ARCHEOLOGIST

Summary

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.

USDA employees: Please refer to the Next Steps section.

Learn more about this agency

Duties

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• Carries out field investigations and produces cultural resources investigation and assessment reports.
• Prepares technical cultural resource sections of contracts, environmental documents, agreement documentations and other instruments of
  agency intent.
• 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 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.

Requirements

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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.
• The U.S. Government utilizes Trusted Workforce 2.0 to implement Continuous Vetting (CV) as a-whole-of government approach to personnel security. If selected for this position, you will be subject to continuous automated record checks of criminal, financial, and public record databases throughout your period of eligibility or employment, replacing traditional periodic reinvestigations.
• 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: GS-0193 :

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 meeting the basic requirement, you must also possess experience and/or directly related education listed below .

S pecialized Experience Requirement

For the GS-11 grade level: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in federal service or comparable experience not gained through federal service. Specialized experience is defined as: Applying archeological methods of surveying, excavation, documentation, mapping, data collection, research design, analysis, field identification and/or preservation; carrying out field investigations and producing quality assessment reports; and providing technical and administrative support for activities for resources associated with soil, water, plant, and related conservation concerns.

OR

Education at the GS-11 grade level: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: 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 listed above.

For the GS-12 grade level: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in federal service or comparable experience not gained through federal service. Specialized experience is defined as: Applying archeological methods of surveying, excavation, documentation, mapping, data collection, research design, analysis, field identification and/or preservation; providing archeological technical assistance, guidance, and training to field area employees, making recommendations for treatment and preservation of resources; and/or assisting in designing and implementing methods and procedures to address environmental or cultural concerns.

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), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): 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/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP 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/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.

VEOA : Veterans who are preference eligible or who have been separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions after three years or more of continuous active service are eligible for consideration under the Veteran's Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA).

Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA): Provides current or former temporary or term employees of federal land management agencies opportunity to compete for permanent competitive service positions. Individuals must have more than 24 months of service without a break between appointments of two or more years. Service must be in the competitive service and have been at a successful level of performance or better. Refer to PUBLIC LAW 114-47-AUG. 7, 2015 for more information.

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.

This Section is continued in the Benefits Section.

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.

Continued from the Additional information Section:

Physical Demands: The work will involve both an office environment and a field environment. Field work requires regular and recurring physical exertion such as walking, climbing, bending, crossing rivers and creeks, excavating sampling sites and performing shovel tests, and walking across farmland, rangeland, or forested terrain for periods of several hours' duration carrying loads of up to 20 pounds. Physical fitness and common sense precautions typical for both office and field settings is required.

Work Environment: Work environment is variable. In the office, the work is primarily performed in a normal setting. In the field the environment is varying including extreme cold, hot sun, rain and snow; special protective measures may be required.

Telework: This position is eligible for telework as determined by the agency policy.

Incentives: Recruitment and/or relocation incentives may be authorized.

Bargaining Unit: This is a non-bargaining unit position.

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.