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Archaeologist (Direct Hire)

Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The incumbent provides leadership for archeology and cultural resources activities of the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Direct Hire Authority: These positions are being filled through the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Direct-Hire Authority for this occupation.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open date: 12/16/2019
Closed date: 07/15/2020
Location
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Salary
$62,236 - $80,912 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11
Promotion potential
12
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-Time
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Announcement number
NRCS-20-10676612-DH-IA-LC
Control number
554435800

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from any U.S. citizen. Direct Hire Authority will be used to fill this position. Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants does not apply to this vacancy.

Duties

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  • Provides authoritative recommendations for treatment and preservation of cultural resources.
  • Defines areas of major cultural resource/environmental concerns, and designs and implements methods and procedures to address such concerns.
  • Carries out field investigations and produces professional quality cultural resources investigation and assessment reports
  • Assists in the development of computer and Web-based programs and tools for cultural resources subjects, including linking to the Customer Service Toolkit - the Natural Resources Conservation Service field level planning tool, as appropriate.
  • Identifies necessary cultural resources studies, develops specifications for scopes of work, determines cultural and scientific significance of identified resources in accordance with the guidelines and national Register of Historic Places criteria.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a US Citizen or US National.
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
  • Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served.
  • Direct Deposit: 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 at https://www.e-verify.gov/.
  • Must possess and maintain a valid state motor vehicle operator's license for the type of vehicle(s) operated to perform the duties of this position.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below.

Basic Requirements:
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 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 experience is required:

Specialized experience GS-11:You must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience, equivalent to GS-09 level in the Federal Service or comparable experience not gained through Federal Service. For this position, examples of specialized experience is defined as: Providing guidance and training on cultural resource issues; Executing significant cultural projects affecting the welfare of the public and/or the sustainability of natural and cultural resources on the environment; Developing and coordinating networks and contacts beneficial to the successful performance of archeological work.


For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=GS-PROF

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 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

You must submit a copy of your college transcripts or a list of college courses with credit hours, dates completed, and grades received to verify all education requirements (i.e. substitution of education and/or basic education requirement). If a relevant course is not clearly qualifying (e.g. special topic, seminar, research, thesis, obscure or misleading course title, etc.), please submit an official course syllabi and/or detailed course description from the university/college for that particular course to ensure you are properly evaluated. Please note that qualifications determinations are based solely on the information submitted for each particular vacancy announcement. You must document all requirements on every vacancy; we cannot use previous determinations as a basis for rating. All required information must be received by the closing date of this announcement, and non-submission of all required documents/documentation will result in non-consideration. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted. This information must be received by the closing date of this announcement. Non-submission of these documents will result in non-consideration.

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Applicants must, therefore, only report attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation via this link. All education claimed by applicants will be verified accordingly. Important: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. Click on this link for more information.

Additional information

  • Direct Hire Authority: These positions are being filled through the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Direct-Hire Authority for this occupation.
  • Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.
  • Management may select at any grade level.
  • This position is eligible for telework within the local commuting area of the position and other flexible work arrangements. Employee participation is at the discretion of the supervisor.
  • Physical Demands: The work requires some physical exertion such as long periods of standing, traversing steep slopes and rough construction sites, recurring bending and stooping, jumping across shallow ditches, walking in soft, muddy and slippery conditions, and lifting and carrying equipment and samples that weigh up to 50 pounds.
  • Work Environment: Work is typically performed in the field and in an office setting. Frequent trips to field sites involve exposure to construction equipment and the environment, and extreme temperatures of hot and cold. Protective gear and clothing such as a hard hat, boots, and gloves may be necessary during field visits and in the area of moving machinery. Exposure to noise levels common to construction sites with large earth-moving equipment can be expected. There will be exposure to disease carrying insects and irritating plants. Fieldwork is performed on a regular and recurring basis.
  • PLEASE NOTE: In the interest of filling these positions as efficiently as possible, we are requiring the following:
    • If called for an interview, applicants must be available to interview within 3 business days of being contacted.
    • If a tentative job offer is extended, selectee will have 2 business days in which to accept or decline.

How you will be evaluated

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

Continued from Additional Information:

  • It is the policy of the Government not to deny employment simply because an individual has been unemployed or has had financial difficulties that have arisen through no fault of the individual. See more information at: http://www.chcoc.gov/transmittals/TransmittalDetails.aspx?TransmittalID=6465
  • To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job.
  • Throughout the duration of this vacancy announcement, applications that are received will be referred to the selecting official every 30 days after the opening date. This announcement will close at the end of the open period or when a selection is made, whichever comes first.
  • Selections made under this authority will be processed as new appointments to the civil service. Current civil service employees would therefore be given a new appointment to the civil service.
  • Relocation and/or Recruitment Incentive may be authorized.
  • Promotion Potential: 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 neither implied nor guaranteed.
  • Duty Location: Duty Locations will be determined upon selection.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

This is a Direct-Hire Authority position, all applicants who meet the minimum qualifications, to include any selective placement factor(s), if applicable, will be referred to the selecting official. Before a certificate is issued to the selecting official, the resume is reviewed to ensure that you meet all the qualification requirements. A rating will not be used; veteran's preference does not apply due to the existence of the Direct Hire authority for this position.

Note: All answers provided in the on-line process must be substantiated by a resume. If, upon review, it is determined that your resume and/or supporting documents do not support your answer choices, your application may be removed from consideration.
Clicking the link below will present a preview of the application form; i.e. the online questionnaire. The application form link below will only provide a preview and does not initiate the application process. To initiate the online application process, click the "Apply" button to the right.

To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/10676612

Natural Resources Conservation Service

Do you want to work for a premier conservation agency whose mission is to "help people help the land?" The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), a part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), works in close partnership with farmers, ranchers, forest managers, non-governmental organizations, local and state governments, and other federal agencies to create and maintain healthy and productive working landscapes.

As part of USDA's new Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) Mission Area, NRCS has 3,000 locations and covers every county in the U.S. We help stewards of agricultural lands and non-industrial private forest lands to plan and implement proven conservation systems through technical and financial assistance designed to enhance productivity, improve soil and water health, and restore wetlands and wildlife habitat.

We need people who are committed to action through public service-- people who help ensure that all of us enjoy the benefits that come from a healthy environment and productive agriculture. Please consider joining us and helping to make a difference for generations to come.

Agency contact information

Larry Choice
Phone
202-720-0787
Email
larry.choice@usda.gov
Address
Natural Resources Conservation Service
1400 Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20250
US

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