Conductor

Clarification from the agency

See "Who May Apply" in the "Qualifications" section for more information on who is eligible to apply for this position.

• Monitors and directs the safe makeup, breakup, and movement of trains
• Ensure railroad brakers are placed correctly
• Pick up work lists; receive instructions by radio and relays information to railroad crews
• Push, pull, lift, position and turn various braking, switching, and coupling devices
• Perform duties as braker-switcher

Conditions of employment

• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• This position requires the completion of a pre-employment Physical Examination and an annual examination thereafter to ensure the continued, required level of physical health and ability or fitness to perform the duties of the position.
• The duties of this position meet the criteria for compliance with Federal and Department of the Army Drug Free Workplace Programs. Detection of the presence of drugs is warranted. Position is subject to a pre-employment screening, and random testing.
• In accordance with AR 690-11, this position has been designated as "Key" and shall not be vacated during a national emergency or mobilization. Incumbent must be exempted from recall to active duty .
• This position has a requirement to lift up to 45 lbs. in the regular performance of duties.
• Appointment to this position is subject to a one year probationary period unless the appointee has previously met the requirements as described in 5 CFR Part 315. While probationary the incumbent can be terminated with limited appeal rights.
• This position has a Temporary Duty (TDY) or business travel requirement of 25% of the time.
• This position requires incumbent to obtain special license/certification requirement for Locomotive Engineer Certification within 12 months of hire.
• Incumbent may be required to work irregular shifts.
• This position has been designated "Mission Essential". In the event of severe weather conditions or other such emergency type situations the incumbent is required to report to work or remain at work as scheduled to support mission operations.
• This position is subject to the provisions of the Lautenberg Amendment. This act bans individuals convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence and certain others from possession or access to firearms or ammunition.
• This position requires incumbent to obtain special license/certification requirement for Locomotive Engineer Certification within 12 months of hire.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected. See Proof of Eligibility for an extensive list of document requirements for all employment authorities.

• Current Department of Army Civilian Employees
• Current Department of Defense (DOD) Civilian Employee (non-Army)
• Domestic Defense Industrial Base/Major Range and Test Facilities Base Civilian Personnel Workforce
• Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan
• Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act
• Military Spouses, under Executive Order (E.O.) 13473
• People with Disabilities, Schedule A
• Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Reserve (MR) and National Guard (NG) Technician Eligible
• Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Spouse Preference (MSP) Eligible
• Priority Placement Program, DoD MR and NG Preference Eligible Tech Receiving Disability Retirement
• Priority Placement Program, DoD Retained Grade Preference Eligible
• Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) of 1998

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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

There is no specific length of training or experience required. However, you must be able to demonstrate, through experience shown in your written application materials that you possess the sufficient knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the work of this position without more than normal supervision.

Minimum Qualifications (Screen Out Element): Ability to do the work of an Conductor without more than normal supervision. I have the ability to perform common duties working as a Conductor crew member in charge on 120-ton diesel electric locomotives. I can monitor rail cars in holding areas and work areas. I have performed the duties of a barker-switcher. I receive and relay message to the crew for placement of cars. I am experienced with safety and movement regulations of railcars. I assist with the placement and sequence of railcars. I work under normal supervision of a work leader or journey-level employee who observes tasks in progress and upon completion to make sure they are properly performed. - Failure to meet this Screen Out Element will result in an ineligible rating.

• Ability To Do The Work Of The Position Without More Than Normal Supervision (Screen-out Element)
• Ability to Drive Safely (Motor Vehicles) and Ability to Operate Safely (Non-Motor Vehicle)
• Ability To Interpret Instructions, Specifications, etc. (related to mobile equipment operation)
• Operation of Motor Vehicles
• Reliability And Dependability
• Work Practices (includes keeping things neat, clean, and in order)

• Physical Efforts: Must use physical agility and effort in pushing, pulling, lifting, positioning and turning various braking, switching, and coupling devices; moving and lifting arms and devices to give signals; walking over rails and ties and running to perform tasks. Must be able to climb aboard locomotives and train cars, sometimes while they are moving or have slippery steps, rungs, and grab irons. Required to lift and carry items weighing up to 50 pounds and put forth similar effort in pushing and removing obstacles from the railway.
• Working Conditions: Works under many adverse conditions in both good and bad weather. Frequently exposed to loud noise, fumes and odors. Exposed to possible injuries from accidents. May wear protective clothing, such as safety shoes and gloves. Any unusual environmental working conditions that may arise will be compensated for under an appropriate category of the environmental pay regulation.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position.

You may claim Military Spouse preference.

You may claim Priority Placement Program (PPP) preference.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). If you are a Federal employee in the competitive service and your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority for this position. To receive selection priority, you must: (1) meet ICTAP eligibility criteria (2) be rated well-qualified for the position and; (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your ICTAP eligibility. To be considered well-qualified and receive selection priority applicants must satisfy all qualification requirements for the position and receive a score of 90 or above. Additional information about the program is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website.

The documents you are required to submit vary based on the authority you are using to apply (i.e., applying as a veteran, applying as a current permanent Federal employee, applying as a reinstatement, etc). Please review the following links to see which documents you need to provide to prove your eligibility to apply: Applicant Checklist for Internal/Merit Promotion Announcements

As described above, your complete application includes your resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.

1. Your resume:

• Your resume must be two pages or less and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration.
• For each relevant work experience, make sure you include the employer's name, job title, start and end dates (include month and year), for qualifications purposes, the number of hours worked per week, and a brief description that show you can perform the tasks at the required level listed in the job announcement. If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete, and you may not receive consideration for this position.
• Use plain language. Avoid using acronyms and terms that are not easily understood. The hiring agency will not make assumptions about what's in your resume.
• If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations, and you may not be considered for this vacancy.
• For additional information, to include formatting tips, see: What to include in your resume.

2. Other supporting documents:

• Cover Letter, optional
• Most recent Performance Appraisal, if applicable
• Proof of Eligibility to Apply: Your application must include the documents which prove you are eligible to apply for the vacancy. The Proof of Eligibility document describes authorities commonly used in merit promotion recruitment and what document(s) are required to prove you meet the requirements of the authority. You must meet the requirements of at least one of the authorities listed in the Who May Apply section above to receive further consideration.

NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application. You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility.

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