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Archeologist

Department of the Interior
Bureau of Reclamation
This job announcement has closed

Summary

***This vacancy has been extended and now closes on 08/26/2019.***

Reclamation is seeking a career professional looking for an opportunity to capitalize on his/her expertise as an Archeologist. Make a difference in the West by assisting in meeting increasing water demands while protecting the environment.

Here is an opportunity to join a great organization with excellent growth potential!

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
08/02/2019 to 08/26/2019
Salary
$74,596 to - $96,978 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Yakima, WA
1 vacancy
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Occasional travel may be required.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—Relocation expenses are authorized with the exception of the Guaranteed Home Sale Provision or first-post-of-duty relocation expenses are authorized, as applicable. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), signed into law December 2017, suspends the moving expense deduction and the exclusion from income of qualified employer reimbursements of moving expenses that was allowed under previous tax laws. Employer reimbursements for moving costs are now generally taxed at the same rate as ordinary income.
Appointment type
Permanent - This is a PERMANENT position
Work schedule
Full-time - This is a FULL TIME position
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
12
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Announcement number
BR-PN-VA-CCA-19-190
Control number
541555500

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Current Federal employees serving under competitive service career or career-conditional appointments, former Federal employees with reinstatement eligibility, persons eligible under CTAP & ICTAP, current or former time-limited employees eligible under the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act, VEOA eligible veterans or persons eligible for non-competitive appointment under special appointing authorities (such as 30% Disabled Veterans, VRA, Schedule A, Peace Corps, AmeriCorps VISTA, etc.).

Duties

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  • Serves as the Columbia-Cascades Area Office Archeologist. This includes managing the cultural resources and historic properties program, performing program oversight for the field offices, coordinating with the Regional Offices, and providing technical assistance to the Irrigation Districts.
  • Participates in formal compliance consultations with Federal, state, Tribal, and local entities as required by Sections 106 and 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
  • Serves as the Contracting Officer's Representative for the contracts used in executing the cultural resources program. This involves helping to develop, negotiate, and monitor contracts for inventory surveys, resources evaluation, or data recovery studies.
  • Manages the museum property program and reporting. This includes developing curation plans, funding agreements, museum property management plans, and other documents for use in the region and agency.
  • Identifies resource management needs and compliance requirements.
  • Prepares plans for short and long-term cultural resources and historic property management program needs.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship or National
  • Suitability for Federal employment determined by background investigation
  • You must submit a resume and supporting documentation - See How to Apply
  • You must meet specialized experience requirements - See Qualifications
  • Submit transcripts to verify education requirements
  • For veterans consideration, submit documents under Required Documents

Applicants must meet all qualification requirements, including time-in-grade restrictions and any selective factors, by the closing date of the announcement.

TIME-IN-GRADE: Current career or career-conditional employees of the Federal government, or former career or career-conditional employees, who have a break in service of less than one year, are required to meet the time-in-grade restriction of one year of Federal experience at the next lower grade, with few exceptions outlined in 5 CFR 300.603(b).

Qualifications

To qualify for the position, applicants must meet both I) the Basic Requirements and II) the Additional Experience and Education Requirements, listed below.

I.BASIC REQUIREMENTS: applicants must meet the following basic requirements for this position:

A.1.Education
Successful completion of a 4 year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included 3 semester hours each in the following course areas:

•History of archeology.
•Archeology of a major geographical area such as North America or Africa.
•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.
•Theory and methods of archeology. Methods include, but are not limited to, typology, classification, sampling, cultural evolution, diffusion, dating, and analytical techniques.
•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.

AND 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; AND
•Archeological field school.
OR
A.2. Related Curriculum
Successful completion of a 4 year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor’s degree or higher 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 in A.1 (including archeological field school).
OR
B.1. 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
C.1. 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.

II. ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS:

In addition to the basic education requirement, in order to be rated as qualified for this position, the HR Office must be able to determine that the applicant meets the specialized experience requirement - this information must be included in the resume.

To qualify at the GS-12 level, applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 in Federal service. Specialized experience at this level is defined as researching, investigating, and preparing reports on cultural and historic properties; conducting cultural resources surveys and excavations; developing mitigation strategies to resolve adverse effects to historic properties; developing and monitoring cultural resources management contracts; conducting or initiating consultation under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act; authoring or reviewing cultural resources sections of resource management plans or National Environmental policy Act documents; and experience in program and budget management.

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. Applicants will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

If selected, the selectee will be required to provide official college transcripts to verify educational qualifications. An official transcript bears the University Seal and a signature certifying its authenticity and must be provided from the institution awarding the degree. Academic transcripts certified by notary publics are NOT official. Official transcripts must be submitted prior to reporting to work as a condition of employment. Failure to submit official transcripts may be grounds for dismissal or rescission of the job offer.  

Education

This position has a mandatory education requirement. Applicants must submit a copy of college transcript(s) (unofficial copy is acceptable) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include the name of the college or university and date the degree was conferred. Non-submission will result in being rated not-qualified for the position.

Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, applicants must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs.

Additional information

Position is being advertised concurrently under BR-PN-DE-CCA-19-191 for all US Citizens and Nationals. Applicants interested in applying under both announcement numbers, must submit application packages for each.

Reclamation has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisory approval.

Location – Yakima, WA http://www.usbr.gov/pn/about/hr/area-information.html

At the present time, we have one (1) vacancy; however, this announcement may be used to fill additional, equivalent positions at this duty location.

Applicants initially appointed to a career-conditional position must serve a 1-year probationary period.

DOI uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including applicant rights and responsibilities, please visit www.dhs.gov/E-Verify.

Selective Service:  Male applicants born after December 31, 1959 must certify registration with the Selective Service System or that the applicant is exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law.  Go to: http://www.sss.gov

How you will be evaluated

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

Human Resources (HR) will review resumes and transcripts, if applicable, to ensure applicants meet the basic qualification requirements. We will evaluate each applicant who meets the basic qualifications on the information provided in the assessment questionnaire.  The assessment questionnaire will take approximately 45 minutes to complete.  Applicants determined best qualified will be referred to the selecting official.

Applicants will be further evaluated on the following "Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs)" through your resume and responses to the online questions.

KSA 1: Professional knowledge of concepts, principles, and applied practices of archeology, historical research, and historic property management, sufficient to analyze complex resource factors; interpret related environmental/ecological and economic conditions; and prepare, review, and assist Reclamation leadership in communicating Federal agency determinations, findings, and conclusions to ensure compliance with all relevant cultural resources’ laws, regulations, and Presidential Executive orders.

KSA 2: Skill in analyzing and synthesizing highly technical and administrative information from a variety of disciplines and sources to advise management and provide formal recommendations. 

KSA 3: Ability to manage and administer a cultural resources program, including development and coordination of a program budget, management of various contracts and agreements, and coordination of legally mandated mitigation activities. 

KSA 4: Comprehensive knowledge of federal and state laws and other rules, regulations, and requirements pertinent to cultural and heritage resources management and protection. 

KSA 5: Skill in writing a variety of technical documents. 

Applicant’s answers to questions will be verified against information provided in their online resume. Be sure that the resume clearly supports the responses to all the questions by addressing experience, education, and/or training relevant to this position. Applicants must make a fair and accurate assessment of their qualifications. If a determination is made that an applicant has rated themself higher than is apparent in his/her description of experience, competencies, skills, and/or education/training OR that his/her resume/application is incomplete, the applicant may be rated ineligible or his/her score may be lowered.


To preview questions please click here.

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