Archeologist

Summary

Reclamation is seeking a career professional looking for an opportunity to capitalize on their expertise as an Archeologist. Make a difference in the West by assisting in meeting increasing water demands while protecting the environment.

Duty Location: Sacramento, California

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Duties

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This position is located within the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Division of Environmental Affairs, Cultural Resources Branch, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA.

At the full performance level (GS-12) the major duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following:

Performs various assignments involving the cultural resources management program (archeological, historical, and significant architectural structures, sites, and features) throughout the California - Great Basin Region.

• Interprets and provides advice on the National Historic Preservation Act and regulations of 36 CFR Part 800, Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, Archaeological Resources Protection Act, and other cultural resources legislation to Area Office staff and management.
• Performs occasional cultural resources surveys, inventories, and National Register of Historic Places eligibility evaluations.
• Recommends preservation, mitigation, avoidance, protection, and/or restoration measures on existing and future project lands.
• Prepares technical specifications and contract clauses for historical and archeological investigations and for evaluations and mitigation programs prepared by outside entities. Reviews and interprets reports received to ensure that they meet Reclamation standards.
• Develops procedures and actions to implement historical and archeological field investigations, personally or by contractors.
• Monitors construction for activities in historically and archeologically sensitive areas.
• Collaborates in the preparation of determination of eligibility documents, inventories for historic properties, preliminary case reports, and subsequent negotiations for mitigation of impacts.
• Maintains liaison with appropriate Federal and State representatives, universities, and private organizations to facilitate Reclamation's cultural resources program.

Physical Demands: The work is generally sedentary, although there are some periods of extensive walking, hiking on uneven terrain, bending, excavating, minor lifting, and minor climbing during field investigations.

Work Environment: Work environment is primarily in an office setting, although there is frequent travel to meetings and to field sites to conduct inspections, inventories, and related studies.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen or U.S. National.
• Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
• You must be suitable for federal employment, determined by a background investigation.
• Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males.
• You must maintain a valid State Driver's License at all times as the position requires operation of government vehicles on government and public roads. Failure to maintain a valid State Driver's License at all times will result in removal from the position.
• You may be required to wear the Reclamation issued uniform while working.
• You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to approximately 10% of your work time in a year. Some months may require travel depending on meetings, projects, etc. Other months may require no travel.
• You are required to obtain a Contracting Officer Representative (COR) certification within six months of entrance on duty.

Continue to the Additional Information section for the Condition of Employment for Probationary Period.

Applicants who apply under this job opportunity announcement agree to have their application, associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other Bureaus/Offices within the Department of Interior (DOI) who have vacancies with the same occupational series, grade, full performance level and in the same geographic location(s). Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which you wish to receive consideration. You may choose to have your information shared with other agencies when applying for this position. If an agency requests a copy of a certificate you are on, you will be notified.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the 07/15/2026 of this announcement.

BASIC REQUIREMENT - Archeologist: Applicants must possess the basic requirement for an Archeologist. If qualifying based on education, transcripts MUST be submitted and include your name, school name, credit hours, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking. We cannot determine eligibility without this information. (A copy of your official transcripts will be required before entrance on duty, if selected). The Basic Requirement may be met in one of the following ways (see below).

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:

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

-AND-

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-

• 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-

• 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.

In addition to meeting the basic requirements listed above for this position, applicants must also meet the minimum qualifications outlined below:

Specialized Experience: To qualify for the GS-12, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the difficulty and responsibility to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is experience that equipped you with the particular competencies needed to successfully perform the duties of the position. Examples of specialized experience may include: planning and conducting archeological investigations; conducting or overseeing work in support of historic preservation including architectural inventory and monitoring; conducting cultural resource surveys and excavations; and performing field inspections, research, and assessments.

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.

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.

Education

This position does not allow substituting education for Specialized Experience.

This position has a mandatory education requirement. You must submit a copy of college transcript(s) (unofficial copy is acceptable) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include the name of the college or university and date the degree was conferred. Non-submission will result in being rated not-qualified for the position.

You will be required to provide official college transcripts to verify educational qualifications, if selected. An official transcript must be sent directly from the University's Registrar's office and must be provided from the institution awarding the degree. Academic transcripts certified by notary publics are NOT official. Official transcripts must be submitted prior to reporting to work as a condition of employment. Failure to submit official transcripts may be grounds for dismissal or rescission of the job offer.

Accreditation: Only education from an accredited college or university recognized by the Department of Education is acceptable to meet education requirements or to substitute for experience, if applicable. For additional info, refer to the Office of Personnel Management and U.S. Department of Education.

Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs. For additional info, refer to the U.S. Network for Education Information.

Additional information

Condition of Employment For Probationary Period: As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated. This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Reclamation has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework only during an emergency or natural disaster.

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.

If otherwise eligible and qualified, you may be offered a recruitment or relocation incentive. The decision to offer an incentive will be made on a case-by-case basis and is neither promised nor guaranteed. For information, visit: Recruitment Incentive or Relocation Incentive.

Current agency employees may be eligible to receive a referral bonus for recruitment of this position. For information visit: Referral Bonus Awards.

If otherwise eligible and qualified, you may be offered a Student Loan Repayment Benefit (SLRB). The decision to offer an SLRB will be made on a case-by-case basis and is neither promised nor guaranteed. For information, visit: SLRB Program.

If otherwise eligible and qualified, you may request consideration for a Superior Qualifications Appointment. For information, visit: OPM Fact Sheet.

This is a bargaining unit position represented by National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), Local 2052.

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.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.