DECKHAND (SHIPKEEPER) LEADER

Clarification from the agency

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

• Prepares the interior and exterior of vessel for using in accomplishing daily mission.
• Fixes minor repairs to vessel hull, deck, and machinery to maintain vessel in operating condition.
• Maintains splices and rope for rigging and roping of supplies.
• Dismantles and assemble equipment for proper functionality and daily use.
• Directs drift and debris into nets to maintain cleanliness of harbor.
• Fastens hawsers and mooring ropes to pier and other crafts.
• Observes safety procedures for crew and all passengers in accordance with safety and health regulations.
• Operates safely in hazardous situations and under dangerous conditions.
• Follows established operating practices and techniques to conduct waterway missions and floating plant maintenance.
• Understand specifications and procedures for attaching hooks, slings, rig and/or tie-lines to items such as wrecks, nets, pilings, buoys etc.
• Lifts and stacks drift debris onto barges to maintain cleanliness of harbor.
• Hoists boom gears and levers to load and unload supplies onto and off the ship.

Conditions of employment

• Appointment to this position is subject to a background investigation to determine your suitability for Federal employment.
• This position is subject to a pre-employment screening, and random testing thereafter, to include testing based on reasonable suspicion and testing due to direct involvement with an on-duty accident.
• This position requires alcohol testing per ER 690-1-1218.
• This position requires the completion of a pre-employment Physical Examination to ensure the required level of physical health and ability or fitness to perform the duties of the position.
• 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 11.
• This position has a Temporary Duty (TDY) or business travel requirement of up to 25% of the time.
• Subject to recall 24 hours a day, 7 days a week due to an emergency situation such as plane crashes, hurricanes etc.
• This position requires possession of a current, valid USCG Merchant Mariner Credential for Master of Motor Vessels of at Least 100 Gross Tons Near Coastal license.
• This position requires possession of a current, valid Transportation Workers Identification Credential.

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
• 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
• 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

In order to qualify, you must meet the experience requirements described below. 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. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant 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 a(n) DECKHAND (SHIPKEEPER) LEADER without more than normal supervision to include safe rigging of drift and debris for removal from waterways; marlinespike seamanship (i.e., splicing, seizing etc.) to maintain all line, rope, and hawsers onboard the vessel; maintenance of the vessel (i.e., surface preparation, priming, painting, cleaning); operating shipboard machineries; and implementation of safety requirement - Failure to meet this Screen Out Element will result in an ineligible rating.

To meet the basic eligibility, you must receive at least two points on the screen-out element indicated above and must have an average of two points on all the job elements listed below. Your application will be further evaluated to determine if you meet the best qualified cut-off for referral to the selecting official. Failure to meet this Screen Out Element will result in an ineligible rating.

Required Conditions of Employment: The duties of this position require the incumbent to possess: 1) a valid USCG Merchant Mariner Credential for Able Seaman (MMC); AND 2) a valid Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC). (Note: You must attach a copy of your credentials to your application package and include the serial number, date issued and expiration date.)

Please note the requirements for both a current MMC and TWIC must be in hand for consideration for an interview and a Tentative Job Offer; therefore, you must attach a copy to your application package.

If you are interested in pursuing and learning how to acquire the MMC and TWIC credentials, please see the following sites for additional information:

The websites for information on how to acquire the MMC and TWIC are:

MMC - https://www.dco.uscg.mil/nmc/merchant_mariner_credential/
TWIC - https://www.tsa.gov/for-industry/twic

You will be evaluated on the basis of your level of competency in the following areas:

• 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)
• Ability To Lead or Supervise
• Operation of Motor Vehicles
• Reliability and Dependability as a Deckhand
• Work Practices (includes keeping things neat, clean, and in order)

• Physical Effort: Moderately heavy physical effort is required in lifting and carrying objects weighing up to 50 pounds; work in stretched and cramped positions.
• Working Conditions: Works both inside and outside during a variety of weather conditions and climates, including extremes of heat and cold and heavy rainfall. There is a danger of slipping from a vessel into water with possibility of physical injury or drowning. On-shore work may involve working in mud, snow, or ice in dirty or cramped situations.

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.
• This position requires a job-related license or certification. You MUST submit a copy of your license or certification with your application package or you will be rated ineligible. See: Transcripts and Licenses (include hyperlink to attachment). See: Transcripts and Licenses

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.

Next steps