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Archeologist

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Interior Regions 6,7,8
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The incumbent serves as a cultural resources specialist where archeological resources comprise a major part of the park story.

Bandelier National Monument:
For more information contact Jamie A. Civitello at jamie_civitello@nps.gov.

Valles Caldera National Preserve:
For more information contact Robert Parmenter at robert_parmenter@nps.gov.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
05/15/2023 to 05/30/2023
This job will close when we have received 100 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$57,672 to - $74,970 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 9
Locations
Valles Caldera
Jemez Springs, NM
1 vacancy
Bandelier National Monument
Los Alamos, NM
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—Employer paid and reimbursed relocation expenses are considered taxable income. The NPS does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. Employees should consult professional tax, legal and accounting advisors regarding concerns about the financial implications of a Permanent Change of Station (PCS).
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time - Career Seasonal subject to periods of non-pay
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
IM-1539-IMDO-23-11951877-DE
Control number
725663600

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Duties

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  • Monitor activities with the potential to affect cultural resources at the park and communicates findings and recommendations to park leaders.
  • Design, implement, lead, and report on archeological projects ranging from surveys, to testing, to data recovery.
  • Create and maintain data and cultural resources documentation following NPS standards.
  • Contribute to the preparation of compliance documents and background materials for clearances, permits, materials related NAGPRA and ARPA.
Physical Demands: The position may require strenuous physical activity including periods of standing, walking, climbing, and lifting and carrying heavy objects. Some activities will occur in physically dangerous areas or settings. Documentary research and report writing work is sedentary, which entails the ability to concentrate and write for long periods of time.

Working Conditions: Work is performed both indoors and outdoors in all types of weather. Assignments may be performed in potentially hazardous areas including steep slopes, rocky terrain, volcanoes, caves, fire lines, arctic environments, swamps, deserts, and forests. Flying in fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters is possible.

Bandelier National Monument (BAND) is comprised of over 32,817 acres, including a designated wilderness area of 23,267 acres and an 800-acre detached archeological section. The monument was created to preserve the numerous archeological and natural features that hold ancestral and traditional significance to 23 tribal nations. The monument's natural resources have been extensively surveyed and hold some of the most complete data sets for climate transition that exist in North America. Annual visitation exceeds 200,000. The monument is located 45 miles from Santa Fe, 32 miles from Espanola, and 12 miles from Los Alamos. Elevation ranges from 5,300 to 10,199 feet with headquarters located at 6,000 feet. Medical facilities, schools, and shopping are available in Los Alamos and White Rock. Los Alamos has one of the nation's best public-school systems. Cultural and recreational opportunities are abundant in Santa Fe and surrounding communities. Local cost of living is considered high.

Government housing may be available.

For more information, see the parks website: www.nps.gov/BAND

Valles Caldera National Preserve (VALL) is located in the Jemez Mountains of north central New Mexico, the 89,000-acre Valles Caldera National Preserve encompasses a 13-mile-wide volcanic depression interspersed with high-elevation montane forests and expansive grassland valleys. The park headquarters is in the village of Jemez Springs, and the preserve is located halfway between Jemez Springs and Los Alamos. Work area elevation ranges from 6,200 feet to 11,257 feet. Summer temperatures can range from the 30s to the 80s (Fahrenheit). Winter temperatures can drop well below zero. Snowfall occurs generally from November to as late as May. The closest communities with schools and services are in Rio Rancho, Jemez Springs, and Los Alamos. The nearest airports are in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Housing rentals range from $1200-$3000 for a two-bedroom/two-bathroom place. Housing prices range from $200,000 to $750,000 for a two-bedroom/two-bathroom home.

Government housing may be available.

For more information, see the parks website: www.nps.gov/VALL

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.
  • Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
  • You will be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties; a valid driver's license is required. You will be required to submit a Motor Vehicle Operator's License and Driving Record. You must also 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 disclose all valid driver's licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you.
  • You will be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
  • 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. 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.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-05/30/2023-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

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 Federal General Schedule Qualification Standards.

BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT: All applicants must meet the basic education requirement for their discipline: Archeology GS-0193 AND the experience listed below. Please note: It is your responsibility to show how you satisfy the course requirements for the series(s) you are applying for. If you do not provide information that clearly shows how your completed college course work meets all of the requirements, you will be rated ineligible. Your rating will be based solely on the information you submit with your application. No attempts will be made to verify with you, or the school you attended, whether or not your course work meets all of the requirements. YOU MUST SUBMIT ALL YOUR COLLEGE TRANSCRIPTS.

Archeology GS-0193:
A. 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.
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.

AND
EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Examples of qualifying specialized experience for this position includes: conducting archeological site inventories and cataloging; photographing artifacts for curation and produces quality photographs for report publications; preparing archeological survey and excavation reports and using Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to record archeological site and features.
OR
EDUCATION: Successful completion a master's or equivalent graduate degree or two (2) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related; The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. You must include transcripts.
OR
Successful completion of a combination of graduate level education and specialized experience that together meets the requirements of the position (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. You must include transcripts.

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.

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 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

Open to the first 100 applicants or until 05/30/2023 whichever comes first. All applications submitted by 11:59 (EST) on the closing day will receive consideration.

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.

BAND: Career-Seasonal appointments are permanent positions and include the same benefits as Career appointments, but do not provide work on a year-round basis. You will work from approximately 11 months in pay status, and you will be in a non-pay status (about 1 month - Late December - Early January) for the remainder of the year.

VALL: Career-Seasonal appointments are permanent positions and include the same benefits as Career appointments, but do not provide work on a year-round basis. You will work from approximately 11 months in pay status, and you will be in a non-pay status (about 1 month - December) for the remainder of the year.

A Recruitment Incentive May Be Authorized for a newly selected employee when appointed to a permanent, temporary, or term position. A Federal employee who is transferring to the National Park Service from another component, bureau or Federal agency and who does not meet the conditions under 5 CFR §575.102 is not eligible for a recruitment incentive.

A Relocation Incentive May Be Authorized for a Federal employee when the employee must move, as directed by the National Park Service (NPS) either through a management directed reassignment or selection for employment, to a different location at least 50 miles away from the one where his/her position of record held at time of selection is currently located, due to a need of the NPS. A relocation incentive is not the same as a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) move and, as such, may be granted in conjunction with one another.

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

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.

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 based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. 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 evaluated on the following competencies:
  • History and Archaeology
  • Information Management
  • Research
  • Technical Competence
  • Writing


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 a Panel Resume Review. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job.

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