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

Archeologist

Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

These positions are located on a Forest Service unit. Responsibilities include inventory, evaluation, and advice on heritage and cultural resource management, including determination of effects of projects on cultural resources and recommended mitigation in Region 4.

Information on specific locations where jobs are being filled, bargaining unit status, authorized incentives, and the dates when applications are due for these locations can be found on the Forest Service website.

Overview

Help
Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
11/08/2021 to 02/28/2022
Salary
$43,683 to - $64,649 per year

Salary wage as shown is for the Rest of the U.S. For more information, refer to the Office of Personnel Management, Salary and Wages web page.

Pay scale & grade
GS 7 - 11
Locations
Few vacancies in the following locations:
Bridgeport, CA
Ashton, ID
Boise, ID
Burley, ID
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Occasional travel may be required for field work, site visits, trainings and/or meetings.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
11
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
22-R4OCR-190-ARCH-7-9-11DP
Control number
620927400

Duties

Help
  • Responsibilities listed are at the full performance level.
  • Develop, coordinate, and implement the units Heritage Resource Program.
  • Plan, direct, and execute surveys/excavations, for location, verification and salvage of sites.
  • Evaluate sites and identify which ones are appropriate for inclusion to the national registers.
  • Administer examinations, identifying areas where materials may be destroyed or damaged, and recommending mitigations.
  • Develop units budget and project plan of work.
  • Ensure that scientific and systematic procedures are followed in identifying, evaluating, and classifying cultural resource areas.
  • Evaluate and act upon a wide range of on-site management needs within the framework of program requirements.
  • Direct the preparation of maps, inventories, reports, and records related to all aspects of the program.
  • Provide guidance to line management in marking, protection, and salvage of sites.
  • Consult with recognized Indian Tribes under provisions of laws related to native American cultural preservation and repatriation.

Requirements

Help

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.
  • Must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. If selected, must submit proof of vaccination or request a religious or reasonable accommodation.

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.

Basic Requirement:

GS-0193:
A. Education
1. 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
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 listed above (including archeological field school); OR

B. Combination of education and experience- courses equivalent to a major in Archeology as described above, plus appropriate technical experience or additional education; OR

C. 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 meeting the basic requirement, you must also possess experience and/or directly related education in the amounts listed below.

Specialized Experience Requirement:
For the GS-7: You must have one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as one or more of the following: Conducted routine field reconnaissance searches, identifying and marking archeological sites, preparing site location maps, recording findings, photographing artifact findings, and preparing sites sketches as necessary; Assisted in searching for and examining historical records and findings of other archeological experts. OR One full year of graduate level education, OR an appropriate combination of graduate level education and specialized experience, OR Superior Academic Achievement. The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and must be directly related to the position being filled.

For the GS-9: You must have one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as one or more of the following: 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; 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 other persons. OR .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., if directly related; 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 must be directly related to the position being filled.

For the GS-11: You must have one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as one or more of the following: Coordinated the budget and project plan of work for the unit's archeological and cultural activities; Ensured program data for documentation submission including contracts, National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligibility criteria, legal documents to fulfill programmatic requirements, and internal reports; Organized, supervised, or directly performed inventories of an area; Prepared maps, inventories, reports, and records related to the discovery, protection, inventory, savage, and interpretation of heritage and cultural resource areas. OR 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree (coursework directly related to position being filled); OR an appropriate combination of specialized experience and graduate level education (beyond what is required for a master's degree, i.e., more than 36 semester hours leading to a Ph.D.).

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 for educational requirements.

Additional information

THIS IS AN OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT. This type of announcement provides the Forest Service with a readily available source of applicants when vacancies occur. Eligibility and qualifications will be verified when there is a vacancy for the location and grade for which you applied. Information on specific locations where jobs are being filled and the dates when applications are due for these locations can be found at https://fsoutreach.gdcii.com/Outreach.

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.

If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is not guaranteed.

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.

The Forest Service may use certain incentives and hiring flexibilities, currently offered by the Federal government, to attract highly qualified candidates. Additional information is available at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-and-leave-flexibilities-for-recruitment-and-retention/

This may be a bargaining unit position represented by the National Federation of Federal Employees, IAMAW. The bargaining unit coverage is dependent upon location.

Forest Service daycare facilities may be available.

Government Housing may be available.

This position is being concurrently announced under 22-R4OCR-190-ARCH-7-9-11G. This announcement is open to all qualified candidates. Applying to both announcements may expand the possibilities of consideration since different referral criteria apply to each type of announcement. See the above announcement for more 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 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/11285952

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.