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Agricultural Research Service Engineering Technician in Ames, Iowa

Summary This position is located within the Facilities Engineering Unit of the National Animal Disease Center (NADC) for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), in Ames, IA. In this position, you will manage construction projects that vary in scope and are completed through in-house maintenance or contractor support. You will also provide technical engineering support. Responsibilities Manages construction projects including duties of Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), Engineering Project Manager (EPM), Technical Inspector (TI), and Location Coordinator (LC) as appropriate. Conducts pre-bid conference and site visits, including answering technical questions, and writing and arranging distribution of meeting minutes. Maintains contact and reports as necessary with Contracting Officer (CO) regarding performance of contractors that my affect the contract performance, cost or time. Reviews contractor’s cost proposals and makes recommendations to CO regarding fair and reasonable costs. Plans, develops approaches, designs/illustrates, and coordinates implementation of in-house and locally procured construction projects, including developing preliminary plans and construction budgets. Provides technical engineering support for Center facilities and input to the Chief/Deputy Engineer, EPM, or Architectural Engineering (A-E) firm during planning/design stages. Reads and interprets building construction drawings, specifications, and engineering and architectural reports. Make rough, though highly complex and detailed, sketches of utility systems, lab equipment, structures, etc., suitable for use as planning, estimating, and scheduling data. Consults with Unit foremen and in-house craftsmen to determine best method of accomplishing project needs. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. Time in grade: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. GS-11 Specialized Experience: Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience must be described for each grade level advertised. The specialized experience requirements for this position are: Qualifying experience for GS-11 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-10 which is directly related to the work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience planning, designing, managing or implementing construction projects and budgets; estimating construction and facilities maintenance and repair costs; and providing technical expertise regarding construction project scope and implementation. 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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Physical Demands: Less than one-third of the incumbent's time will be sedentary. Work requires the incumbent to conduct field inspections of construction sites and NCAH buildings and facilities which involves walking over uneven and rough surfaces, entering confined spaces, climbing ladders, stooping, bending, and crawling in buildings and machines room with both cold and hot environments. Work Environment: Work involves exposure toa variety of building systems and research facilities including potential exposure to biological hazards, process piping, hazardous chemical fumes, electrical systems, construction machinery and sites, equipment noise and heights. Work may require wearing personal protective equipment such as protective clothing, boots, gloves, breathing devices, and safety goggles. 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. Veterans who are preference eligible or who have been separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions after three years or more of continuous active service are eligible for consideration under the Veteran's Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA). Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Employees: Permanent County employees without prior Federal tenure who are selected for a Civil Service position under Public Law 105-277 will be given a career-conditional appointment and must serve a 1-year probationary period. For more information on applying under special hiring authorities such as the Veteran's Recruitment Act (VRA), 30 percent disabled veterans, certain military spouses, Schedule A Disabled, etc., explore the different Hiring Paths on the USAJOBS website. Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) provides current or former temporary or term employees of federal land management agencies opportunity to compete for permanent competitive service positions. Individuals must have more than 24 months of service without a break between appointments of two or more years. Service must be in the competitive service and have been at a successful level of performance or better. Refer to PUBLIC LAW 114-47-AUG. 7, 2015 for more information. This position is being concurrently announced under Delegated Examining Announcement Number ARS-S24Y-12531890-RG. This announcement is open to all qualified candidates. Applying to both announcements may expand the possibilities of consideration since different referral criteria apply to each type of announcement. See the above announcement for more information. This position may be eligible to telework up to four days per week, based upon the duties of the position. This position may also be eligible for flexible work arrangements as determined by agency policy and any applicable collective bargaining agreements. 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 position is designated as a bargaining unit position and is represented by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE).

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