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Archeologist

Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The duty location for positions filled through this announcement are not remote and will be located at a Forest Service office. Final determination of the duty location will be made at the time of the job offer. To see where these Forest Service offices are located and where each position is being filled, click here. Click here to view each region or national office staff name to see the different locations within the Forest Service.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
04/06/2022 to 04/19/2022
Salary
$44,740 to - $54,727 per year

Salary is listed as Rest of United Stated (RUS) locality. Final salary will be determined at the time of selection dependent on the duty location.

Pay scale & grade
GS 7 - 9
Location
MANY vacancies in the following location:
Location Negotiable After Selection, United States
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for position with overnight lodging for site visits, meetings, and/or trainings. Extensive travel may be required at some locations.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
9
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-NHE-0193-7-9-FS2271-DP
Control number
647112000

Duties

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  • Duties listed are at the full performance level, GS-09.
  • Provides advice on identification and management of Heritage and Cultural Resources Program.
  • Assists in ensuring integration with heritage and cultural resource activities and establishment of priorities.
  • Coordinates the budget and project plan of work for the unit's archeological and cultural activities within the NF unit.
  • Designs inventory strategies as part of the land use planning process based on Forest-wide priorities and needs.
  • Reviews reports as part of project planning to evaluate the quality of the inventory, the completeness of the report, and the significance of heritage or cultural sites found.
  • Determines eligibility of historical properties for the National Register of Historic Places.
  • Provides heritage and cultural resource management orientation to Forest Service personnel on statutes, regulations and purpose of work to be performed.

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.


Basic Requirement:
Archeology Series, 0193
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 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-07: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-05 grade level;
OR one full year of graduate level education;
OR an appropriate combination of graduate level education and specialized experience;
OR Superior Academic Achievement (to determine if you are eligible, go to: http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/policy/ApplicationOfStds-04.asp).
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 examples of specialized experience are: Conducting routine field reconnaissance searches, identifying and marking archeological sites, preparing site location maps, recording findings, photographing artifact findings, and preparing sites sketches as necessary. Assisting in searching for and examining historical records and findings of other archeological experts.

For the GS-09: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 grade level;
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., if 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 demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.
Examples of specialized experience are: 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 other persons.

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.

Additional information

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.

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.

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/

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

Positions filled from this announcement may be a bargaining or a non-bargaining unit position represented by either NFFE, AFGE or NAGE.

Forest Service daycare facilities may be available.

Government Housing may be available.

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/11446256

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