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Physical Scientist

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Cultural Resources, Partnerships, and Science
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in Cultural Resources, Partnerships, and Science, in the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training.

The primary purpose of the position is to serve as the program manager for the Materials Conservation Program. The incumbent is responsible for developing, implementing, managing & monitoring research activities on internal and external projects.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
11/01/2024 to 11/22/2024
This job will close when we have received 50 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$103,409 to - $134,435 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Natchitoches, LA
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—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
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
Yes
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
WO-1614-CRPS-24-12560307-DE
Control number
815209000

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Duties

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

  • Oversees day-to-day operations of shared laboratory activities at NCPTT's six in-house laboratories, including independent selection and operation of technical analytical equipment and oversight of maintenance, repair, and safety of the laboratory.
  • Oversees day-to-day technical management of NCPTT's materials conservation research assessing environmental and other effects that cause damage to historic building materials, artifacts, museum collections, and other cultural materials.
  • Oversees day-to-day administration of research activities related to deterioration and protection of cultural materials undertaken by organizations with funding and technical support through the NCPTT's Preservation Technology and Training Grants program or by cooperative agreement or contract with NCPTT.
  • Provides day-to-day fiscal and administrative management for the Materials Conservation Program, including formulation of program needs and budget requests, modification of scopes of work for procurement of research assistance and basic assistance; obligation of research funding, and other activities required by NPS management and Internal Control standards.
  • Oversees the review of all technical products and reports, including those created through cooperative agreements, related to deterioration/conservation of historic building materials, artifacts, museum collections, and other cultural materials; where appropriate undertakes professional evaluations of work in progress and arranges for peer review by qualified subject matter specialists.

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.
  • 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 3 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.
  • The position to which you will be appointed is subject to a financial disclosure reporting requirement and you will be required to complete a new entrant Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) within 30 days of your appointment.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-11/22/2024-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 this position at the GS-13 grade level, you must meet the following basic requirement by close of the announcement:

BASIC REQUIREMENT: A degree in physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science, and/or related engineering such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics.

-OR-

A combination of education and experience with education equivalent to one of the majors shown in A above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

-AND-

To qualify for this position at the GS-13 grade level, you must possess all of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience must include all of the following: (1) Conduct materials science research using modern techniques for cultural objects and sites (2) Developing and tracking budgets (3) Experience managing or overseeing a program. You must include hours per week worked.

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.

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.

Education

To satisfy the basic requirement 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.

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.

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.

Physical Demands: The work is basically sedentary but does require frequent travel for meetings and training sessions and on-site inspections when long working days and physical stamina may be necessary. Some duties require standing and walking in the office and classroom setting. Occasional field site visits may require the physical ability to walk to semi-remote areas, and to negotiate scaffolding or climb through historic structures or sites with known safety and health hazards for inspection, investigations, or collecting samples, which may require considerable stooping and bending.

Working Conditions: The work environment includes both normal laboratory and office environments and includes such travel environments such as airplanes, trains, and automobiles. On-site inspections may involve climbing ladders, working in restricted areas, and examining structurally unstable buildings and sites. The office environment is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. Ability to travel by air and drive are required.

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.

Open to the first 50 applicants or until 11/22/2024 whichever comes first. All applications submitted by 11:59 (EST) on the closing day will receive consideration.

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:
  • Administration and Management
  • Applies Technology to Tasks
  • Creative Thinking
  • Education and Training
  • Research
  • Technical Competence


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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