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Archeological Technician

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
See Duty Locations below
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The Pacific West Region is recruiting for summer seasonal Archeological Technician, GS-0102-5/6/7 positions intended to assist permanent staff with archeological field work.

Open to the first 175 applicants. Applications must be submitted by 11:59 EST on the 'applicant cut-off' date (which may be sooner than 01/22/2020) to be considered.

Overview

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Job canceled
Open & closing dates
01/15/2020 to 01/22/2020
This job will close when we have received 175 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$16.73 - $23.19 per hour
Pay scale & grade
GS 5 - 7
Locations
El Portal, CA
7 vacancies
Independence, CA
1 vacancy
Mineral, CA
3 vacancies
San Diego, CA
1 vacancy
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Temporary - seasonal positions not to exceed 6 months (1,039 hours) work in a service year
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
PW-1548-CMBO-20-10673835-DE
Control number
556229800

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

The Pacific West Region is recruiting for TEMPORARY seasonal positions not to exceed 6 months (1,039 hours) work in a service year. Dates of employment will vary between park sites depending on funding, weather conditions and visitation. Within regulatory limitations, the length of initial appointment may be shortened or extended depending on work availability and funding. For information about work season, government housing availability, and rate of pay, please review the "Duties" below.

Duties

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NOTE: Multiple positions will be filled at multiple locations. Applicants are strongly encouraged to review the "Duty Station Locations" list below for specific information about each position, work schedule, work season, government housing availability, and rate of pay, by clicking on the following links. The duty stations for the parks are:

The duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:
  • Participates in basic archeological field surveys by walking over the landscape and searching for archeological features and artifacts.
  • Records data and prepares survey records.
  • Conducts excavation and testing of archeological sites, including the careful recovery of sample materials.
  • Uses tools and equipment common to archeological functions.
  • Processes artifacts and specimens recovered in the field.
  • Prepares specimens to be sent to dating labs.
  • Identifies, labels, and packages artifacts for curation.
  • Communicates information and maintains working relationships.
  • Writes or edits documents.
  • Enters, retrieves, and compiles data.
  • Maintains archeological information databases.
  • Produces documents and reports using software applications.
  • Queries data when writing reports.
And in addition at the GS-07 grade level:
  • Conducts work independently.
  • Oversees others, providing direction and guidance on work activities.
  • Communicates supervisor's direction to field crews.
  • Communicates effectively and orients volunteers and/or employees to job tasks and NPS guidelines.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship required.
  • Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
  • Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males.
  • Required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
  • CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT: Please click on the duty location links listed under "Duties" section for specific requirements.
  • PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS and WORKING CONDITIONS: Please click on the duty location links listed under "Duties" section for specific requirements.
  • You may be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties. Prior to motor vehicle operation and routinely (should need exist), you will be required to submit a photocopy of your valid State issued driver's license and to sign an affidavit certifying to your possession of a valid State issued driver's license that is current and has not been revoked, suspended, canceled, or otherwise disqualified in any way to prohibit your operation of a motor vehicle. You may be required to 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 discloses all your valid driver's licenses, whether current or past. Please indicate in your application whether you possess a valid State driver's license.
  • You may be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
  • You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by 11:59 EST when the 'applicant cut-off' is reached (which may be sooner than 01/22/2020).

To qualify for this position at the GS-05 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications:
EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-04 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: participating in archeological field surveys; searching for archeological features and artifacts and recording survey results through field notes, site maps, or photographs; conducting supervised excavation and testing of archeological sites; and similar work. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION:
Successful completion of at least a four-year course of study in an accredited educational institution above high school leading to a bachelor's degree in anthropology, archeology, or related fields. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
Successful completion of a COMBINATION of education and experience as described above. To combine education and experience, only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. Two full academic years of study, or 60 semester hours, beyond the second year is equivalent to one year of specialized experience. Determine your total qualifying experience as a percentage of the year of specialized experience required. Then determine your education as a percentage of the education that meets the requirements for GS-5. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify for GS-5. You must include hours per week worked and transcripts.

To qualify for this position at the GS-06 grade level, you must possess the following specialized experience:
At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: conducting archeological surveys using compass topographical map, and GPS; documenting archeological sites on standard site record forms; assisting in planning and preparation of archeological surveys and site excavations; assisting in excavations; preparing field notes and sketch maps; recovering, identifying, and cataloging artifacts; ensuring archeology work assignments are carried out in a safe, timely manner according to established standards and procedures; and query, input and retrieve data from computer database system.

To qualify for this position at the GS-07 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications:
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: conducting archeological surveys using compass, topographical map, and aerial photographs; documenting archeological sites on standard site record forms; assisting in planning and preparation of archeological surveys and site excavations; assisting in excavations; collecting data from surveys or excavations; preparing field notes and sketch maps; recovering, identifying, and cataloging artifacts; ensuring archeology work assignments are carried out in a safe, timely manner according to established standards and procedures; maintaining archeological site records; utilizing word processing software to prepare technical summary reports regarding assigned projects; and querying, inputting and retrieving data from a computer database system. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least one full academic year (18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours) of graduate education in an accredited college or university in archeology or anthropology course work which included successful completion of an archeological field school course.
-OR-
Successful completion of a COMBINATION of graduate education and specialized experience as described above. You must include hours per week worked and transcripts.

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.

You must include months, years and hours per week worked to receive credit for your work and/or volunteer experience. One year of specialized experience is equivalent to 12 months at 40 hours per week. Part-time hours are prorated. You will not receive any credit for experience that does not indicate exact hours per week or is listed as "varies". No additional credit is given for overtime. In describing the nature of your duties (your experience), please be clear and concise. We will not make assumptions regarding your experience. The Office of Personnel Management Qualification Standards are available for review at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

ICTAP/CTAP Statement: Current surplus and current or former displaced Federal individuals who have special prior­ity selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for special priority selection. Well qualified means that the applicant meets the following: OPM qualification standards for the position; all selective placement factors, where applicable; special qualifying conditions that OPM has approved for the position, where applicable; is physically qualified with reasonable accommodation, where appropriate to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry; and is rated by the organization at least at the well qualified level on all competencies.

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

If you would like more information regarding this announcement, please contact:
YOSE: Sonny Montague, (209) 111-1111, SONNY_MONTAGUE@NPS.GOV
YOSE: Scott Carpenter,(209) 379-1314, Scott_Carpenter@nps.gov
MANZ: Jeff Burton, (760) 878-2932, jeff_burton@nps.gov
SEKI: Juanita Bonnifield, (559) 565-3139, juanita_bonnifield@nps.gov
SEKI: Jane Allen, 559-565-4269, Jane_Allen@nps.gov
LABE: Alicia Watson, (530) 667-4581, Alicia_Watson@nps.gov
LAVO:Jason Mateljak, 530-595-6180, jason_mateljak@nps.gov
GRBA: Thomas Kearns, 775-234-7551, thomas_kearns@nps.gov
CABR: Japeth Heidelberg, 619-523-4265, JAPHETH_HEIDELBERG@NPS.GOV

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

Temporary positions not-to-exceed 1039 regular hours in a service year may be terminated sooner or extended depending on management needs. Individuals selected under this vacancy announcement are eligible for the possibility of extensions or rehire in subsequent service years.

Physical Demands: The work is partially sedentary with prolonged standing, walking, and bending often required. Heavy items (e.g., packs up to 50 pounds) must be lifted and carried on a routine basis.

Working Conditions: The work is performed both in an office setting and in the field. Survey and excavation work is typically performed in isolated areas; the incumbent must therefore be familiar with outdoor safety and survival skills and must be able to operate a vehicle on rough roads. Sustained period of camping under primitive conditions are routine.

The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework only during an emergency or natural disaster.

Travel, transportation & relocation expenses will not be paid. Relocation expenses will be the employee's responsibility.

Exceptions to the General Time Limits for Temporary Appointment (Limited Approval): Effective December 3, 2019, OPM has approved a temporary 1-year exception to the general time limits for certain temporary positions, which allows them to be employed for up to 1,730 hours (as opposed to the less than 1,040 limit). Under this approval, employees appointed into these temporary seasonal positions (e.g. working less than 1040 hours in a service year) may instead receive an exception to the general time limitations if they work no more than 1,730 hours, within the service year.

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 for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

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:
  • Database Administration
  • History and Archaeology
  • Leadership
  • Oral Communication
  • Research
  • Technical Competence

National Park Service

NOTE: Multiple positions will be filled at multiple locations. Applicants are strongly encouraged to review the "Duty Station Locations" list below for specific information about each position, work schedule, work season, government housing availability, and rate of pay, by clicking on the following links.

Please visit find a park for additional park information.

Agency contact information

Milisa Beckley
Phone
(760) 252-6111
Fax
(760) 252-6173
Email
milisa_beckley@nps.gov
Address
Lava Beds National Monument
PO Box 1240
1 Indian Well Headquarters
Tulelake, CA 96134
US

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https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/index.htm

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