Archeologist Job in Vicksburg, MS

Vacancy No. CERG245844920930HW Department U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Salary $72,553.00 to $113,047.00 Grade 11 to 12
Perm/Temp Temporary FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 12/23/2024 Close Date 1/6/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Vicksburg, MS


Summary

This is a Direct Hire Authority (DHA) solicitation utilizing the DHA for Certain Personnel of the DoD Workforce to recruit and appoint qualified candidates to positions in the competitive service.

About the Position: This announcement is NOT intended for current, permanent Army employees. Current, permanent Army employees who would like to be considered for this time-limited assignment should instead apply to Announcement # CERG245844922316.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

U.S. Citizens

Duties

  • As an Archeologist, one is considered a specialist in the field and is expected to exercise judgement in planning and carrying out assignments and work, with a high degree of freedom.
  • Maintains control for the evaluation, protection, and preservation of man-made or natural sites, within or near Federal projects or Government-licensed work.
  • Design and prepare scopes of work for cultural resources surveys.
  • Directs, coordinates, and performs field investigations for evaluation of historic and prehistoric cultures.
  • Prepare correspondence for environmental statements, survey reports, and design memoranda on items of archeological and historical significance.
  • Plans, organizes, and coordinates the total efforts of the archeological, architectural, and historical programs within assigned area of responsibility.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
  • One year trial period may be required.
  • This position may require temporary duty (TDY) travel up to 20% of the time.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: US Citizens

In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

Basic Requirement for Archeologist:

A. Education - Degree: Bachelor's degree (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 six 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.

OR

B. Education - Related Curriculum: Bachelor's degree (or higher 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 listed in A above (including archeological field school).

OR

C. 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

D. 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 above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below:

Minimum Qualifications for GS-11:

Specialized Experience:
One year of specialized experience which includes: 1) planning, coordinating, and implementing cultural resources investigations; 2) preparing technical reports on findings, including site evaluations and assessments; 3) conducting surveys, excavations, collection, and field preservation; and 4) preparing cultural resources information for environmental reports and studies. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-09).

OR

Education: 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.

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.

Minimum Qualifications for GS-12:

Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes: 1) providing archeology and cultural resources, technical assistance, and guidance to various personnel; 2) analyzing and interpreting the significance of artifacts or samples recovered from surveys; 3) preparing comprehensive reports and analysis of archeological findings; and 4) Familiarity with compliance under the National Historic Preservation Act. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-11).

Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement for GS-12 using experience alone--no substitution of education for experience is permitted.

Education

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/

Additional information

  • Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
  • You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
  • One year trial period may be required.
  • Direct Deposit of Pay is required.
  • Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees.
  • If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet.
  • This is a Construction, Engineering, & Infrastructure Career Field position.
  • Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement.
  • Payment of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs is not authorized, based on a determination that a PCS move is not in the Government interest.
  • Relocation incentive may be authorized.
  • Management may select at any of the grade levels announced. This recruitment provides promotion opportunity to the target grade of the position without further competition when selectee is eligible and recommended by management.
  • This position is Exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act.
  • Nepotism: Under the provisions of 5 USC 3110, an individual may not be appointed into a position if the position is under the supervisory chain of command of a relative.
  • All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
  • This announcement may be used to fill like vacancies for three months after the closing date.
  • This announcement is NOT intended for current, permanent Army employees. Current permanent Federal employees (to include permanent Army employees) applying for a Term appointment will be appointed/converted into an Appointment with no statutory return rights back to a permanent position.
  • Current, permanent Army employees that are eligible and would like to be considered for a time-limited promotion, reassignment or change to lower grade not to exceed (NTE) two (2) years should instead apply to Announcement # CERG245844922316.
  • This announcement uses the Direct Hire Authorities for Certain Personnel of the Department of Defense, 5 U.S.C, Section 9905 direct hire authority to recruit and appoint qualified candidates to certain positions in the competitive service.
  • This particular announcement will be utilizing Expedited Referral Process. Your resume will not be reviewed for qualifications until a selection is made.
  • This is a Term Appointment NTE - Position may be filled as a Term Appointment NTE 2 years. Term appointments may be extended beyond six (6) years, up to eight (8) years. With DoD approval, Term appointments may be extended beyond eight (8) years.
  • Upon completion of at least 2 years of continuous service, term employees may be eligible for noncompetitive conversion to a permanent appointment (certain conditions apply).

Benefits

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.

Review our 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.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement.

If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

You should list any relevant performance appraisals and incentive awards in your resume as that information may be taken into consideration during the selection process. If selected, you may be required to provide supporting documentation.

Veterans and Military Spouses will be considered along with all other candidates.

Required Documents

The documents you are required to submit vary based on whether or not you are eligible for preference in federal employment. A complete description of preference categories and the associated required documents is in the Applicant Checklist for Public Announcements.

As described above, your complete application includes your resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.

1. Your resume:

  • Your resume may be submitted in any format and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement.
  • If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations and you may not be considered for this vacancy.
  • For qualifications determinations your resume must contain hours worked per week and the dates of employment (i.e., HRS per week and month/year to month/year or month/year to present). If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete and you may not receive consideration for this position.
  • For additional information see: What to include in your resume.
2. Other supporting documents:
  • Cover Letter, optional
  • Most recent Performance Appraisal, if applicable
  • This position has an individual occupational requirement and/or allows for substitution of education for experience. If you meet this requirement based on education you MUST submit a copy of your transcript with your application package or you will be rated ineligible. See: Transcripts and Licenses
NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application. You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the online questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section above.

The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 01/06/2025 to receive consideration

  • To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application (https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12650930).
  • Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
  • After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.
  • You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
  • It is your responsibility to verify that your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan.
  • Additional information on how to complete the online application process and submit your online application may be found on the USA Staffing Applicant Resource Center.
To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.

Agency contact information

Army Applicant Help Desk
Address
RG-W2R904 US ARMY ENGINEER DISTRICT-VICKSBURG
DO NOT MAIL
Vicksburg, MS 39183
US
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

If you provided an email address, you will receive an email message acknowledging receipt of your application. Your application package will be used to determine your eligibility, qualifications, and quality ranking (as applicable) for this position. If you are determined to be ineligible or not qualified, your application will receive no further consideration.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.