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Historian (Seasonal)

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site

Summary

This position provides Historian support to the park by researching, writing, and educating about historical resources of the park. The position will work under the Park's Interpretation program, but also in collaboration with Cultural Resources.

Likely Entry On Duty: October 2026

Open to the first 30 applicants.

Applications must be submitted by 11:59 (EST) on the 07/24/2026 to be considered.

For more park(s) information, select "Learn more about this agency" below:

Overview

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Accepting applications
Posted yesterday · Apply in 3 days
Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on July 24, 2026
This job will close when we have received 30 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Location
Few vacancies in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
No
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$25.57 - $33.24 per hour

Salary does not include locality pay. For specific wage information, reference the OPM Salaries and Wages link in the Additional Information section.

Pay scale & grade
GS 7
Promotion potential
None
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Multiple Schedules - Work schedule is dependent on the position.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Temporary - Seasonal Not to Exceed 1560 Hours
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
No
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
SSO-1618-SER-26-13006200-DE
Control number
876935100

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This announcement is for the Southeastern Region at the Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site. Please refer to the "Location" section to see which National Parks are included on this announcement.

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Duties

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Duties:

  • Research and document the park's historical and cultural resources to support park needs.
  • Teach visitors about the park's history and cultural significance.
  • Collect and report field data on cultural resources, including sites, objects, and conditions.
  • Write reports, interpretive materials, and other educational content.
  • Help with projects such as oral histories, conservation work, archaeological surveys, and coordination with visiting specialists.
Physical Demands: The work is sedentary, but at times requires travel to repositories of information, and may require visits to remote sites which require walking or riding over rough, uneven surfaces. Documentary research and report writing work is sedentary, entails the ability to concentrate and write for long periods of time.

Work Environment: Most work is performed in offices, archives, and libraries. Assignments may entail work with dusty records or objects.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship required.
  • Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
  • Males must meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement.
  • Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
  • 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 work overtime.
  • You must possess and maintain a valid state driver's license while employed in this position. Please indicate in your application whether you possess a valid State driver's license.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-07/24/2026 (unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement).

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. To receive credit for experience, your 2 page 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. 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.

Qualifying experience may be obtained in the private or public sectors. The OPM Qualification Standards Handbook is available for review at: OPM Qualification Standards.

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-07/24/2026-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 total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time). Part-time hours will be pro-rated to determine the amount of qualified specialized experience.

BASIC EDUCATION FACTOR: All candidates MUST meet the basic education below for the Historian position:
1) A degree in history; or related field that included at least 18 semester hours in history.
OR
2) 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, plus appropriate experience or additional education. **Evaluation of Graduate Education - Graduate study in the social sciences or humanities may also be credited when such study included training in historical research methodology; or the thesis approached the subject from an historical viewpoint and used professional historical research methodology and techniques in its preparation.

Candidates who do not meet this basic requirement with proof of submitted transcripts by close of this announcement will receive no further consideration for this position. You must include transcripts.

AND -- To qualify for this position at the GS-7 grade level, you must also possess one of the following minimum qualifications:

1. Have at least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-05 level in the federal government (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to successfully perform the duties of the position.

Examples of specialized experience include:

  • Assisting in historical research such as literature reviews or on-site studies
  • Researching, writing, and conducting site documentation fieldwork
  • Participating in Section 106 reviews
  • Investigate undocumented cultural or historic sites
-OR-

2. Successfully completed at least one year of graduate-level education in history or related field of study.

-OR-

3.Have a Combination of Graduate Education and Specialized Experience. You must have successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience as described above. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. 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.

ICTAP/CTAP Statement: 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.

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 the interpretation of foreign education programs and that (1) deemed your education equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program, or (2) given full credit for courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.

Additional information

This job opportunity announcement will be used to fill one or more additional selections at anytime without notification.

Click here for the OPM Salaries and Wage to calculate locality pay.

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 1560 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 1560 hours during that period, you are still welcome to apply. However, please be aware that exceeding the limit of 1560 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 1560 hours. The limit also can be exceeded by working a single temporary seasonal appointment that exceeds 1560 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.

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.

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.

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 veterans' 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:
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Research
  • Written Communication


Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

National Park Service

Please visit find a park for additional park information.

Agency contact information

Seasonal Staffing Office
Email
seasonal_staffing_office@nps.gov
Address
Seasonal Staffing Office-Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site
450 Auburn Avenue NE
Atlanta, GA 30312
US

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https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/index.htm

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