Archeologist

About the role

You will serve as a Archeologist with US Fish and Wildlife Service. Location is negotiable within Department of the Interior (DOI) facilities located in the following states: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Iowa, and Missouri. Pay will vary based on grade level and/or duty location for which you're selected.

First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.

What you will do

• Implement a cultural resource program that ensures all Fish and Wildlife Service programs and undertakings comply with applicable legislation, regulations, and policies.
• Provide technical advice and guidance to the Regional Director, National Wildlife Refuges, Fisheries, Federal Aid, and Ecological Services Field Offices on cultural resource issues throughout the state.
• Serve as the state's highest level of professional expertise and the Regional Director's principal advisor on cultural resources, museum properties and collections, Native American repatriation issues, paleontological resources, and Indian Religious Freedom Act issues.
• Oversee the maintenance of background data and inventories of known cultural resources on Fish and Wildlife Service lands and projects, including properties eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.
• Serve as the liaison to the State Historic Preservation Office, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and Tribes.
• Conduct archaeological surveys, site identifications, and evaluations to ensure compliance with Section 106 of the NHPA for all field stations.
• Prepare site, project, and evaluation reports using formats acceptable to the State Historic Preservation Office.
• Serve as Regional Museum Property Coordinator with lead responsibility for coordinating with Fish and Wildlife Service National Curator in Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters.
• Negotiate agreements that fulfill the requirements of applicable laws, including the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
• Prepare and implement archaeological scopes of work, both by contract and in-house, that balance the requirements of cultural resource law, the needs of the FWS, and current archaeological research and cultural resource management practices.
• Negotiate, manage, monitor, and review contracts, contract products, and in-house products for timeliness, quality, and scientific rigor.
• Develop procedures, including Memoranda of Agreement and Programmatic Agreements, to simplify and streamline the inventory, identification, evaluation, and reporting of cultural resources while maintaining compliance with the law.
• Negotiate implementation of these procedures with the State Historic Preservation Office and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.
• Initiate, design, manage, and execute major university- or government-sponsored studies of historic resources.
• This includes helping establish project goals and objectives, making recommendations to improve research designs, managing the permit program, and consulting on and participating in specific aspects of field and/or laboratory research.
• Review and prepare Archaeological Resource Protection Act permits for cultural resource studies conducted on Service-managed lands in the region, and provide regional guidance and technical advice on all paleontological issues.
• Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

Requirements

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Direct Deposit participation required.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check.
• To learn more, visit ***
• Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment.
• As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest.
• 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.

Education

This position has a mandatory education requirement.

You must submit a copy of your transcript(s) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience.

Transcripts must include your name, school name, grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, and date the degree was conferred, if applicable. A typed list of courses, grades, semester/quarter hours, GPA, etc. will not be accepted. Non-submission may result in being rated not qualified for the position.

Unofficial transcripts are acceptable, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.

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.

Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | U.S. Department of Education. How do I receive credit for a college degree obtained in a foreign university in another country? - OPM.gov Applicants must submit all necessary documents to a private U.S. organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials, commonly called a credential evaluation service.

To be acceptable, the foreign credential evaluation must include/describe: The type of education received by the applicant; The level of education in relation to the U.S. education system, and state that its comparability recommendations follow the general guidelines of the International Education Standards Council; The content of the applicant's educational program earned abroad and the standard obtained; The status of the awarding foreign school's recognition and legitimacy in its home country's education system; and Any other information of interest such as what the evaluation service did to obtain this information, the qualifications of thee valuator, and any indications as to other problems such as forgery.

Foreign credential evaluations that do not contain the above information or that state there is insufficient information provided by the applicant on which to base an evaluation should not be accepted.

If the requested evaluation shows the foreign education to be legitimate and comparable to that expected of a candidate with U.S. credentials, it may be accepted at the discretion of the agency.

How you will be evaluated

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g. resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the additional assessment(s) required for this position. To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. Your resume must not exceed 2 pages.

Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine your qualifications/eligibility and for rating purposes. In the event you submit more than one resume, only the latest submission will be reviewed.

You will be assessed in the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): GS-12 Technical Competence Compliance Contracting/ Procurement GS-13 Accountability Compliance Contracting/Procurement Partnering Technical Competence To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process.

In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires successful completion of additional assessment(s), including a Structured Resume Review.These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job.

All qualified non-competitive applicants and the best-qualified Merit Promotion applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration or your score may be lowered.

Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.

Current or former displaced Federal employees who are surplus, displaced, or involuntarily separated have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP).

To be considered under CTAP/ICTAP, you must be well-qualified, score at least 85 (i.e., meet the minimum qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors; education, and experience requirements), and be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry.

Documents you must provide

• Resume which includes a list of all significant jobs held and duties performed, with dates in month-year format (include month/day/year format if needed for 52 weeks of experience), and indicate hours worked per week (or full-time).
• Your resume must clearly show how long you have held each grade/rank.
• Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted.
• The minimum font size is 10-point for all body text.
• All resumes must maintain a minimum 0.5-inch margins on all sides to ensure readability and prevent excessive content compression.
• Including supplemental pages or attachments disguised as resume extensions are prohibited and will not be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.
• Your 2-page resume must contain information sufficient to make a valid determination that you fully meet the specialized experience requirements.
• If you have federal experience, you should include series, and grade for each position held, and if experience is part of a career ladder position, you must clearly distinguish the job duties and length of time working for each grade level.
• More information on how to write a Federal Resume: *** All College Transcript(s), if qualifying based on education.
• Eligibility Documentation: Current and former Federal employees must submit latest SF-50 (i.e. Promotion, Separation, Within Grade Increase (WGI)) showing tenure 1 or 2 in block 24, grade, and if applicable, an additional SF-50 showing the highest grade or promotion potential held.
• Time in grade will be determined by reviewing your resume and required SF-50s.
• If your SF-50 showing highest permanent grade held has an effective date within the past year, your resume must clearly show that you held that grade for one year.
• Do not submit award SF-50s.
• Veterans Preference Documentation: Veterans eligible under VRA (GS-11 & below only), VEOA, 30% or more Disabled, or Disabled Veterans Enrolled in a VA Training Program must submit the most recent Documentation of Service and Separation under Honorable Conditions (e.g. DD-214) as listed on the SF15.
• If you are a Parent or Spouse of a Disabled or Deceased Veteran, you must submit all documentation as listed on the SF15.
• You may request a copy of the VA letter from ***
• If you are a veteran within 120 days of discharge, you must submit signed documentation from the Armed Forces certifying: 1) your expected release/retirement from active duty, 2) under honorable conditions, 3) your pay grade/rank/rate at time of discharge, 4) dates of active-duty service, 5) any campaign or expeditionary medals received, & 6) dated within 120 days of your separation.
• Public Land Corps: You must provide a copy of your signed Certificate of Non-Competitive Eligibility and clearly state in your resume time served and duties performed on an appropriate conservation project.
• Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA): you must submit ALL Appointment AND Termination SF-50s for EACH Competitive time-limited appointment (block 34, code 1); AND Documentation of satisfactory performance for each period of employment claimed, such as, performance evaluations, memorandum of record, whereas the supervisor(s) documented an acceptable performance level for a specified rating/employment period.
• Special Appointing Authorities: If you are applying under a special appointing authority (i.e. Schedule A, Peace Corps, Military Spouses, etc.), you must submit appropriate documentation to verify your eligibility.
• If you fail to submit proof, you will not receive consideration.
• If you're eligible for an authority not listed, you are responsible for submitting appropriate documentation for that specific authority.
• Interagency Career Transition (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP): You MUST submit proof of eligibility including 1) copy of the agency notice, e.g., RIF Separation Notice, Notice of Proposed Removal, etc.; 2) SF-50s (Notifications of Personnel Action) showing career/conditional tenure competitive status, promotion potential and duty location; and 3) your most recent performance appraisal.
• To exercise selection priority, displaced or surplus Federal employees must be well qualified.
• For more information visit: USAJOBS Help Center - Career Transition Programs (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL).
• Failure to submit any of the above-mentioned required documents will result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package.
• It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.
• Do not submit photographs with your application package.
• Do not upload Adobe portfolio documents.

What to expect next

Please refer to your USAJOBS account for application status; the Human Resources Office cannot respond to individual status inquiries. Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email. Your application will be evaluated by the Human Resources Office to determine your eligibility for the position.

After the evaluation is complete, you will receive another notification regarding the status of your application. You can find your path with the Department of Interior at *** Any exaggeration of your experience, false statements, or attempt to conceal information may disqualify you for employment consideration.

We may verify all information you provide in your resume and questionnaire responses, through reference and/or background checks, and/or verification of your education. If you are selected, you will be contacted personally by the Human Resources Office posting this announcement.

Additional information

Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement. Promotion to the full performance level is neither guaranteed nor implied and will be based solely on your ability to satisfactorily perform the work of the position, existing work at the higher grade level, and recommendation by the position's supervisor.

PCS Entitlements for payment of basic moving expenses, as required and to the extent allowed by the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) 302-3.101, are authorized for eligible applicants changing duty station when the change meets the distance tests as provided in FTR 302-1.1 and 302-2.6. All moving expenses are taxable.

Discretionary entitlements are not authorized for this position All DOI employees, their spouses, and minor children may not acquire or retain any claim, permit, lease, small tract entry, or other rights granted by the Department in Federal lands, with limited exceptions. Additional ethics prohibitions can be found here, DOI Ethics Prohibitions | U.S. Department of the Interior.

Telework: The duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to situationally telework with supervisor approval.