Skip to main content
U.S. flag
Back to results
 

(Seasonal) Archivist

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Natchez Trace Parkway

Summary

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.

The typical seasonal entry-on-duty period for these parks is March-November, but the season may be extended or reduced due to weather conditions, project needs, or funding. Anticipated Entry on Duty: March 22, 2026.

Overview

Help
Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
01/20/2026 to 02/03/2026
This job will close when we have received 50 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$61,111 to - $61,111 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 9
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Tupelo, MS
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Temporary - 1039 hours
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
SE-1630-NATR-26-12854484-DE
Control number
854899500

Videos

Duties

Help

This position serves as an Archivist in any program or office of the National Park Service (NPS). The primary purpose of this position is to analyze, evaluate, and coordinate matters involving archival records. At this grade level, the position is responsible for applying a full range of archival science concepts, principles, and practices to identify, interpret, and resolve moderately complex archival issues and complete a variety of well-precedented projects and assignments.

  • Performs a preliminary evaluation of all records, archival, and manuscript collections with the records management guideline. Evaluates records against well-established criteria. Recommends specific nonofficial records for inclusion in museum collection.
  • Develops and maintains liaisons and effective working relations with related groups and individuals, agencies, and the public in order to encourage and facilitate cooperative regional management strategies. Attends management and professional conferences and other events for the purpose of exchanging information.
  • Accessions appropriate collections into the park museum collections. For collections of similar type, researches collection provenance, original order, series components, dates, document formats, processes, creators, authenticity, topical content data, legal status, and legal validity of access restrictions and ownership history. Deaccessions inappropriate collections following established NPS policies. Complex issues are referred to the supervisor.
  • Following detailed preliminary instructions, conducts baseline condition survey of archival collections and prioritizes collections for treatment or reformatting. Writes initial recommendations for treatment or reformatting, scope of work for treatment or reformatting, and treatment or reformatting inspection criteria for review by the supervisor.
  • Rehouses the park archival and manuscript collections, as needed. Sets up archival storage, processing, work and reference services areas, reading room spaces with good environments, security, fire protection, and supervision. Assists in monitoring and maintaining the environment for collections, including light, temperature, relative humidity, and air quality, and does the integrated pest management program.
  • Arranges the collection following detailed guidelines. Creates, edits, and indexes folder lists, box/container lists, and updates edits and indexes the collection-level survey description as needed.
  • In consultation with the records manager, surveys park records in park structures, and writes collection-level survey descripitions.
  • In conjunction with the records manager, identifies the historical records, determining which materials are active and inactive, and disposes of inactive official records as described in the records management guideline.
  • Produces finding aids and a repository-level guide. Distributes these documents and publications to appropriate libraries, archives, and related research repositories. Publicizes the archival and manuscript collections on the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections and related national bibliographic databases.
  • Provides effective reference and research services for the public, scholarly researchers, and education specialists, according to the access and usage policies of the NPS.

Requirements

Help

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.
  • You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 2 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.
  • You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-02/03/2026-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.

BASIC REQUIREMENT: Bachelor's degree in archival science or bachelor's degree with a major that includes 18 semester hours in archival science, history and/or in political science or government, and 12 semester hours in one or any combination of the following: archival science, history, American civilization, economics, political science, public administration, or government.
-OR-
Combination of education and experience - at least 30 semester hours that included courses as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Evaluation of Experience: Professional experience must have been in archival science, or in a directly related field of work such as history that involved the collection, appraisal, analysis, or synthesis of information having historical or archival values. The following are illustrative of kinds of experience that may be accepted as meeting the professional experience requirements: (1) experience as an archivist in Federal, state, religious institution, business, or other archives, or in manuscript depositories, and (2) experience of an archival nature that involved research in archival science, or in a directly related field such as history, government, economics, political science, international relations, or international law.

Candidates who do not meet this requirement by close of this announcement will receive no further consideration for this position.
- AND -
To qualify for this position at the GS-9 grade level, you must possess one 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-7 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as:1) applying national archival standards, methodologies, and best practices to all the activities of archival processing including arrangement , description, and preservation of archival collections; 2) identifying, analyzing, and arranging bodies of records; 3) creating and maintaining accessible, retrievable archives and databases; and 4) assisting in setting up, arranging and maintaining, cataloging, and exhibiting collection materials. . You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-

EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least a master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the work of the position, such as archival science, history, American civilization, economics or political. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. You must include 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.

Current surplus and current or former displaced Federal individuals who have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for special priority selection. Well qualified means that the applicant meets the following: OPM qualification standards for the position; all selective placement factors, where applicable; special qualifying conditions that OPM has approved for the position, where applicable; is physically qualified with reasonable accommodation, where appropriate to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry; and is rated by the organization at least at the well qualified level on all competencies. Federal employees seeking CTAP/ICTAP eligibility must submit proof that they meet the requirements of 5 CFR 330.605(2) for CTAP and 5 CFR 330.704 for ICTAP. This includes a copy of the agency notice, a copy of their most recent Performance Rating, and a copy of their most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location. Please annotate your application to reflect that you are applying as a CTAP/ICTAP eligible. If you are selected for Federal employment, you will be required to fill out a Declaration of Federal Employment, OF-306, prior to being appointed to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation. Failing to answer all questions truthfully and completely or providing false statements on your application may be grounds for not hiring you, or for firing you after you begin work. Also, you may be punished by fine or imprisonment (U.S. Code, Title 18, section 1001).

Additional information

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

Non-Competitive Rehire Eligibility: Temporary seasonal employees can only maintain their non-competitive rehire eligibility if they work no more than a combined total of Temporary NTE less than 1040 hours anywhere in the National Park Service (NPS) within their established service year. Accordingly, non-competitive rehire eligibility allows for re-appointment to the same position or another position appropriate for temporary appointment with the same qualification requirements (5 CFR 316.402[b][7]), based on series and grade, anywhere in the major subdivision (NPS).

If you have held a temporary seasonal appointment in the past 12 months and have already worked the maximum temporary appointment less than 1040 hours during that period, you are still welcome to apply. However, please be aware that exceeding the limit of 1040 hours in your established service year will result in the loss of your non-competitive rehire eligibility.

The limit can be exceeded by working multiple temporary seasonal positions that result in a combined total greater than 1040 hours. The limit also can be exceeded by working a single temporary seasonal appointment that exceeds 1040 hours, unless granted an exception by OPM.

Employment may be terminated at any time due to fluctuations in funding levels, project needs, employee performance, or other considerations.

Physical Demands: The work is partially sedentary with prolonged work at a computer terminal and sitting for extended periods. Standing, walking, and bending often required. Work requires standing on concrete floors, bending, lifting, and moving heavy items up to 50 pounds which must be lifted or moved on a frequent basis. Must be able to climb ladders.

Working Conditions: Most of the work is performed in a museum/archives environment of exhibit and storage areas, workroom/laboratory, and offices. Some work areas are cool due to preservation requirements. Occasional work with materials which are dusty may require the use of dust masks, gloves, or other protective devices or a fume hood. The incumbent may occasionally perform field work in adverse weather conditions.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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.

Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. You may only submit one resume. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine your qualifications/eligibility and for rating purposes. In the event you submit more than one resume, only the latest submission will be reviewed.

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
  • Oral Communication
  • Technical Competence
  • Writing

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.