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Archeologist

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

These positions are located in the Alaska Region.

Temporary positions not-to-exceed 1039 regular hours in a service year may be terminated sooner or extended depending on management needs.

The typical seasonal entry-on-duty period is late March/early April through September, but can be variable during these months due to weather conditions, project needs, or funding. Anticipated Entry on Duty: Late March through early April 2019.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
01/31/2019 to 02/06/2019
Salary
$27.91 to - $28.33 per hour

Salary includes a 3.74% - 5.30% Cost of Living Allowance (COLA)

Pay scale & grade
GS 9
Locations
Few vacancies in the following locations:
Denali Park, AK
Fairbanks, AK
Gustavus, AK
King Salmon, AK
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Temporary - 1039 Hours
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Announcement number
AK-1537-AKRO-19-10412237-DE
Control number
522973700

Duties

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The work involves conducting archeological fieldwork in various areas of Alaska. Depending on the location and project, archeological resources studies may be prehistoric or historic in nature. Duties typically include:

  • Acting as Crew Chief and overseeing fieldwork and data collection activities.
  • Inventorying and monitoring the condition of cultural resources and compliance projects in areas impacted by construction and visitor activities.
  • Performing archeological surveys, test excavations, laboratory processing and analysis of artifacts recovered.
  • Providing historical and archeological information to visitors.
  • Managing archeological collections according to established museum procedures.
  • Preparing detailed field notes and records, daily logs and journals, photographs and photo logs, archeological and architectural forms, feature and artifact drawings.
  • Preparing monthly progress reports and a final seasonal report with the assistance of field staff.
  • Using and overseeing the use of GPS, GIS and other computer software in support of data collection and reporting activities.
Some of the incumbent's time may be spent in the backcountry for periods of up to eight days or longer. Incumbents will be required to live outdoors in a tent, hike in a backcountry setting without trails or modern amenities and may be transported in helicopters, fixed wing aircraft, motorized and non-motorized watercraft.Physical Demands: Field work requires physical exertion such as long periods of standing. Heavy items (packs and equipment) must be lifted and carried on a routine basis, e.g., overnight backpack trips, 2 - 10 days in duration. Incumbent may be required to carry a 45 lb pack for up to 15 miles per day and to hike in steep, uneven terrain, often in inclement weather. Archeological survey and investigations require recurring bending, crouching, stooping, stretching, reaching or similar activities and recurring lifting and carrying moderately heavy to heavy items. Camping and hiking is often in backcountry with high probability of wildlife encounters including brown or black bears. Incumbent may be required to complete a firearm safety certification prior to starting field work.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship required.
  • Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
  • Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males.
  • Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
  • Applicants selected for Denali National Park and Preserve, Katmai National Park and Preserve and Yukon-Charley Rivers and Gates of the Arctic National Parkwill be required to submit to a drug test and receive a negative drug test result prior to appointment. In addition, this position is subject to random testing for illegal drug use. Drug testing based on the collateral duty requiring firearms in the back-country or other locations for non-law enforcement reasons such as protection from animals.
  • You will be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties; a valid driver's license is required. You will be required to submit a Motor Vehicle Operator's License and Driving Record. You must also submit (within a State sealed envelope or submitted directly by the State authorities), and at your own expense, all certified driving records from all States that disclose all valid driver's licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you.
  • Applicants selected for Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve and Katmai National Park and Preservewill be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
  • Applicants selected for Katmai National Park and Preserve may be required to operate a motorboat.
  • You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
  • You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 3-20 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.

Qualifications

Basic requirements have been established for all Archeologist positions in the Federal Government. To qualify for this position at the GS-9 grade level, you must possess the following by close of the announcement:A) Degree: Bachelor or higher degree that includes 3 semester hours each in the following 5 course areas:

  • 1) History of archeology;
  • 2) Archeology of a major geographical area such as North America or Africa;
  • 3) Regional archeology, archeological cultures, or sites in a specific part or portion of a major geographical area to acquire or develop a foundation for regional specialization for professional development;
  • 4) Theory and methods of archeology. Methods include, but are not limited to, typology, classification, sampling, cultural evolution, diffusion, dating and analytical techniques;
  • 5) Archeological field school, to provide a basic understanding of theoretical and practical approaches to research design implementation, field preservation techniques, and report preparation by participation in actual field work.
B) IN ADDITION, six semester hours of related course work in: geography, geology, or cultural geography; history, historiography, or historical archeology; environmental studies; scientific writing (nonfiction English composition); and/or surveying;
C) AND completed ARCHEOLOGICAL FIELD SCHOOL.
OR
Related Curriculum: A degree in a related curriculum: Degree in anthropology (with emphasis on ethnology, physical anthropology, or scientific linguistics), history, American studies, or a related discipline may be accepted as satisfying in full the educational requirements, provided the curriculum supplied academic course work sufficiently similar to the requirements stated in A above (including archeological field school).
OR
Combination of Work and Experience: A combination of education and experience (college-level education or training) that provided knowledge equivalent to that described in A above, plus appropriate technical experience or additional education.
OR
Experience: Four years of archeological work experience that demonstrated a thorough knowledge of the fundamental principles and theories of professional archeology. The work experience must have included archeology field experience, which may include that gained in an archeological field school. Field experience should have included a combination of professional experience in archeological survey, excavation, laboratory analysis, and preparation of written materials. Applicants with such field experience should, after additional experience under the direction of a higher grade archeologist, be able to demonstrate the ability to be a crew chief, directing the work of others at a single location as a part of a larger archeological project.
AND
In addition to the requirements above, applicants must possess additional education and/or experience to qualify for this GS-09 position.1) One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 level in the federal service. Examples of specialized experience may include: conducting archeological surveys, data recovery excavations and monitoring of projects; planning and performing field inspections, research and testing, and project resource assessments; reviewing cultural resource permits and fieldwork plans; utilizing computerized systems to process and analyze archeological data; writing archeological reports on field investigations; and writing Determinations of Eligibility and National Register Nominations for archeological properties.
OR
2) Two years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree that is directly related to the position being filled.
OR
3) Education and experience as described in 1 and 2 above. To calculate your percentage of qualifying graduate education, divide your number of semester hours in excess of 18 semester hours by 18 or the number your school uses to represent one year of full time graduate academic study. To calculate your percentage of experience, divide your months of qualifying specialized experience by 12. Add the two percentages. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify.

Volunteer Experience: 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.

You must include months, years and hours per week worked to receive credit for your work and/or volunteer experience. One year of specialized experience is equivalent to 12 months at 40 hours per week. Part-time hours are prorated. You will not receive any credit for experience that does not indicate exact hours per week or is listed as "varies."

It is your responsibility to show in your application package how you satisfy the below course requirements. If you do not provide information that clearly shows how your completed college course work meets all of the requirements, you will be rated ineligible. Your rating will be based solely on the information you submit with your application.

Education

To qualify based on education, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an accredited institution with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking. Transcripts do not need to be official, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.

If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.

Additional information

Government housing is available at Denali National Park and Preserve, Katmai National Park and Preserve and Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. Government housing maybe available at Yukon-Charley Rivers and Gates of the Arctic National Park.

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

Individuals selected under this vacancy announcement are eligible for the possibility of extensions or rehire in subsequent service years.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document that you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application. Click the following link for more information, https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Alternate_Application_Information.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

A review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses provided in the Assessment Questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation, you will be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified', or your score will be adjusted accordingly. If a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications or experience, you can lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully; errors or omissions can affect your rating.

Candidates will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. These procedures place candidates with veteran's preference above non-preference eligibles within each category. Veterans with a service connected disability of at least 10 percent are listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher. Under Category Rating, candidates will be rated and ranked into one of three categories:

  • Best Qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position
  • Well Qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in most of the requirements of the job
  • Qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in some, but not all of the requirements of the job.
You will be evaluated on the following competencies:
  • History and Archaeology
  • Research
  • Teamwork
  • Technical Competence
  • Technical Competence
  • Technology Application

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