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Historian

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The position is located in Washington, D.C. with the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) branch of the Heritage Documentation Programs. This position responsible for the performance of historical research, analysis, editing, and writing for the HABS of the National Park Service.

Open to the first 150 applicants or until 09/20/2022 whichever comes first. All applications submitted by 11:59 (EST) on the closing day will receive consideration.

This position is not eligible for remote work.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
09/07/2022 to 09/15/2022
This job will close when we have received 150 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$89,834 to - $116,788 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Washington, DC
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel 5 nights per month for this position.
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
None
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
WO-1614-CRPS-22-11532387-DE
Control number
675849300

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Duties

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The major duties of the Historian position include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Perform complex scholarly research and obtain necessary information on the historical development and significance of historic buildings, sites, and structures using standard reference works, primary source materials available in records collections, libraries, on-site evaluations, and collaboration with federal, state, and private resources.
  • Write architectural and historical data pages and prepare reports, in compliance with the Historic Buildings Survey (HABS) standards, on historic buildings, sites, and structures of national, state, and local significance, to include descriptions and historical information that address all significant aspects of the site.
  • Work, communicate, and interact with other historians, agencies, and interested individuals to disseminate information on HABS standards or projects to establish policy regarding documentation.
  • Perform project management responsibilities for the historical documentation of buildings, sites, and structures in the fields of history and architecture as required by the Historic Buildings Survey (HABS), Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP), and the HABS program manager.
  • Provide guidance on, review, and approval of draft reports compiled by team historians on a wide variety of building types, styles, historical backgrounds, and periods of development.

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.
  • Complete the initial online assessment and USA Hire Assessment, if required.
  • Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
  • If you are a new employee or supervisor in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
  • You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 5 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.
  • You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.
  • Applicants must be at least (1)18 years old or (2) at least 16 years old and: (a) Have graduated from high school or been awarded a certificate equivalent to graduating from high school; or (b) Have completed a formal vocational training program; or (c) Have received a statement from school authorities agreeing with their preference for employment rather than continuing their education; or (d) Be currently enrolled in a secondary school and either work only during school vacation periods or work part-time during the school year under a formal student employment program.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-09/20/2022-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year), and the resume must reflect full and/or part-time or total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount of qualified specialized experience.

To qualify for the Historian position at the GS-12 grade, you must meet the following basic requirements by the closing date of this announcement:

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

  • Degree: history; or related field that included at least 18 semester hours in history
-OR-
  • Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in history, or a major in a related field that included at least 18 semester hours in history, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
To qualify for the Historian position at the GS-12 grade, you must also meet the following minimum qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement:
  • EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience must include all of the following: 1) Perform complex research and on-site evaluation of historic buildings, sites, and/or structures to determine historical development and significance; 2) write architectural and historical reports on historic buildings, sites, and/or structures; 3) perform project management responsibilities for historical studies and documentation of buildings and sites. You must include hours per week worked on your resume.

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". Experience listed as full-time will be credited at 40 hours per week.

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.

Education

To meet the basic education requirement, 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.

There is no substitution of education for experience at the grade level(s) of this announcement.

Additional information

A selectee receiving a first appointment to the Federal Government (Civil Service) is entitled only to the lowest step of the grade for which selected. The display of a salary range on this vacancy shall not be construed as granting an entitlement to a higher rate of pay.

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

Physical Demands: In the Washington office the work is usually sedentary, but field work often involves strenuous activity in a variety of weather conditions.

Working Conditions: The work is performed in a normal office environment, and periodically in the field at building sites, and/or in various facilities while conducting research.

The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

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.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the additional assessments required for this position. 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 assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):
  • Attention to Detail
  • Communication
  • Customer Service
  • History and Archaeology
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Project Management
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reasoning
  • Research
  • Self-Management
  • Teaches Others
  • Teamwork


In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires successful completion of additional assessments, including an online assessment and a subject matter expert (SME) Resume Review. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job.

Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

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