Highway Maintenance and Equipment Operator (Salem)

Title: Highway Maintenance and Equipment Operator (Salem)

State Role Title: Transportation Operator II

Hiring Range: $39,448 - $64,103 Based on Experience

Pay Band: 2

Agency: VA Dept of Transportation

Location: Salem Residency

Agency Website: https://www.jobs.virginia.gov

Recruitment Type: General Public - G

Job Duties

What drives you?  Whether it’s knowing the work you do makes a difference, having great work/life balance, working on exciting and challenging projects, leading innovation, and championing change or simply working with a great group of people who are committed to your professional development...At the Virginia Department of Transportation, we have something for YOU!

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is responsible for building, maintaining, and operating the state’s roads, bridges, tunnels, and ferries. Through the Commonwealth Transportation Board, it also provides funding for airports, rail, and public transportation. Virginia has the third largest state-maintained highway system in the country covering 58,321 miles of interstate, primary, secondary and frontage roads. VDOT has about 7,500 employees making it one of the largest state agencies in Virginia delivering a program that exceeds $5 Billion. 

The Salem District maintains more than 9,200 miles of roads in southwestern Virginia in the counties of: Bedford, Botetourt, Carroll, Craig, Floyd, Franklin, Giles, Henry, Montgomery, Patrick, Pulaski, and Roanoke. The district serves more than 650,000 citizens in these counties and the 14 cities and towns in its boundaries.

Successful Maintenance Operator candidates can operate diverse hand and power tools (chain saw, weed eater) and heavy equipment (such as dump trucks, loader, backhoe, tractor w/ attachments) and will participate as a working team member clearing drainage pipes and ditches, cutting brush, pot-hole patching, setting up work zones, and other diverse skilled and manual labor tasks required to complete road maintenance projects

As a Maintenance Operator, you will:

*skillfully operate diverse medium and heavy equipment to perform roadway and roadside maintenance activities
*respond to emergency roadway and severe weather events to prepare and operate equipment for snow and ice removal and other types of hazardous road conditions
*prepare/clean up work zones and perform traffic control
*demonstrate proper work site safety and protection techniques
*complete pre-trip equipment inspections and perform preventive maintenance on diverse equipment

VDOT is an emergency response agency and this position is key to fulfilling this agency requirement. This position will be called upon to work outside of normal work hours during emergency operations such as inclement weather, flooding, and/or traffic incidents..

Minimum Qualifications

Your skillset may be competitive for this position if you have:

*knowledge of roadway and roadside work related maintenance equipment, materials, and methods

*demonstrated experience in operation of equipment comparable to that used in highway
maintenance/construction activities

*ability to perform heavy manual labor, including climbing up and down slopes and frequently lifting/carrying up to 50 lbs

*skill in the operation and maintenance of hand and power tools

*ability to work in inclement weather and to respond to accidents and emergencies/disasters, etc. during/after normal work hours - including nights, weekends, and holidays, sometimes with little advance notice

*ability to acquire and maintain DOT Medical Card related to federal CDL and agency requirements

*ability to obtain CDL within 11 months of employment

*ability to maintain required licensure for the position and to travel independently among assigned work locations

Additional Considerations

*valid CDL and applicable endorsements
*recent experience with heavy manual labor and heavy equipment operation
*experience performing preventive maintenance and minor equipment repairs
*experience operating heavy equipment performing emergency operations – to include snow
removal, and storm and accident response and clean-up
*Flagger certification and work zone set-up experience.

Special Instructions

You will be provided a confirmation of receipt when your application and/or résumé is submitted successfully. Please refer to “Your Application” in your account to check the status of your application for this position.

This TO II Maintenance Operator recruitment offers a SIGN-ON BONUS of $3,000 to newly hired CDL holders. Requires 1-Year tenure agreement. Inquiries welcome, as other conditions may apply.

Skills demonstration and background check is required if selected as a finalist. This includes:
*Employment reference check and work history verification
*DMV Records Check
*Fingerprint-based criminal history records check with VA State police and FBI
*Federal DOT pre-employment physical

Additionally required for CDL holders:
*Full Query drug and alcohol history in FMCSA Clearinghouse – Register at: FMCSA
Clearinghouse.
*Pre-employment DOT drug and alcohol screening

Safety shoes and other personal protective equipment (PPE) required in performance of job duties.

This position is designated as essential and, as such, all duties associated with this job are required during emergency situations which may include, but are not limited to, inclement weather, disaster response and emergency operations.

Performance of these duties may require work outside of normal business hours including nights, weekends and holidays. VDOT will determine when essential positions are required to report.

Multiple Maintenance Operator positions may be filled from this recruitment in Roanoke/Salem, Craig, Botetourt Counties.

VDOT utilizes a market based pay program, which has been approved by DHRM. Therefore, advertised rates of pay may or may not align with the Commonwealth pay bands.

The decision to interview an applicant is based on the information about qualifications and work history provided by the applicant in the application and/or optional resume’. State applications will only be accepted through online submission through the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Job Board/ Recruitment Management System (PAGE UP). PAGE UP provides a confirmation of receipt when your application is submitted successfully. Please refer to “Your Application” in your PAGE UP account to check the status of your application for this position.

NOTE: TO II level Equipment Operators hired without a valid CDL in hand are required to obtain their CDL within 11 months of their hire date and cannot operate commercial motor vehicles prior to receiving the necessary licensure and medical certification. Effective February 7, 2022, new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations require entry-level drivers (drivers who are seeking to take the skills test in order to obtain a CDL for the first time, upgrade their CDL from a Class B to a Class A, or take the knowledge test to obtain a hazardous materials endorsement for the first time) to complete FMCSA- approved Entry-Level Driving (ELD) Training before the Department of Motor Vehicles can grant the requested CDL or endorsement. The course is comprised of 160 hours, on average, of training. VDOT is willing to assist with your enrollment in and payment for the course upon your acceptance of an ELD Training Tuition tenure guarantee and repayment agreement.

We are a “Virginia Values Veterans” (V3) official certified company and state agency that
provides hiring preference to Veterans and Members of the Virginia National Guard in
support of Executive Order 29, (2010). If you are a Veteran or Virginia National Guard
Member, we urge you to respond accordingly on your state application.

Contact Information

Name: Teresa Moody

Phone: 540-266-2661

Email: teresa.moody@vdot.virginia.gov

In support of the Commonwealth’s commitment to inclusion, we are encouraging individuals with disabilities to apply through the Commonwealth Alternative Hiring Process. To be considered for this opportunity, applicants will need to provide their AHP Letter (formerly COD) provided by the Department for Aging & Rehabilitative Services (DARS), or the Department for the Blind & Vision Impaired (DBVI). Service-Connected Veterans are encouraged to answer Veteran status questions and submit their disability documentation, if applicable, to DARS/DBVI to get their AHP Letter. Requesting an AHP Letter can be found at AHP Letter or by calling DARS at 800-552-5019.

Note: Applicants who received a Certificate of Disability from DARS or DBVI dated between April 1, 2022- February 29, 2024, can still use that COD as applicable documentation for the Alternative Hiring Process.