Housekeeping Aid (Environmental Services Technician)

Housekeeping Aid (Environmental Services Technician)

This position is located within the Environmental Management Services Division of a VA Medical Center. This position is under the direct supervision of the Housekeeping Supervisor or designee. This position performs both janitorial and custodial services at the VA Medical Center located in Columbia, SC.

Responsibilities :

• The Housekeeping Aid (HKA) - Environmental Services (EVS) Technicians who maintain VA facilities for Veterans and their families are essential to the patient care experience at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
• A VA healthcare career as a HKA-EVS Technician means working alongside other Veterans, who make up 85 percent of the housekeeping staff.
• As a HKA-EVS Technician, you will perform a full range of light and heavy cleaning duties and routine housekeeping duties. Veterans rely on the skills of these professionals to keep patient areas clean and safe by addressing spills quickly, discarding trash, installing light bulbs in halls and rooms, and vacuuming and polishing floors.
• Duties include cleaning wards, patient rooms, storerooms, offices, corridors, restrooms, shower rooms, and other areas.
• HKA-EVS Technicians sweep, mop, scrub (machine) floors, vacuum carpets and upholstered furniture, empty waste baskets, clean light globes and Venetian blinds, wash walls, windows and ceilings by climbing small ladders, refill toilet tissue and towel dispensers and move furniture.
• HKA-EVS Technicians carry out assignments with minimal supervision.

Work Schedule : 3 : 00pm-11 : 30pm, Shift assignments will include nights, weekends, and holidays. Work schedule subject to change based on agency needs.

Position Description Title / PD# : Housekeeping Aid (Environmental Services Technician) / PD01078A

Relocation / Recruitment Incentives : Not authorized

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI) : Not Approved

Requirements :

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. Suitable for Federal employment, determined by a background investigation. Selective Services Registration is required for males born after 12 / 31 / 1959. You may be required to serve a probationary period. 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.

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.

Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

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.

Qualifications :

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. This is an open continuous announcement that will remain open until 09 / 30 / 2026, closing date. Qualified applicants will be considered and referred as vacancies become available.

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.

Physical Effort : The position demands continuous walking, standing, stooping, kneeling, pulling, and pushing. The work requires the occasional use of heavy powered cleaning equipment (e.g., wall washers, industrial type buffers) weighing over 50 pounds. The duties necessitate considerable dexterity, hand, foot, and eye coordination, and concentration as well as visual acuity to see dirt, dust, and debris.

Working Conditions : Work is normally performed indoors with adequate heat, light, and ventilation. Some work may be performed outdoors where there may be exposed to varying degrees of heat and cold as well as inclement weather. PPE may be required in some circumstances as exposure to possible contagious diseases, blood and bloody secretions are inherent to this position. Care is required to avoid serious injuries (i.e., broken bones) when working on ladders, or when using 30-100-pound power equipment or handling hazardous materials.

Education Additional Information :

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration / Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA / OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Participation in the seasonal influenza program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). It is a requirement that all HCP to receive annual seasonal influenza vaccination or obtain an exemption for medical or religious reasons. Wearing a face mask is required when an exemption to the influenza vaccination has been granted. HCP in violation of this directive may face disciplinary action up to and including removal from federal service.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job.

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave : Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6, or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.