Archaeologist

This Archaeologist (State Cultural Resources Specialist) position serves on a NRCS State Resource Conservation Staff and is located in a State Office of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in New York 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 and Alaska Native issues, encountered in all NRCS programs and activities.

Qualifications:

TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENTS: Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible.

• One year at the GS-09 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-11 level.
• One year at the GS-11 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-12 level.

(Please submit your SF-50 that shows Time-in-Grade eligibility and reflects your title, series, and grade. No Award or General Adjustment SF-50's will be accepted). Time-in-grade requirements also apply to VEOA applicants having held a GS position in the past year. See addition information.

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

Basic Education Requirement:
A. Education
1. Completed a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included 3 semester hours each in the following course areas; (1) History of archeology; (2) Archeology of a major geographical area such as North America or Africa; (3) 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; (4) Theory and methods of archeology. Methods include, but are not limited to, typology, classification, sampling, cultural evolution, diffusion, dating, and analytical techniques; (5) 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

6 semester hours of related course work in; (1) geography, geology, or cultural geography; (2) history, historiography, or historical archeology; (3) environmental studies; (4) scientific writing (nonfiction English composition); and/or (5) surveying;

AND

Archeological field school. (You must submit transcripts.)

OR

B. Education - 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) (You must submit transcripts.);

OR

C. 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 (You must submit transcripts.);

OR

D. Experience: Four (4) 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 one of the Basic Requirements listed above, applicants must meet the following Minimum Qualifications Requirement in order to be considered:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: To be considered minimally qualified for this position, you must demonstrate that you have the required specialized experience and/or education for the respective grade level(s) in which you are applying:

For the GS-11 grade level:

Specialized Experience: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties:

1. Planning field surveys for archeological and historical sites;
2. Assisting in the development of compliance policy and procedures for cultural resources preservation and tribal consultation in the state;
3. Providing archaeology and cultural resources technical assistance, guidance and training to various personnel;
4. Conducting archeological investigations at proposed project sites to assure archeological and historical; AND values are identified and proper preservation procedures are followed.

(Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience)

OR

Substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience: 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: Archeology; anthropology (with emphasis on ethnology, physical anthropology, or scientific linguistics), history, American studies, or a related discipline (You must submit transcripts.)

OR

Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages. (You must submit transcripts.)

For the GS-12 grade level:

Specialized Experience: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties:

1. Leading field surveys for archeological and historical sites;
2. Developing or working on work groups tasked with updating or creating compliance policy and procedures for cultural resources preservation and tribal consultation in the state;
3. Providing archaeology and cultural resources technical assistance, guidance and training to various personnel;
4. Conducting archeological investigations at proposed project sites to assure archeological and historical values are identified and proper preservation procedures are followed; AND
5. Consulting with Native American Tribes on archeological issues.

(Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience) IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).

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.

The OPM Qualification Standards for this position can be found at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=List-by-Occupational-Series