Technical Trades Crew Leader, McDonald Observatory

Job Posting Title:

Technical Trades Crew Leader, McDonald Observatory

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Hiring Department:

McDonald Observatory

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Position Open To:

All Applicants

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Weekly Scheduled Hours:

40

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FLSA Status:

Non-Exempt

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Earliest Start Date:

Immediately

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Position Duration:

Expected to Continue

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Location:

MCDONALD OBSERVATORY

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Job Details:

General Notes

The McDonald Observatory is a major astronomical research observatory located 16 miles from Fort Davis, Texas (440 miles from the UT Austin campus). This position is located at McDonald Observatory. It reports to the assistant physical plant manager and works closely with the other crew leaders and the physical plant manager. This position may include variable scheduling with some holiday rotation. Residence in the Observatory's residential community may be available. The position is considered an essential employee for emergency or critical response.

The University of Texas at Austin provides an outstanding benefits package to staff, including: 

• Competitive health benefits (Employee premiums covered at 100%; family premiums at 50%) 

• Vision, dental, life, and disability insurance options 

• Paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays 

• Teachers Retirement System of Texas (a defined benefit retirement plan) 

• Additional voluntary retirement programs: tax-sheltered annuity 403(b) and a deferred compensation program 457(b) 

• Flexible spending account options for medical and childcare expenses 

For more details, please see: https://hr.utexas.edu/prospective/benefits and https://hr.utexas.edu/current/services/my-total-rewards 

Purpose

Provides day-to-day hands-on leadership to a small technical trades team responsible for the smooth operations of the McDonald Observatory facility buildings and residential community. Trades include HVAC, electrical, plumbing, carpentry, hydraulic systems, and routine and preventative maintenance.

Responsibilities

• Facility Maintenance and Repair. Regularly performs maintenance and work typical of the craft and or job classification of those workers in the group. Drives a UT vehicle.

• Supervision. Leads and gives directions to skilled workers and helpers in the work crew and schedules groundskeeping.

• Employee Performance and Training. Motivates workers to meet production and quality standards. Assists workers in solving work-related problems at the job site. Conducts employee training, counseling, and discipline and completes performance evaluations. In consultation with Physical Plant management, interviews and hires new personnel.

• Project Coordination. Reports and coordinates project status to Physical Plant Management. Responsible for relaying instructions, scheduling, and assigning work in the absence of the Utilities Crew Leader, Assistant Manager, or Manager.Ordering and Job Documentation.

• Essential Employee. Serves as an essential McDonald Observatory’s Emergency Response Team (ERT) employee and performs tasks to help respond to emergencies, such as fire, medical, hazardous material, or other emergencies threatening or interfering with the facility's normal operations. Performs additional tasks as assigned to meet business needs.

• Ordering and Job Documentation. Orders job-related materials and records information such as time and job data. Organizes and maintains preventative maintenance-related information and recording systems programs.

• Inventory. Conducts yearly inventory and tracking of controlled property purchased for the Physical Plant. Submits inventory list to appropriate personnel at UT. Assigns inventory tags and maintains a list of Physical Plant equipment. Removes obsolete inventory for surplus.

Required Qualifications

Diploma (High School) or GED. Three years of experience in leadership functions in the field of facility maintenance trade or related field and regularly performs the work typical of the craft of the other employees in the workgroup. Must possess effective verbal and written communication and interpersonal communication skills. Demonstrates service excellence, including professionalis