Summary In this position you will work as a member of the Office of Response and Recovery, Logistics Management Directorate, Distribution Management Division team. The ideal candidate will have experience in managing assigned staff and performing a full range of warehouse duties to include operating sit down and/or stand-up forklifts, computer terminal and scan gun, receiving, unloading, storing, shipping, and maintaining equipment and supplies.
Duties What will I do in this position if hired?
In this Materials Handler-MVO-Leader position, you will manage assigned staff performing tasks related to receiving, storing and inventorying equipment and supplies.
Typical assignments include:
- Overseeing material storage and handling efforts of assigned staff and delegating assignments received from the supervisor.
- Monitoring progress of work and reporting status to the supervisor.
- Training assigned staff on materials handler duties and proper safety procedures.
- Verifying the quantity and quality of items received and operating a computer terminal to record data.
- Operating forklifts and driving fork trucks up to 26,000 lbs. on a regular basis. Driving trucks up to 32,000 lbs. (tractor-trailer) on a limited basis. Must be able to obtain/maintain a Commercial Driver's License.
What else do I need to know?
At FEMA, our mission is to help people before, during and after disasters, and every employee at FEMA has a role in emergency management. Every FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites. All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee's official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions.
This announcement is for a position as a CORE (Cadre of On-Call Response/Recovery Employee). CORE employees are full-time employees hired to directly support the response and recovery efforts related to disasters. Employees are hired under the Robert T. Stafford Act and are excluded from the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing jobs in the competitive service. They can be hired under a streamlined process instead of a competitive process. After three years of continuous service, Stafford Act employees may be granted competitive eligibility to apply for permanent full-time positions at FEMA.
Qualifications
All qualifications and eligibility requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.
Ability to lead or supervise:
- Ability to lead coworkers in completing materials handling tasks by providing instructions, demonstrating proper work methods and safety procedures, and checking work in progress.
Applicants will be rated in accordance with the OPM Federal Wage System Qualification Standard. Although a specific length of time and experience is not required for most trade and labor occupations, you must meet any screen-out element listed, and show through experience and training that you possess the quality level of knowledge and skill necessary to perform the duties of the position at the level for which you are applying. Qualification requirements emphasis is on the quality of experience, not necessarily the length of time.
Working Conditions: Work is usually accomplished primarily in a warehouse environment. However, the work may be performed indoors or outdoors under different climatic conditions including hot, damp, cold, drafty, or poorly lighted areas. The incumbent may be exposed to dust, dirt, grease, high noise levels, and the possibility of injuries such as cuts, scrapes, bruises and falls. The incumbent must be prepared to travel, as an individual or part of a team, to emergency sites, when required. Travel can be anywhere in the United States, its territories, or possessions. The incumbent must also be prepared to travel to various Distribution Center (DC) sites, Federal disaster facilities (such as a Mobilization Center) or other designated locations to support logistics operations and refurbish, repackage, and retrograde transport deployed DC
equipment.
Physical Effort: Due to the nature of the work, heavy lifting and physical exertion may be required during normal day-to-day and emergency operations. As a result, the incumbent must be required to lift to 50 lbs. on a recurring basis and may be required to stand on hard surfaces for extended periods of time. The incumbent must be willing to work overtime hours as required to meet emergency needs, such as 24-hour surge operational requirements other establisehd suspense deadlines.
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.
NOTE: Qualifications are based on breadth/level of experience. In addition to describing duties performed, applicants must provide exact dates of each period of employment (from MM/YY to MM/YY) and the number of hours worked per week if part time. As qualification determinations cannot be made when resumes do not include the required information, failure to provide this information may result in disqualification. Applicants are encouraged to use the USAJOBS Resume Builder to develop their federal resume. For a brief video on How to Create a Federal Resume, click here.
Current or former FEMA Reservists/Disaster Assistance Employee (DAE): To accurately credit your experience for these intermittent positions, make sure to list the dates (from MM/YY to MM/YY) of each deployment, along with the job title and specific duties you were responsible for during each deployment. Failure to provide this information may result in disqualification. Education No Educational Substitution: There is no educational substitution for this position, and you must meet the qualifications listed in the "requirements" section of this announcement.
Requirements
To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo, successfully pass, and maintain a background investigation for Public Trust Moderate Risk as a condition of placement into this position. This may include a credit check after initial job qualifications are determined, a review of financial issues, such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs (please visit: Mythbuster on Federal Hiring Policies for additional information). For more information on background investigations for Federal jobs, please visit OPM Investigations.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.
The Department of Defense (DOD) is the lead agency responsible for conducting Federal Wage System (FWS) wage surveys and issuing wage schedules. DOD's Defense Civilian Personnel Advisory Service maintains a website with all FWS wage schedules. You can visit the FWS wage schedules website. For specific salary information related to your location, please review the Appropriated Fund Schedules.
Conditions of Employment:
- You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
- You must successfully pass a background investigation.
- Selective Service registration required.
- You must be able to obtain and maintain a Government credit card.
- You must be able to deploy with little or no advance notice to anywhere in the United States and its territories for an extended period of time.
- Please review the Additional Information section for additional key requirements.
How you will be evaluated We will review your resume, supporting documentation, and your responses to the occupational questionnaire to ensure you meet the minimum qualification requirements listed in the announcement. If you are qualified, you may be referred to a hiring manager for consideration. The competencies or knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform this job are:
SCREEN OUT FACTOR:
- Ability to lead or supervise others in the work of a Materials Handler (Motor Vehicle Operator).
JOB ELEMENTS
- Work Practices (includes keeping things neat, clean, and in order).
- Technical Practices (theoretical, precise, artistic).
- Ability to Interpret Instructions, Specifications, etc. (other than blueprints).
- Knowledge of Materials.
- Dexterity and Safety.
We will review your resume, supporting documentation, and your responses to the occupational questionnaire to ensure you meet the minimum qualification requirements listed in the announcement. If you are qualified, you may be referred to a hiring manager for consideration.
Interview Requirement. Interviews may be required for this position. Failure to complete the interview may result in removed from further consideration.
We recommend that you preview the online questions for this announcement before you start the application process. To preview, please review: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13108878.
Benefits
DHS offers competitive salaries and an attractive benefits package, including health, dental, vision, life, and long-term care insurance; retirement plan; Thrift Savings Plan [similar to a 401(k)]; Flexible Spending Account; Employee Assistance Program; personal leave days; and paid federal holidays.
Other benefits may include flexible work schedules; tuition reimbursement; transportation subsidies; uniform allowance; health and wellness programs; and fitness centers. DHS is committed to employee development and offers a variety of employee training and developmental opportunities. For more information, go to the DHS Careers website and select "Benefits." Disabled veteran leave will be available to any federal employee hired on or after November 5, 2016, who is a veteran with a service- connected disability rating of 30 percent or more. How to apply To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section above by 11:59pm (EST) on 11/16/2026.
Please note that this announcement may close sooner than the published close date if the application limit is reached.
- To begin, click the "Apply Online" button on the job announcement posting.
- Follow the directions to register or login if you have an existing account.
- Submit all required documents and complete the assessment questionnaire.
- Upon completion of your application, you will receive an acknowledgement email.
Incentives may be offered depending on funding availability, the difficulty of positions to fill, and qualifications of applicants.
Only resumes up to a total of two pages will be accepted. Applicants with resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration.
If you have questions about this announcement or the application process, please contact the Human Resources Specialist listed in the Agency Contact Information prior to the close of the announcement.
An employee, job applicant, or an individual acting on behalf of the employee, may request a Reasonable Accommodation by emailing fema-reasonable-accommodation@fema.dhs.gov with "time sensitive" in the subject line.
To review the common definitions of terms found in this announcement, please visit the DHS Common Definitions page.
To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.
To view the announcement status or your application status: Review your job status on your Application Dashboard. Your application dashboard is where you can view your application status and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application Other information
- STAFFORD ACT EXCEPTED SERVICE APPOINTMENTS: Cadre of On-Call Response/Recovery Employee (CORE) is an appointment type granted under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Section 306 (b), which authorizes FEMA to appoint such temporary employees as necessary to accomplish work authorized under the Act. Appointments under this authority within FEMA are made to the excepted service and are nonpermanent in nature.
- If selected for this position, you will be required to attend a three-week, in-person training course in Emmitsburg, Maryland within six months of onboarding. FEMA will cover all travel expenses. Failure to participate may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.
- If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.
- The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Homeland Security and its Components from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to FEMA-Misconduct@fema.dhs.gov.
- DHS uses E-verify, an internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities.
- Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.
- During the application process you will 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.
- The salary range indicated in this announcement reflects the minimum locality pay up to maximum locality pay for all duty locations listed. The range will be adjusted for selected duty location. General Schedule locality pay tables may be found under Salaries & Wages. Please note: first time hires to the Federal Government are typically hired at the Step 01.
- This is a Non-Bargaining Unit position.
- Must be able to obtain and maintain a Commercial Driver's License (CDL) to infrequently operate a tractor trailer exceeding 32,000 pounds.
