Pest Controller

Pest Controller

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Durham, North Carolina

Salary Range: $29.19 - $32.88 Per Hour

Job Summary: Employee will serve as a Pest Controller assigned to Environmental Management Services located at the Mid-Atlantic Veterans Health Care Network in Durham, NC.

Major Duties:

• The primary purpose of the Pest Controller position is to prevent and control the entrance of pests and predators and eradicate infestations within all facilities. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a preventative, long-term, low toxicity means of controlling pests. Duties will include, but may not be limited to: Plans, implements, and carries out a comprehensive IMP Program. Conducts inspections of buildings and grounds. Develops survey and treatment schedules for areas and selects materials and equipment to apply insecticides, rodenticides, fungicides, germicides, etc. Collects and identifies common pests, e.g., ants, flies, mosquitoes, cockroaches, mice, rats, birds, and seasonal pests e.g., mites, fleas, ticks, lawn garden pests, and termites. Utilizes suitable IPM control methods to reduce and control hazards to public health, stored products, structures, and vegetation. Locates and identifies pests in stored products; determines the appropriate pesticide toxicity, chemical solutions, baits, physical characteristics, lifecycles, and feeding habits associated with a wide variety of pests; and plans and carries out appropriate pest control measures. Maintains data on infestations, type of treatment applied, results achieved, and existing conditions which may encourage infestation. Uses, maintains, and calibrates pest control equipment. Must understand potential environmental consequences precipitated by weather; types of terrain, soil or other substrate; drainage patterns; and presence of wildlife and nontarget organisms. Coordinates work with the Infection Control Nurse and other people in the Medical Center and advises on preventative measures such as housekeeping requirements and removal/elimination of pest hiding areas. Makes pest control troubleshooting inspections and recommendations on an as needed basis at the outpatient clinics, residential homes, and other off station properties used by the VA. Completes required reports and records to meet all regulatory agency requirements. Follows all Federal, State, Local, and Medical Center directives that are pertinent to an effective Integrated Pest Management Program. Perform other duties as necessary. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Condition of Employment: New employees are required to obtain within 60 days a current North Carolina Commercial Pesticide Applicator Certificate if your current certificate is in another State. This is a requirement of the position and certification requirements are non-reimbursable.

Qualifications: SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR (SCREEN-OUT) - A Selective Placement Factor (SPF) has been identified for this position. Selective Placement Factors (SPF) are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for the position. Applicants who do not meet the SPF are ineligible for further consideration. The SPF for this position is: Requires a current Commercial Pesticide Applicator Certificate. (This requirement must be supported by your resume and will be verified if interviewed OR provide a copy of the certification with your application.) AND SCREEN-OUT: Requires the ability to perform the work as a Pest Controller without more than normal supervision. Qualifying experience includes: identifying common and seasonal pests by sight, physical characteristics, habits, hiding areas and independently determining appropriate pest measures; selecting and mixing approved pesticides and chemicals; applying pesticides in accordance with instructions and warnings; and storing, handling and disposing of all pesticides and containers as required by all local, state, and federal regulations. (Note: To receive credit, resume(s) must support the qualifying experience and responses provided to the online questionnaire, with detailed documentation of the duties you have performed in the positions you have held.) PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS/WORKING CONDITIONS: Pest Controller may lift and handle materials weighing over 50 pounds and carry chemical solutions up to 40 pounds for extended periods. May work in cramped or uncomfortable positions. Position involves frequent stooping, bending, kneeling, climbing, and working in uncomfortable conditions may be encountered. May move furniture, equipment, etc., as part of the treatment process. May work indoors or outdoors, and may encounter heat, cold, dust, dirt, mud, unpleasant odors, etc. May be exposed to areas with minimal ventilation and/or limited access. Employee is required to wear necessary safety equipment (i.e., respirators, gloves, other personal protective devices) while completing and preparing all applications. May need to respond and/or on-call 24 hours a day for emergencies to prevent loss in service and/or delay in patient care. Applicants will be rated in accordance with the OPM Federal Wage System Qualifications. For this position, the job element method is used to match what you, the applicant, can do against what the work calls for. Your knowledge, skills and abilities will be compared to the knowledge, skills and abilities (called job elements) needed for success. Your qualifications will first be evaluated against the prescribed screen out element (WG-2 and higher only; screen-outs are not applicable to WG-1). Applicants who appear to meet the screen out element are considered for further rating; those who do not are rated ineligible and are eliminated from consideration. The potential eligibles are rated against the remainder of the job elements. While a specific length of training and experience is not required, your responses to the questionnaire must be supported by detailed descriptions of your experience on your resume. You will be rated on the following Job Elements as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Dexterity and Safety Interpret Instructions, Specifications (other than blueprint reading) Materials Technical Practices Use and Maintain Tools and Equipment Without more than normal supervision IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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. 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, 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.

How to Apply: All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 03/16/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12904723. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. 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. 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. 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/ Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities (i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities), and/or disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. For more information on how to apply using this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator within the office, contact the facility Human Resources Department at (919) 286-0411. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more before any Veterans preference points) for this vacancy. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Application Deadline: 2026-03-16