidelines, OSHA/EPA standards, and VA safety practices. Calculates appropriate quantities and mixture ratios for plants, seeds, and chemical applications. - Operates a variety of powered and manual equipment, including riding and push mowers, trimmers, edgers, blowers, chain saws, cultivators, snowplows, and hand tools. Operates small forklifts to retrieve and store supplies. Performs routine equipment cleaning and maintenance, and enters assignment data into VA systems for work tracking. - Operates motor vehicles-including pickup trucks with trailers-to transport personnel, tools, equipment, and materials. Ensures proper loading, conducts operator-level maintenance, completes trip tickets, and reports vehicle issues promptly. - Operates, maintains, and monitors irrigation systems to ensure adequate watering and turf health. Conducts thatching, aerating, reseeding, and other turf revitalization work based on seasonal requirements and plant needs. - Performs snow and ice removal duties using snow blowers, equipped riding mowers, and manual tools to clear walkways and parking areas. Applies salt and sand to improve safety during inclement weather. - Adheres to all safety regulations, hospital policies, and PPE requirements. Maintains safe work practices and protects government tools, property, and materials. Recognizes and mitigates hazards associated with weather, chemicals, equipment operation, ladders, and outdoor environments. - Provides customer service consistent with VA values by interacting courteously with Veterans, staff, and visitors, resolving issues constructively, and providing accurate information as required. Protects sensitive information in accordance with the Privacy Act and applicable VA policies. - Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 6:30 am to 2:30 pm Position Description Title/PD#: Gardener (Motor Vehicle Operator)/PD08299A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/08/2026. 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 Interpret Instructions, Specifications (other than blueprint reading) Measuring Instruments Technical Practices Use and Maintain Tools and Equipment 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. Physical Requirements: Work will be performed over 96 acres and, as such, requires frequent walking and the use of a tractor for transportation of equipment and materials. Frequent bending, stooping and standing are required due to the nature of the work. The gardener will climb ladders to prune, plant material or to place Christmas lights. He/she will be required to lift heavy objects such as fertilizer, salt, plant material and maneuver loaded wheel barrows. Working Conditions: The majority of work is done outdoors. The gardener will be subject to discomfort from long periods of heat and humidity, cold, wind, rain and snow, and will perform responsibilities with minimum interruption under these conditions. He/ she will be exposed to chemical sprays and dusts. He/she will be provided protective clothing and equipment such as gloves, respirator, safety shoes and boots. During periods of extreme weather, such as heavy rain or severe cold, the incumbent may be given assignments to assist other members of the section in moving materials and equipment, shop maintenance and other tasks which may be outside the range of gardening.

Requirements

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Subject to background/security investigation Pre-employment physical required 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 identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Possess a valid, unrestricted Driver's License (DL). Have a safe driving record. Demonstrate that they are medically qualified to operate the appropriate motor vehicle safely. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial 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 or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

How to apply

All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 09/08/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13044205. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. During the application process you may 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. Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. If initial application submission is updated and resubmitted with a new resume, only the most current resume will be reviewed for consideration. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume: Prioritize most relevant and recent experience Use concise, results focused language Align language from the job announcement Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies Remove outdated or unrelated experience Use the USAJOBS resume builder Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/merit-hiring-plan-resources/applicant-guidance-on-the-two-page-resume-limit/ Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified, you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more) for this vacancy. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.