Tractor Operator

Tractor Operator

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Canandaigua, New York

Salary Range: $23.6 - $27.51 Per Hour

Job Summary: This position is located within the Grounds and Transportation Department of the Facilities Management Service at the Canandaigua VA Medical Center in Canandaigua, NY. The Tractor Operator operates wheel-mounted tractors and towed or attached equipment, transporting materials and equipment, digging, loading, planting, clearing, watering and mowing.

Major Duties:

• The major duties include but are not limited to: Landscapes flowerbeds, trees, shrubs, etc.; Cuts down trees and trims branches of various sizes, trims and shapes shrubs and plants located throughout the facility; Moves furniture and other heavy equipment and materials for other trades; Helps other trades in demolition and construction tasks as needed; Removes snow from walks, roadways and parking lots, etc.; Spreads various materials on icy spots and other duties related to snow removal; Removes mower decks and installs snowplow blades, snow blowers and sweepers; Installs salters on various equipment for the winter season; Removes buckets on small utility tractors and installs plow blades on all different types of plow equipment; Removes and installs doors on equipment as necessary; Performs preventative maintenance such as air and oil filters, grease fittings, sharpens and replaces mower blades, brushes and replaces cutting edges on plows and loader buckets; Inspects vehicles and equipment prior to and during their use each day, checking radiator, motor oil, gasoline, tires, battery and the general appearance of the vehicle; Drives various types of vehicles and equipment in the light to medium duty range, to haul wood, soil and debris to storage locations around the facility as needed; Drives on all types of roads and surfaces and traffic conditions; Transports, cars, vans and trucks to authorized government vendors for major and minor repairs and determines if the work has been accomplished satisfactorily; Operates power tools and hand tools to mow grass and weeds, trim hedges, prune shrubs and small trees, blow and rake leaves, shovel debris, etc.; Cleans shop areas and picks up trash from designated areas; Provides regular maintenance on equipment and makes emergency repairs when necessary and the maintenance mechanic is not available; and, Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Compressed/Flexible Schedule. Will be discussed during interview. Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized

Qualifications: PHYSICAL EFFORT AND WORK CONDITIONS: The work of the position requires standing, walking, climbing, crouching, kneeling, stooping and reaching, pushing and pulling of equipment. Must be able to lift and carry heavy materials and equipment. The person in the position primarily works outside and is exposed to all kinds of weather conditions. Works outdoors for extended periods of time during summer or winter months coping with heat or cold. Exposed to high and low temperatures, strains form handling heavy objects, cuts and abrasions from tools and equipment. Due to the nature of certain duties (snow removal, etc.), may work beyond an eight-hour day and/or may be required to work earlier and/or later shifts at any time. May be exposed to chemicals, dust and sprays and may need to wear protective clothing and respirators. Driver's License Requirement (SCREEN OUT): A current and valid state-issued driver's license is required for this position to operate the government vehicles. NOTE: We cannot accept photographs, therefore; please do not submit a copy of your driver's license with your application package. If an interview is requested, you will be required to provide a copy of your current and valid state-issued driver's license. 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: Drive Safely Interpret Instructions, Specifications (mobile equipment operations) Motor Vehicles Operate Safely (Non-Motor Vehicle) Reliability And Dependability Work Practices 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 05/04/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12947222. 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 (585) 394-2000. 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: 2026-05-04