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Archeologist

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

Summary

This position is located in Kotzebue, in the Resources Division.

This is a permanent, career or career-conditional position in the competitive service.

Government housing IS available for this position.

This announcement is being simultaneously announced to all merit candidates as announcement number AK-1537-WEAR-12114396-ST.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
09/01/2023 to 09/18/2023
Salary
$30.85 to - $48.52 per hour

Salary will also include an additional 3.53% COLA, subject to annual review and adjustment.

Pay scale & grade
GS 9 - 11
Location
01 vacancies in the following location:
Kotzebue, AK
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel 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
11
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
AK-1537-WEAR-23-12114397-DE
Control number
746871900

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Duties

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Acting as Crew Lead overseeing fieldwork and data collection activities. Inventorying and monitoring the condition of cultural resources and compliance projects in areas impacted by construction and/or human activities.

Performing archeological surveys, test excavations, laboratory processing and analysis of artifacts recovered. Providing historical and archeological information to visitors. Preparing monthly progress reports and a final seasonal report.

Managing archeological collections according to established museum procedures. Preparing detailed field notes and records, daily logs and journals, photographs and photo logs, archeological and architectural forms, feature and artifact drawings.

Preparing historic preservation documentation and compliance for clearances, permits, licenses, etc., as required by NHPA, NAGPRA, ARPA, NPS Management Policies, and cultural resources management guidelines.

Using and overseeing the use of GPS, GIS and other computer software in support of data collection and reporting activities.

For more information about the duties of this position, contact ann_e_carlson@nps.gov

Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

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.
  • Any individual who is currently holding, or has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet time-in-grade requirements (must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent in the Federal service). Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal civilian employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.
  • You will be required to submit to a drug test and receive a negative drug test result prior to appointment. In addition, this position is subject to random testing for illegal drug use.
  • This position is subject to drug testing based on the collateral duty requiring firearms in the back-country or other locations for non-law enforcement reasons such as protection from animals.
  • 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 may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
  • 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 10 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.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-09/18/2023-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 for each federal position listed as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of qualifying experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience.

For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected.

To qualify for this position at the GS-9 and/or GS-11 grade level, you must possess the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

BASIC REQUIREMENTS (for GS-09 and GS-11):
Education:
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 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/orsurveying;AND,Archeological field school. (Copy of transcripts is required)
-
OR-
Successful completion of related curriculum: a bachelor's or higher degree in anthropology (with emphasis on ethnology, physical anthropology, or scientific linguistics), history, American studies, or a related discipline, provided the curriculum supplied academic course work sufficiently similar to the requirements in A (including archeological field school). (Copy of transcripts is required)

-OR-
A combination of college-level education or training that provided knowledge equivalent to that described in A above, plus appropriate technical experience or additional education. (Copy of transcripts is required)

-OR-
EXPERIENCE: Four years of archeological work experience that demonstrates 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. You must have hours worked per week in your resume.

In addition to the requirements listed above, you must also meet one of the following qualifications:

For the GS-09:
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). This experience includes activities such as: conducting archeological surveys and monitoring of projects; reviewing cultural resource permits and fieldwork plans; and preparing historic preservation documentation and compliance for clearances, permits, licenses, etc. You must include hours per week worked in your resume.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least two years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree that is directly related to the position being filled. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
A combination of education and experience as described above. To calculate your percentage of qualifying graduate education, divide your number of semester hours in excess of 18 semester hours by 18 or the number your school uses to represent one year of full time graduate academic study. To calculate your percentage of experience, divide your months of qualifying specialized experience by 12. Add the two percentages. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include hours per week worked in your resume and transcripts.

For the GS-11;
EXPERIENCE:
At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: planning and conducting archeological surveys and monitoring of projects; performing field inspections, research, and project resource assessments; reviewing cultural resource permits and fieldwork plans; preparing historic preservation documentation and compliance for clearances, permits, licenses, etc.; and planning long range protection and management of cultural resources. You must include hours per week worked in your resume.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least three years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a PhD or equivalent doctoral degree in an accredited educational institution concentrated in a field that is directly related to the work of this position, in archeology, anthropology, or other directly-related subject matter. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
A combination of education and experience as described above. To calculate your percentage of qualifying graduate education, divide your number of semester hours in excess of 36 semester hours by 18 or the number your school uses to represent one year of full time graduate academic study. To calculate your percentage of experience, divide your months of qualifying specialized experience by 12. Add the two percentages. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include hours per week worked in your resume 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.

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

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.

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.

Travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will be paid if the person selected for the position is from outside the local commuting area and is otherwise eligible for reimbursement of relocation expenses under the Federal Travel Regulations.

Alaska currently does not have a state income tax.

In the event of an accident while traveling in a government aircraft, the payable benefits of a private life insurance policy may be affected.

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

Promotion to the full performance level is neither guaranteed nor implied and will be based solely on your ability to satisfactorily perform the work of the position, existing work at the higher grade level, and recommendation by the position's supervisor.

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 are 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, firelines, arctic environments, swamps, deserts, and forests. Flying in fixed-winged aircraft and helicopters is possible.

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
  • Research
  • Teamwork
  • Technical Competence
  • Technical Competence
  • Technology Application


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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