Skip to main content
U.S. flag
Back to results

Archeological Technician

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

Summary

This position is located in Big Bend National Park, in the Division of Science and Resource Management.

Overview

Help
Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
06/02/2021 to 06/12/2021
This job will close when we have received 50 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$43,683 to - $56,790 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 7
Location
Big Bend National Park, TX
1 vacancy
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
IM-1538-BIBE-21-11132481-DE
Control number
603191300

Videos

Duties

Help

- Participates in archeological field surveys by walking over the landscape and searching for archeological features and artifacts.
- Walk/Hike/Canoe and use 4-wheel drive vehicles over long distances in desert/river settings where temperatures can be extreme to reach areas to be surveyed.
- Provides general technical archeological assistance in a variety of areas related to or impacted by the archeological function, including Section 106 compliance, clearance, and planning; archeological assessments, evaluations, and field inspections; etc.
- Records data and prepares survey records (e.g., site maps, photographs, surface artifact analysis forms, field notes, etc.).
- Processes specimens recovered in the field.
- Maintains related databases, forms, maps, and files.
- Assists in the development of a variety of documents (e.g., cultural resource management plans, preservation guides, historic structures reports, etc.) by gathering data from files and reports, conducting research, evaluating available information, and preparing draft documents.

Housing- Park housing may be available on a bid basis.

Area Info
Big Bend National Park encompasses 801,000 acres of Chihuahuan Desert with varied scenery and diversity of plant and animal life. The park community consists of 250 people, including employees of the NPS, Concession, Border Patrol, Postal Service, School, and their families living in 4 housing areas; Panther Junction (PJ), Chisos Basin, Castalon, and Rio Grande Village. A state-accredited elementary school (K-8) is located at Panther Junction. The park has a post office, gas stations, camper stores, restaurant, and lodge.

Recreational opportunities include hiking, bird watching, photography, backcountry camping, bicycling, and river rafting. An active employee/community association sponsors social events throughout the year.

Elevation in the park varies from 7825 to 1850 ft. The climate is generally pleasant with hot summers (90-110+ degrees F.) and mild winters (30-50 degrees F.).

Terlingua (a small town 24 miles away from PJ) has a state-accredited high school (no bus service), lodging, restaurants, hardware store, small grocery and gift stores, churches and a bank. Lajitas has limited shopping, lodging, restaurants, golf course and churches. Alpine, Texas (100 miles from PJ) has most necessities, including supermarkets, variety of stores, a hospital, pharmacies, churches, a movie theater, and a university. The nearest larger cities are Midland/Odessa (225 miles) and El Paso (325 miles).

Please visit our website for more information at: https://go.nps.gov/bigbendareainfo

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship required.
  • Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
  • Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males.
  • Direct Deposit: Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
  • Driver's License: 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.
  • Uniform:You will be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
  • Work Schedule: You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
  • Probationary Period: If you are a new employee in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
  • Travel: You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 7 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.
  • Government Charge Card: You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.
  • Minimum Age Requirement:Applicants must be at least (1)18 years old or (2) at least 16 years old and: (a) Have graduated from high school or been awarded a certificate equivalent to graduating from high school; or (b) Have completed a formal vocational training program; or (c) Have received a statement from school authorities agreeing with their preference for employment rather than continuing their education; or (d) Be currently enrolled in a secondary school and either work only during school vacation periods or work part-time during the school year under a formal student employment program.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-06/15/2021-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year), and the resume must reflect full and/or part-time or total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount of qualified specialized experience.

To qualify for this position at the GS-07 grade level, you must possess one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-06 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: performing surveys and mapping archeological and historic sites; write field notes and contribute to professional Cultural Resource Management (CRM) reports; GPS, map and photograph archeological sites; perform independent archival research if directed; conduct condition assessments of historic and prehistoric properties; record/update archeological sites; generate site plan maps and 1:24,000 scale maps; and establish cumulative archeological site and areas-surveyed GIS layers for use by the Cultural Resources Program.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least one full year of graduate education in a field of study directly related to the duties of this position (i.e., archeology, anthropology). Note: At a minimum, 18 semester hours is considered satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. You must submit a copy of your transcripts with your application materials. You must include transcripts with your application materials.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. For example, I have six months of specialized experience (50% of the experience requirement), and 9 semester hours of graduate education in archeology, anthropology, or other closely related field (50% of the education requirement). You must submit a copy of your transcripts with your application materials.

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.

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

A selectee receiving a first appointment to the Federal Government (Civil Service) is entitled only to the lowest step of the grade for which selected The display of a salary range on this vacancy shall not be construed as granting an entitlement to a higher rate of pay.

A Recruitment Incentive May Be Authorized for a newly selected employee when appointed to a permanent, temporary, or term position. A Federal employee who is transferring to the National Park Service from another component, bureau or Federal agency and who does not meet the conditions under 5 CFR §575.102 is not eligible for a recruitment incentive.

A Relocation Incentive May Be Authorized for a Federal employee when the employee must move, as directed by the National Park Service (NPS) either through a management directed reassignment or selection for employment, to a different location at least 50 miles away from the one where his/her position of record held at time of selection is currently located, due to a need of the NPS. A relocation incentive is not the same as a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) move and, as such, may be granted in conjunction with one another.

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

Physical Demands: The position may require strenuous physical activity including periods of standing, walking, climbing, and lifting and carrying heavy objects. Some activities will occur in physically dangerous areas or settings. Documentary research and report writing work issedentary, which entails the ability to concentrate and write for long periods of time.

Working Conditions: Work is performed both indoors and outdoors in all types of weather. Assignments may be performed in potentially hazardous areas including steep slopes, rocky terrain, volcanoes, caves, firelines, arctic environments, swamps, deserts, and forests. Flying in fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters is possible. Work is performed both indoors and outdoors in all types of weather. Field assignments will be performed in potentially hazardous areas including steep slopes, rocky terrain, deserts, forests, and rivers. The position may require strenuous physical activity including periods of standing, walking, climbing, lifting, carrying heavy objects, and operating water craft. Documentary research and report writing work is sedentary, which entails the ability to concentrate and write for long periods of time.

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.

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the additional assessments required for this position. 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:
  • Compliance Inspection
  • Information Management
  • Teamwork
  • Technical Competence
  • Technology Application

In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires successful completion of additional assessments, including a subject matter expert resume review. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job.

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.