Cemetery Caretaker

National Cemetery Administration • Bridgeville, PA

1d • Onsite

About The Position

This position is located at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania. The Cemetery Caretaker performs manual work requiring physical strength to maintain cemetery grounds and facilities. Duties include operating grounds-maintenance equipment; preparing graves; assisting with casket placement; handling materials; aligning and cleaning headstones; landscaping and grounds cleanup; snow and ice removal; and cleaning service and administrative areas.

The work is primarily outdoors in all types of weather and may involve exposure to noise, sun, heat, humidity, cold, precipitation, dirt, dust, fumes, mud, water, pesticides, insecticides, and fertilizers. Appropriate protective equipment is worn. The position involves heavy physical effort, including frequent lifting and moving tasks, and may expose the employee to equipment-related injury risks.

The work schedule may be Monday through Friday and includes occasional weekends. Staff may be required to work overtime, weekends, and holidays as needed, including Memorial Day each year. Emergency overtime call-backs may occur. A compressed or flexible schedule is not available.

Requirements

• Demonstrated potential to perform landscaping, groundskeeping, or related trades work, including using hand and power tools and safely operating related machinery and equipment.
• Ability to do the job without more than normal supervision.
• Must possess and maintain a valid state driver's license.
• Must be a U.S. citizen.
• Subject to a background or suitability investigation; designated and/or random drug testing may be required.
• Must pass a pre-employment medical examination.
• Selective Service registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must complete required application documentation and online onboarding; acceptable identification is required for pre-employment requirements.
• Must serve a one-year probationary period and receive written certification that continued employment advances the public interest to remain employed after the period.
• Physical ability to reach, bend, turn, operate controls, walk on hilly, flat, or rolling terrain, and perform heavy effort tasks.
• Ability to lift up to 50 pounds; items over 50 pounds may occasionally be lifted with assistance.
• May be exposed to noise levels exceeding 85 dBA for up to eight hours per day.
• Must wear appropriate protective equipment when working in areas where pesticides, insecticides, and fertilizers are applied.

Responsibilities

• Operate small tractors, riding lawn mowers, and other grounds-maintenance equipment.
• Transplant shrubs and perform landscaping and groundskeeping tasks.
• Dig graves to the proper level; cut and remove sod; tamp and level dirt using hand and power tools; and 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.
• Clean and clear cemetery grounds of debris using power trimmers, chainsaws, axes, shovels, rakes, blowers, vacuums, and other equipment.
• Weed, mulch, apply fertilizer, and prune shrubs and low-level dead branches.
• Remove snow and ice.
• Clean service and administrative areas.
• Work overtime, weekends, and holidays when necessary to meet cemetery needs, including Memorial Day each year.
• Respond to occasional emergency overtime call-backs.

Benefits

• Comprehensive federal employee benefits package; eligibility and 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