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Archeologist

Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

We will be filling three (3) TERM, time-limited appointments with an initial duration no less than 13 months and can be extended up to a total of 4 years.

These positions will be located on the National Forests in Mississippi. Duty stations will be decided at time of job offer. Information on specific locations can be found in the Addition Information section.

For additional information about the duties of this position, please contact Will MacNeill at william.l.macneill@usda.gov.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
05/14/2021 to 05/21/2021
Salary
$53,433 to - $53,433 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 9
Locations
3 vacancies in the following locations:
Ackerman, MS
Forest, MS
Laurel, MS
Meadville, MS
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Term - 4 YEARS
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
21-R8GVMAY-0807-804817DT-DB
Control number
601382800

Duties

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  • Perform archeological inventory to identify and assess the resources within the area that may be impacted by proposed projects.
  • Design inventory strategies to support land use planning.
  • Determine eligibility of historic property for the National Register of Historic Places.
  • Effectively communicate with various government agencies, community organization, youth group, and community volunteer groups.
  • Develop contract specifications for heritage and cultural resource work.
  • Ensure program data for documentation submission including contracts, National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligibility criteria and legal documents fulfill requirements.
  • Review reports to evaluate the quality of inventory, the completeness of the report, and the significance of cultural resources identified.
  • Prepare maps of historic property and cultural resource areas.
  • Prepare reports of historic property and cultural resource areas.
  • Write technical documents for a wide range of heritage program activities.
  • Develop written reports of a scientific nature as they relate to archeology.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service or exempt.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
  • Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served.
  • Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit E-Verify.

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards.

Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide course descriptions as necessary.

You must possess the Basic Requirements identified below to be considered eligible for this position. Transcripts must be provided with the application to validate that coursework requirements are met. Your application or resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements.

Basic Requirement for GS-09:A. Education

  1. Degree: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included a major field of study 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.

2. 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 in A.1 (including archeological field school). OR

B. 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. 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.

In addition to the requirements described above, the following additional education and/or experience are required for the grade specified.

Your application or resume must clearly show that you possess the specialized experience requirements.
For the GS-9 level: One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-7 grade level. Examples of specialized experience could include: Assisted in conducting background studies and document reviews pertaining to archeological project development; Participated in archeological survey and site evaluation work and preparation of technical reports; Interpreted cultural resources to public contacts in one-on-one conversations; Received formal and on-the-job instructions and training on the practical application of archeological principles, theories, methods, practices, and techniques; and/or Developed and coordinated networks and contacts beneficial to the successful performance of archeological work assignments, such as interacting technically with colleagues and supervisors, and demonstrating the ability to work cooperatively with others.

OR a Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., that is directly related to the position;

OR an appropriate combination of specialized experience and education (only graduate education in excess of 18 semester hours may be used to qualify applicants for this grade level). The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.

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.

Education

See Qualifications section.

Additional information

These positions will be TERM , time-limited appointments with an initial duration no less than 13 months and can be extended up to a total of 4 years.

The incumbent will be responsible for inventory, evaluation, and advice on heritage and cultural resource management, including determination of effects of projects on cultural resources and recommended mitigation.

The three (3) selected candidates will have the opportunity to choose from the following duty stations at time of job offer:

  1. Oxford or Ackerman, MS (Holly Springs Ranger District or Tombigbee Ranger District)
  2. Forest or Meadville, MS (Bienville Ranger District or Homochitto Ranger District)
  3. Laurel or Wiggins, MS (DeSoto Ranger District or Chickasawhay Ranger District)
Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP eligibles must meet the agency's definition for a quality candidate as provided in the How You Will Be Evaluated section of this announcement to be considered.

The USDA Forest Service has legislative authority to recruit and fill Permanent (Career/Career-Conditional), Temporary, and Term Appointments under the USDA Demonstration Project. Under this authority, any U.S. citizen may apply.

This is a not bargaining unit designated position.

Forest Service daycare facilities are not available.

Government Housing is not available

Daycare facilities are not available

This position may be eligible to telework up to four days per week, based upon the duties of the position. This position may also be eligible for flexible work arrangements as determined by agency policy and any applicable collective bargaining agreements.

How you will be evaluated

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

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

You will be evaluated in accordance with the category rating procedure as defined in the USDA Demonstration Project Plan. Applicants who meet the basic minimum qualification requirements established for the position will be placed in the Eligible category. You will be further evaluated against criteria for placement in the Quality category. This evaluation is based on the level of your experience, education, and/or training as determined by your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire. Individuals with veterans' preference are listed ahead of applicants who do not have veterans' preference within each category.

Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.

To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11116105

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