Archeologist

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service or exempt.
• Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
• Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served.
• 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.
  
  

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. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide course descriptions as necessary.

Basic Requirement: For 0193 ArcheologistANDANDOR

• Education:
• 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.
• 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;
• Archeological field school.
• Related Curriculum: A 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 coursework 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 requirement, you must also possess experience and/or directly related education in the amounts listed below.

Specialized Experience Requirement

For the GS-09: One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 grade level. Specialized experience is defined as two or more of the following: Assisting in conducting background studies and document reviews pertaining to archeological project development; and/or participating in archeological survey and site evaluation work and preparation of technical reports; and/or conducting routine field reconnaissance searches in areas planned for such activities as timber harvesting/wildlife habitat improvement/road construction/recreational development concerning possible effects that proposed resource management activities may have on existing archeological remains.

OR

A master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years (36 hours) of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, if related; OR an appropriate combination of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level, GS-07, and education (only graduate education in excess of 18 semester hours may be used to qualify applicants for this grade level).

For the GS-11: One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level. Specialized experience is defined as two or more of the following: Performing standard tasks or portions of larger projects of an archeological program, such as conducting performance studies and examining historical research documents pertaining to project development; and/or assisting professional archeologists in developing/enhancing archeological program components, such as scientific reporting, records and database management, and cultural resource condition monitoring; and/or evaluating problems associated with archeological site protection and implementing corrective measures within the framework of archeological program and legal requirements.

OR

3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or equivalent doctoral degree (coursework directly related to position being filled); OR an appropriate combination of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level, GS-09, and graduate-level education (beyond what is required for a master's degree, i.e., more than 36 semester hours leading to a Ph.D.).

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.

Education

See Qualifications Section For Education Requirements.

This position has a positive education requirement; therefore, a legible copy of your college transcripts is required. Transcripts must be attached to your application prior to the closing date of the announcement. Applicants who fail to submit their transcripts with their application will not be given credit for their education.

Additional information

This open and continuous announcement provides the Forest Service with a readily available source of applicants when vacancies occur. Eligibility and qualifications will be verified when there is a vacancy for the location and grade for which you applied.

Additional duty locations may be added throughout the life of this announcement. It is the responsibility of the applicant to periodically review this vacancy announcement for additional duty locations. You must update your application to include all locations for which you want to be considered. You will not be considered for duty locations not selected in your application. The target grade of the positions may vary by duty location. Information on specific locations where jobs are being filled and the dates when applications are due for these locations can be found at https://fsoutreach.gdcii.com/Outreach.

Salary wage as shown is for Rest of the U.S. Final salary will be determined at the time of selection dependent on the duty location For more information, refer to the Office of Personnel Management, Salary and Wages web page.

The USDA Forest Service has legislative authority to recruit and fill Permanent (Career/Career-Conditional), Temporary, and Term Appointments under the USDA Demonstration Project. Under this authority, any U.S. citizen may apply. Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP eligibles must meet the agency's definition for a quality candidate as provided in the How You Will Be Evaluated section of this announcement to be considered.

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 not guaranteed.

This position may be eligible to telework up to four days per week, based upon the duties of the position. This position may also be eligible for flexible work arrangements as determined by agency policy and any applicable collective bargaining agreements.

The Forest Service may use certain incentives and hiring flexibilities, currently offered by the Federal government, to attract highly qualified candidates. Additional information is available at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-and-leave-flexibilities-for-recruitment-and-retention/

Positions filled from this announcement may be a bargaining or a non-bargaining unit position represented by either NFFE, AFGE or NAGE.

Forest Service daycare facilities may be available.

Government Housing may be available.

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• Help Help 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.
  
  

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.