ARCHEOLOGIST

Summary **The closing date of this announcement has been extended to 09/25/2026. This position is located in the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Iowa. The incumbent serves as a Cultural Resources Specialist and is responsible for guidance and assistance to field personnel and resource technical teams for conservation, protection, and enhancement of cultural resources, including Native American issues, encountered in all NRCS programs and activities. Responsibilities Prepares and maintains all technical guides and information dealing with cultural resources to include development of compliance policy and procedures for cultural resources preservation and tribal consultation in the state; Carries out field investigations and produces cultural resources investigation and assessment reports. Assists field staff to include, planning or coordinating field surveys for archeological and historical sites to comply with cultural resources protection laws and regulations. Establishes and maintains contacts and cooperative working relations with resource conservation districts, federal, state and local government agencies, private organizations, etc. Prepares technical cultural resource sections of contracts, environmental documents, agreement documentations and other instruments of agency intent. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a US Citizen or US National. Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt. Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check. If selected, you may be sent instructions on obtaining fingerprints. Please note we are unable to reimburse for any fees incurred. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may 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. 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. Direct Deposit: Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution. Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov. Must possess and maintain a valid state motor vehicle operator's license for the type of vehicle(s) operated to perform the duties of this position. Qualifications In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards. Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. If education is required or being used to qualify, you must submit a copy of your transcripts. Basic Requirement: A. Education 1.Degree: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included a major field of study 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 B. Combination of Education and Experience: College-level education or training that provided knowledge equivalent to that described 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. In addition to the requirements described above, the following additional experience is required: Specialized experience GS-11: You must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience, equivalent to GS-09 level in the Federal Service or comparable experience not gained through Federal Service. For this position, specialized experience is defined as: Assisting in the development of compliance policy and procedures for cultural resources preservation and tribal consultation in the state; managing archeology field experience with a combination of archaeological survey, excavation, laboratory analysis, and preparation of written materials; providing archeology and cultural resources technical assistance, guidance and training to various personnel; evaluating the significance of archaeological, historical, and traditional cultural resources; OR Substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience: 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or equivalent doctoral degree in anthropology (with emphasis on ethnology, physical anthropology, or scientific linguistics), history, American studies, or a related discipline from an accredited college or university.; OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience, as described above, may be used to qualify for this position. This combination must have equipped you with the necessary knowledge and/or experience to successfully perform the duties of this position. Combinations of experience and education must total at least 100% as outlined in OPM Qualifications policy. Specialized experience GS-12: You must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience, equivalent to GS-11 level in the Federal Service or comparable experience not gained through Federal Service. For this position, specialized experience is defined as: Developing compliance policy and procedures for cultural resources preservation and tribal consultation in the state, managing archaeology field experience with a combination of archeological survey, excavation, laboratory analysis, and preparation of written materials; providing archaeology and cultural resources technical assistance, guidance and training to various personnel; evaluating the significance of archaeological, historical, and traditional cultural resources. Note: There is no education substitution for the GS-12 level. 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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Time-in-Grade Requirement: If you are a current federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. You must meet this requirement by the closing date of this announcement. Education College Transcript: If qualifying based on education, you must submit a copy of your college transcript with course number and department (i.e., Bio 101, Math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours, and grade earned. If a relevant course is not clearly qualifying (e.g., special topic, seminar, research, thesis, obscure or misleading course title, etc.), please submit an official course syllabi and/or detailed course description from the university/college to ensure proper evaluation. Your education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to be credited toward qualifications. You may verify accreditation by visiting the U.S. Department of Education Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs website. We will verify your education accordingly. Foreign Education: You must submit verification that education completed in a foreign institution, was recognized by an accreditation body accepted by the U.S. Department of Education. You must include a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. For a list of private organizations that evaluate education, visit the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) website. Your transcripts must be in English or include an English translation. You may submit an unofficial copy of your transcript at the initial phase of the application process. However, if selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Please refer to the "How to Apply" section for instructions on submitting transcripts. Additional Information Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Reemployment Priority List (RPL): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100. Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Employees: Permanent County employees without prior Federal tenure who are selected for a Civil Service position under Public Law 105-277 will be given a career-conditional appointment and must serve a 1-year probationary period. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. ( Promotion Potential: If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed. Physical Demands: The position requires both sedentary work, usually performed in an office setting, and moderate physical exertion, usually associated with outside field work. The incumbent is required to visit job sites where extensive walking on rough terrain, moderate climbing, bending, lifting, carrying moderately heavy objects, and being outdoors in all types of weather may be required. Office work includes the use of a computer and other office equipment, with the physical demands typical of an office setting. Work Environment: The work is performed in both an office and field environment. Field visits are made to project locations to inventory and otherwise gather cultural resources and Tribal data. Adverse weather and unimproved roads are often encountered during field visits and may require the use of special protective equipment. Office work includes the use of a computer for extended periods of time. Evening work and overnight travel are occasionally required.