Maintenance Mechanic

Summary

This position is located at the Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System (GCVHCS), Engineering Service, Biloxi, MS. The primary function of this position includes journeyman plumbing including carpentry, electric, painting, and general maintenance skills. Mechanics service and repair building and related fixtures on an emergency type basis, requiring the use of trade practices associated with occupations in the mechanical, electrical, carpentry, plumbing, and associated trades.

Duties

• Constructs, alters, repairs, and modifies items made of metal, wood, and wood substitutes. Assembles/disassembles, installs, repairs and modifies steel stud framing, wood and wood structures for structural soundness to include creating or working from complex drawings as a layout of the entire floor plan, ensuring assembly is consistent with building codes, safety standards, local standards, and manufacturing standards. Mixes and finishes plaster and applies to walls and ceilings, taking into consideration type of lathing, required thickness, weather conditions, etc. Selects proper tools and materials for work to be accomplished. Patches and repairs damaged plaster or stucco surfaces and repairs and finishes gypsum walls by applying joint compound and tape to cracks and joints. Removes and installs flooring, ceramic tile, structural and glazed tiles for walls, floors and ceilings in medical offices and various locations each requiring special consideration due to type of activity, location and, infectious control requirements. Maintains, repairs, alters and renovates the interior and exterior structures built from concrete, block, ceramic tiles by preparing and spreading mortar or adhesive, cutting, shaping, and laying blocks and tiles, and finishing joints. Locate leaks, determines cause and extent of damages to the facility, and determines the type of work to be conducted and proper techniques and methods. Reads, interprets, plans, lays out and performs work accordingly to building plans, blueprints, drawings, as-builts, oral and written instructions and from maintenance complaints or requests. Applies materials or paint using acceptable trade methods such as brushes, rollers, spray guns, graining devices and devices that give special effects. Examines and assesses state of aged or damaged structures and equipment. Operates tools such as a table saw, circular saw, drill press, jack hammer, hand tools, measuring devices, and other equipment that are required by carpenters. Conducts medical facility oversight and rounding for LP steam and hot water boilers from OHE. Startup, warm up and shutdown of boiler. Operation of all equipment and controls. Have skill in operating and using power and hand tools and other woodworking equipment such as portable drills, clippers, joiners, shavers, tenoners, sanders, routers, power activated nailers, combustion type saws, screw fasteners, drill presses, and table saws. Performs work from verbal instructions, work orders, and wiring diagrams. Voltage is usually from 120 to 277 volts. Must have the ability to read and follow directions that explain how to apply and use prepared solvents and thin and stir coating materials. Repairs and installs wall and door framing, drywall, including taping and spackling and use of plaster when situations warrant. Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday through Friday - 3:30PM - 12:00AM - subject to change based upon facility needs. Position Description Title/PD#: Maintenance Mechanic/PD03520A Physical Requirements: Maintenance Mechanic will be required to lift, carry, push or pull a variety of materials and equipment in excess of 40-lbs, such as fixtures, tools, ladders, and testing equipment and will occasionally handle items weighing in excess of 100-lbs. Will also be required to walk, stand, bend, climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, and work in tiring and uncomfortable positions to make necessary repairs. Working Conditions: Maintenance Mechanic will be required to perform work inside and outside buildings. Will be exposed to inclement weather, dirt, sewage, dust, fumes, and steam at all times. Will also be exposed to hazards of electrical shock and burns, as well as grease, chemical solutions, and falls from ladders or scaffolds. Incumbent will be subject to injury from use of hand and power tools, cuts, and bruises. Will be subject to emergency call outs 24-hours a day, 7-days per week, and may from time to time be scheduled for weekend or night work, as needed. Incumbent will be aware of all job-specific health hazards and will wear the appropriate/required personal protective equipment (PPE). Incumbent will inform supervisor of any unusual health hazards encountered for guidance as necessary.

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: Equipment Assembly, Installation, Repair Interpret Instructions, Specifications (includes blueprint reading) Materials Measuring Instruments Technical Practices Use and Maintain Tools and Equipment 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.

Requirements

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. Must be able to independently operate a Government Vehicle. Must provide clean driving record report from the DMV during the pre-employment process. Driver's License: A current, valid state-issued Driver's License is required for this position. NOTE: We cannot accept photographs, therefore; please do not submit a copy of your license with your application package. If an interview is requested, you will be required to provide a copy of your current, valid state-issued Driver's License. Must successfully pass a pre-employment examination. 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.

How to apply

All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 09/17/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13058983. 1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. 2. 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. You may check the status of your application at any time by logging into your USA Jobs account and clicking on Applications. Information regarding your application status can be found in the USAJobs Help Center. 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/ To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.