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Archeologist

Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The incumbent will serve as the Archeologist and Cultural Resource Manager responsible for administering and providing interpretive services for historical and cultural programs on the forest.

4 positions are to be filled in the following locations:
1. Richfield, UT - 1 vacancy
2. Salmon, ID - 1 vacancy
3. Missoula, MT - 1 vacancy
4. Custer, SD - 1 vacancy

See Education Section for more information on each location.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
04/21/2022 to 05/02/2022
Salary
$66,214 to - $103,176 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11 - 12
Locations
Salmon, ID
1 vacancy
Missoula, MT
1 vacancy
Custer, SD
1 vacancy
Richfield, UT
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
50% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position for meetings, trainings, and/or site visits. Backcountry survey may require overnight camping on a project-by-project basis.
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
12
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
22-R4GVAPR-1093-FS3112-DP
Control number
649810900

Duties

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  • Responsibilities listed are reflected at the GS-12 level.
  • Administer cultural resources program including providing historical and interpretive information, completing compliance surveys and stabilization activities, and coordinating work with other resource programs.
  • Evaluate archeological and historical sites eligible for inclusion on national registers.
  • Identify archeological and historical sites eligible for inclusion on national registers, assess eligibility and complete nomination of selected sites.
  • Coordinate, consult and work closely with state preservation offices, in carrying out preservation mandates, interpretive initiatives, register nominations, and overall program development.
  • The work requires substantial experience, innovation, analytical, organizational and communication skills, consultation with others (including tribal consultation) , and exercises of professional knowledge and judgment.
  • Write task orders that define elements of research plans related to studies, excavations, artifacts analysis and content of reports to be completed by contractors, permittees, or partner agencies.
  • Skill in computer data management in order to store, retrieve, and analyze complex and changing cultural resource data that are used to scientifically study cultural remains as well as manage cultural resource costs/output information.
  • Prepare technical papers on cultural resources.
  • Formulate short and long-range plans for the management of archeological and historical resources.
  • Supervisory tasks no greater than 20%.

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:
Required Education (Professional/Scientific):
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.
  1. 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 - Courses equivalent to a major in Archeology as 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 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-11: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-9 grade level in federal service. Specialized experience is defined as meeting two or more of the following specialized experience statements: Performed standard tasks or portions of larger projects of an archeological program, such as conducted performance studies and examined historical research documents pertaining to project development; Interpreted cultural resources to public and professional audiences through presentations, exhibit development, or publication in professional journals; Assisted professional archeologists in developing/enhancing archeological program components, such as scientific reporting, records and database management, and cultural resource condition monitoring; Evaluated problems associated with archeological site protection and implemented corrective measures within the framework of archeological program and legal requirements.

or Successfully completed 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree that is directly related to the work of this position.

or Combination of specialized experience, as reflected above, 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.).

For the GS-12: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level in federal service. Specialized experience is defined as meeting two or more of the following specialized experience statements: Developed and implemented moderately complex programs such as cultural resource survey and evaluation, State Historic Preservation Office and Tribal agreement formulation, cultural resource condition monitoring, or records and artifact collections management; Developed and implemented work such as scientific evaluation of archaeological site significance, repatriation of Native American human remains, or preparation of interpretive information; Evaluated a wide range of problems such as the accurate reporting of cultural resource survey, testing and monitoring findings, and implemented corrective measures; Provided strategy for the integration of heritage program goals with other natural resources program objectives and input to protect or mitigate impacts to cultural sites.

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.

TIME IN GRADE REQUIREMENT: If you are a current federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. This requirement must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

See Qualifications Section for required education.

Additional location information:
1. Richfield, UT - located on the Fishlake National Forest; please contact Daniel Child at daniel.child@usda.gov for additional info. Relocation expenses may be reimbursed at the discretion of management in accordance with agency policy. Other incentives may be offered.

2. Salmon, ID - located on the Salmon-Challis National Forest; please contact Ken Gebhardt at kenneth.gebhardt@usda.gov for additional info. Relocation expenses may be reimbursed at the discretion of management in accordance with agency policy. Other incentives may be offered.

3. Missoula, MT - located on the Lolo National Forest; please contact Greg Gustina at gregory.w.gustina@usda.gov for additional info. Relocation expenses may be reimbursed at the discretion of management in accordance with agency policy. Other incentives may be offered.

4. Custer, SD - located on the Black Hills National Forest; please contact Ralph Adam at ralph.adam@usda.gov for additional info. Relocation expenses maty be reimbursed at the discretion of management in accordance with agency policy. Other incentives may be offered.

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/

Additional information

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 is a non-bargaining unit position.

Forest Service daycare facilities may be available.

Government Housing may be available.

We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.

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/11466595

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