About This Position
This position is located at the VA Health Care System in Lexington, KY. The incumbent serves as, Housekeeping Work Leader, in the Sanitation Section of the Environmental Management Service. The Medical Center is a tertiary care facility that provides acute medical, surgical, neurological, and mental health inpatient services with a 99-bed complement at the Cooper Drive Division.
Qualifications
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/22/2026. EXPERIENCE: A specific length of training and experience is not required, but you must show evidence of training or experience of sufficient scope and quality of your ability to do the work of this position. Evidence which demonstrates you possess the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform the duties of this position must be supported by detailed descriptions of such on your resume.
Applicants will be rated in accordance with the OPM Federal Wage System Qualification Standards. SCREEN-OUT ELEMENT: Your qualifications will first be evaluated against the prescribed screen out element, which usually appears as question 1 in the on-line questionnaire. Those applicants who appear to possess at least the minimal acceptable qualification requirement are considered for further rating; those who do not are rated ineligible and are eliminated.
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.
Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. 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.
Physical Requirements/Working Conditions: Workers must stand or walk continuously on concrete floors. While they do not usually have to keep pace with machines, they need a certain amount of quickness in hand and arm movements to meet production standards. Most of the jobs require workers to frequently lift bundles weighing tip to 11 kilograms (25 pounds); however, in receiving and shipping, occasional lifting of bulk bundles weighing over 14 kilograms (70 pounds) is required.
When working in the receiving area they may be exposed to drafts from open doors. Laundries are extremely noisy and usually hot and humid. Workers are exposed to the possibility of bruises from carts or machinery.
If required to sort laundry from patients with contagious diseases, workers wear protective masks, gloves, and gowns.
Major Duties
The Laundry Worker must analyze work schedules, determine manpower requirements, materials, methods, procedures and equipment required to, accomplish any objective. The incumbent adjusts the workload and the work flow, taking into consideration delivery schedules, equipment, and work force. Major duties include but not limited to: Relay project assignments to other employees: provide equipment and supplies to accomplish tasks.
Initiate tasks or projects at a pace which will ensure completion in a planned time frame. Ensures all linen items are distributed to proper locations and quantity of linen distributed is in compliance with established daily quotas/par levels. Ensures that employees maintain proper safety guidelines and follow proper accident reporting procedures.
Utilizes a one-and-a-half ton truck, gross vehicle weight rating (GVW) 10, 100/4582, gross axle weight front (GAWF) 3570/1620, gross axle weight rear (GAWR) 7060/3203 for the transporting of linens from the Sousley campus to the Bowling campus area four to 6 times daily (or as needed). Responsible for daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual maintenance and documentation. Responsible for providing preventative maintenance on all equipment, machinery and transport vehicles, keeping alert to equipment malfunctions, placing work orders, maintaining supplies.
Communication/coordination with housekeeping staff, contracted transporter, and the immediate supervisor. Assists supervisors in providing on-the-job training for new personnel. Monitors and assigns workloads, sets priorities, addresses emergency situations and provides exceptional service to internal and external customers.
Receives tickets for one lot arranged in numerical order. Places tickets in bins or hangers in sequence. Sorts various groups of garments and linens into bins by matching identification symbols. Assists the service as a Housekeeping Aide when needed.
Utilizes independent judgment in making work assignments and is responsible for reporting attendance and performance discrepancies. Conducts inventories, while also making requests to purchase all linens to include sheets, towels, pillowcases, etc.; this process will include keeping an open line of communication with our Item Manager. Examines all damaged linens and uniform items to determine the nature and extent of the repairs, while making such repairs when economically feasible.
This will include checking for broken buttons and zippers, while making replacements when indicated. Collects all the soiled linen from the medical center users and communicates shipment of the soiled linen to the laundry plant. Trains other employees on how to conduct their work in sterile environments; these environments will cover all ICU's, O.R. exam rooms (handling) and any other rooms that demand that type of environment.
Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:00am-3:30pm Position Description Title/PD#: Laundry Worker Leader/PD304430 Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized
Conditions of Employment
You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents).
Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
Upon completion of your probationary period or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
How You Will Be Evaluated
IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview.
Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment. The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.
For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document. Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement.
Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.
Additional Information
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. 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.
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 05/22/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12963933. 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. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.
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. If initial application submission is updated and resubmitted with a new resume, only the most current resume will be reviewed for consideration.
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/
Required Documents
To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes: Resume SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please make sure you have included other documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), documentation to support Veterans Preference claims, or ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees).
You will not be contacted for additional information. Cover Letter DD-214/ Statement of Service Disability Letter (Schedule A) Disability Letter (VA) License Other (1) PCS Orders Performance Appraisal Professional Certification Resume Separation Notice (RIF) SF-15 SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action Transcript SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (if applicable for Time in Grade and/or Eligibility): Most recent SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee An SF-50 showing your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement.
In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade Award 50's do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade. Examples of appropriate SF-50's include: Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old. Veterans' Preference: Since the announcement is being posted internal to agency employees, traditional Veterans' Preference rules do not apply.
For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit Feds Hire Vets - Veterans - Job Seekers - Veterans' Preference.