Clarification from the agency

Open to all U.S. Citizens. ICTAP/CTAP eligibles.

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In this position, you will promote a team atmosphere by positively exchanging ideas, offering encouragement, and supporting co-workers and supervisors to aid in organizational effectiveness while ensuring archeological resources are documented, preserved, and interpreted. Duties may include:

• Performing research to expand knowledge about the natural and cultural resources of Stones River National Battlefield with a focus on archeological resources.
• Investigating potential archeological sites and completing documentation adhering to Secretary of Interior standards.
• Monitoring projects that include ground disturbance and documenting findings in compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act and other applicable laws and policies.
• Synthesize information about archeological resources for reports, presentations, website and social media platforms.
• Assisting in accessioning and cataloging recovered artifacts.

Assignments include extended periods of standing, walking, or performing manual labor in variable weather over uneven terrain, lifting, bending, sitting, and working at a computer workstation.

Area Information

The 600-acre National Battlefield includes Stones River National Cemetery, established in 1865, with more than 6,000 Union graves; and the Hazen Brigade Monument, believed to be the oldest, intact Civil War monument still standing in its original location. Portions of Fortress Rosecrans, a large earthen fort constructed after the battle, still stand and are preserved and interpreted by the National Park Service. Much of the nearly 4,000-acre battlefield is in private hands.

Murfreesboro has plenty of shopping opportunities, great medical facilities, and schools to include Middle Tennessee University. Summers are generally hot with high humidity, but there is an extensive green belt for walking, hiking & bicycling. There is plenty of housing to be had in the area however the market is moving quickly.

Government housing may be available.

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 may be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties. Prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year thereafter (or more frequently if management determines such need exists), you will be required to sign an affidavit certifying to your possession of a valid State issued driver's license that is current and has not been revoked, suspended, canceled, or otherwise disqualified in any way to prohibit your operation of a motor vehicle. You will also submit a photocopy of your valid State issued driver's license prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year, or more frequently if management determines such need exists. Lastly, you may be required to 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 discloses all valid driver's licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you. Please indicate in your application whether you possess a valid State driver's license.
• You may be required to complete training and operate a four-wheel drive vehicle.
• 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 evenings, weekends, holidays, and overtime.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement, 12/18/2025, 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.

This position has a basic requirement that must be met by the close of the announcement Archeology Series 0193 (opm.gov). Applicants must have one of the following and submit documentation in their application on how they meet this requirement:

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

A. Education

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:

     -AND-

     • geography, geology, or cultural geography;
     • history, historiography, or historical archeology;
     • environmental studies;
     • scientific writing (nonfiction English composition); and/or
     • surveying;

   • 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 -

To qualify for this position at the GS-07 grade level, you must possess at least one or 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-05 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as applying standard archeology practices, methods, and techniques to permit performance of developmental archeology assignments. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least one full year of graduate level education. To be qualifying, graduate study must have been in archeology, anthropology, or other closely related field. The total education offered to meet this provision must have provided you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully perform the work of this position. To receive credit, you should describe how their specific course work, research projects, dissertation, theses, etc. demonstrate the ability to perform the duties of this position (Eighteen semester hours or 27 quarter hours or the number of credit hours the school attended has determined to represent one year of full-time study is considered to be equal to one full year of graduate education). PLEASE NOTE: If you are using education to qualify, you must submit a copy of your college transcripts.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above.

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.

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).

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:

• Archeology
• Oral Communication
• Resource Protection