Cemetery Caretaker

National Cemetery Administration • Johnson City, TN

4d • Onsite

About The Position

This position is located at Mountain Home National Cemetery in Mountain Home, Tennessee. The Cemetery Caretaker performs manual and physically demanding groundskeeping and cemetery maintenance work, including operating small tractors and riding lawn mowers, preparing graves, assisting with casket placement, maintaining headstones, clearing debris, landscaping, snow removal, and cleaning cemetery service and administrative areas. Work is performed outdoors in varied weather and may involve exposure to noise, equipment hazards, dirt, dust, fumes, mud, water, and areas where pesticides, insecticides, or fertilizers are applied. Protective equipment must be worn.

The work schedule may include Monday through Friday and occasional weekends. Employees must work Memorial Day each year and may be required to work on federal holidays or Saturdays when a holiday falls on a Monday or Friday. Overtime, weekends, and holidays may be required to meet cemetery needs, including occasional emergency call-backs. A compressed or flexible schedule is not available. The full performance level is WG-06. Relocation expenses and recruitment or relocation incentives are not authorized.

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship is required.
• Must pass a background or suitability investigation; designated or random drug testing may be required.
• Must pass a pre-employment medical examination.
• Selective Service registration is required for males born after December 31, 1959.
• Must complete required application materials and online onboarding; acceptable identification is required for pre-employment requirements.
• Must serve a one-year probationary period.
• Must demonstrate potential to perform landscaping, groundskeeping, or related trade duties, including use of hand and power tools and safe operation of related machinery and equipment. Qualifying potential may be demonstrated through work, training, or relevant activities.
• Must be able to perform the job without more than normal supervision.
• Must possess and maintain a valid state driver's license.
• Will be evaluated on dexterity and safety; interpreting instructions and specifications, including blueprint reading; technical practices; and use and maintenance of tools and equipment.
• Must be able to perform heavy physical work, including reaching, bending, turning, operating equipment controls, tamping, carrying caskets or urns, moving grave planks, and setting headstones.
• Must be able to walk on hilly, flat, or rolling terrain and lift up to 50 pounds; heavier items may occasionally be lifted with coworker assistance.
• May be exposed to noise exceeding 85 dBA for up to eight hours per day.
• Must work outdoors in all types of weather and wear appropriate protective equipment when required.
• No education qualification requirement.

Responsibilities

• Operate small tractors, riding lawn mowers, and other grounds-maintenance equipment.
• Transplant shrubs; dig graves to the proper level; cut and remove sod; and tamp and level dirt using hand and power tools.
• Dig and square graves using pneumatic equipment, picks, and shovels.
• Assist with lifting and placing caskets on lowering devices.
• Load and unload materials.
• Align headstones and clean them using a sprayer and hand brush.
• Clear cemetery grounds of debris using power trimmers, chainsaws, axes, shovels, rakes, blowers, and vacuums.
• Weed, mulch, apply fertilizer, and prune shrubs and low-level dead branches.
• Remove snow and ice.
• Clean cemetery service and administrative areas.
• Work overtime, weekends, and holidays when necessary, and occasionally return to the facility for emergency overtime work.

Benefits

• Federal employees and their families have access to a comprehensive benefits package; specific benefits depend on position type and should be confirmed with the hiring agency.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed