Archivist Job in San Bruno, CA

Vacancy No. ST-12620688-25-KB Department National Archives and Records Administration
Salary $74,642.00 to $117,400.00 Grade 9 to 11
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 11/27/2024 Close Date 12/5/2024
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
San Bruno, CA


Summary

This position is part of the National Archives and Records Administration, Research Services, Archival Operations. The incumbent carries out complex assignments involving delivery of reference service that demonstrates broad knowledge; accessioning and processing records; protecting records and ensuring their proper storage, handling, preservation, and reproduction; interpreting and applying of restrictions on records; and creating record descriptions and finding aids

Duties

The following are the duties of this position at the GS-12. If you are selected at a lower grade level, you will have the opportunity to learn to perform all these duties, and will receive training to help you grow in this position.

As an Archivist, you will:

  • Prepare descriptions of complex bodies of records and digital objects for inclusion in the National Archives Catalog.
  • Independently develop and deliver responses to non-routine reference requests that draw upon a broad knowledge of records, involve multiple sources of information, employ innovative research techniques, or require interpretation of complex rules or procedures.
  • Assist researchers in navigating complex finding aid systems and establishing connections between related archival sources, regardless of their physical location.
  • Plan and coordinate activities leading to the identification of records eligible for transfer to NARA.
  • Determine appropriate levels for the establishment of intellectual control and identify controlling methods that assist users in recognizing relationships among records.
  • Review records and apply appropriate restrictions in compliance with EO 13526, the Freedom of Information Act, access rules of the House and Senate, copyright laws, or donor requirements.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

If you do not meet any of the categories listed above, you may wish to apply under announcement DE-12620285-25-KB, which is open for any U.S. citizen to apply. Please refer to that announcement for details on open period, eligibility, and how to apply.

The experience may have been gained in either the public, private sector or volunteer service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/day/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week on your resume.

  • A one year probationary period may be required.
  • Must successfully complete a background investigation.
  • Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency.
  • If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so.
  • Go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form i-9. Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S.
  • The work is mostly sedentary, however the incumbent must be physically able to perform the duties of this position. Physical demands may include climbing caster-equipped ladders, maneuvering on catwalks, moving heavy carts of records, and handling boxes of records stored up to 15 feet above the floor and typically weighing 50 pounds, occasionally more. The work may also demand considerable periods of maintaining a stationary position, moving, or otherwise positioning oneself to access objects, equipment, or records located in high and low places.
Key Requirements:
  1. Please refer to "Conditions of Employment."
  2. Click "Print Preview" to review the entire announcement before applying.
  3. Must be U.S. Citizens or U.S. Nationals.

Qualifications

You must meet the following requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

Specialized Experience: For the GS-11, you must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized Experience for this position includes:

Utilizing various systems or databases to locate, analyze, index, and manage archival records;
AND
Interpreting laws, policies, and/or regulations to perform archival task, such as; monitoring, pulling and refiling archival records, reference and research room work, arrangement and description, holdings maintenance and/or digitization of records;
AND
Providing customer service to various audiences through oral and written communication techniques.

OR
You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows: 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. Education must be in a directly related field of study.
OR
You may qualify by a combination of experience and education.

NOTE: Only education in excess of the first 36 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) of graduate education is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement.


Specialized Experience: For the GS-09, you must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized Experience for this position includes:

Performing basic archival tasks, such as verifying the completeness of a set of records or locating relevant records to answer customer requests;
AND
Providing customer service to various audiences through oral and written communication techniques.

OR
You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows: 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree. Education must be in a directly related field of study.
OR
You may qualify by a combination of experience and education.

NOTE: Only education in excess of the first 18 semester hours (i.e., beyond the first year) of graduate education is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement.


In addition to the above requirements, you must meet the following time-in-grade requirement, if applicable (as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F):
For the GS-11, you must have been at the GS-09level for 52 weeks.
For the GS-09, you must have been at the GS-07level for 52 weeks.

Education

Individual Occupational Requirement

Basic requirements for all grades:

Bachelor's degree in archival science or bachelor's degree with a major that includes 18 semester hours in archival science, history and/or in political science or government, and 12 semester hours in one or any combination of the following: archival science, history, American civilization, economics, political science, public administration, or government.
OR
Combination of education and experience - at least 30 semester hours that included courses as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Professional experience must have been in archival science, or in a directly related field of work such as history that involved the collection, appraisal, analysis, or synthesis of information having historical or archival values.

The education generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Additional information

  • We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.
  • This announcement may be used to fill like positions in other organizations within the National Archives and Records Administration.
  • This is a bargaining unit position, AFGE Council 260.
  • We offer opportunities for telework, per Agency policy.
  • We offer opportunities for alternative and flexible work schedules, per Agency policy.

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.

Your application includes your resume, responses to the online questions, and required supporting documents. Please be sure that your resume includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this position; failure to provide sufficient evidence in your resume may result in a "not qualified" determination.

Rating: Your application will be evaluated in the following areas: Communication, Problem Solving, Technical. Your application will be rated and ranked among others, based on your responses to the online questions, regarding your experience, education, training, performance appraisals and awards relevant to the duties of this position. Your rating may be lowered if your responses to the online questions are not supported by the education and/or experience described in your application.

Referral: If you are among the top qualified candidates, your application may be referred to a selecting official for consideration. You may be required to participate in a selection interview.

If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee (eligible for the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)) you must receive a score of 85 or better to be rated as "well qualified" to receive special selection priority

Required Documents

1. Resume - either by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one of their own choosing. (Cover letters are optional.) To receive full credit for relevant experience, please list the month/date/year and number of hours worked for experience listed on your resume. We suggest that you preview the online questions, as you may need to customize your resume to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions. Please view resume tips.

2. Vacancy Question Responses - Completely answer the online assessment questionnaire associated with this job announcement.

3. Transcripts - For positions with an education requirement, OR if you are qualifying for this position by substituting education or training for experience, you MUST submit a copy of your transcripts or equivalent. An official transcript will be required if you are selected.

If you are qualifying based on foreign education, you must submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. Refer to the OPM instructions.

4. PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL/REVIEW/EVALUATION, ETC: All (Federal and Non-Federal) applicants are required to submit their most recently completed annual performance appraisal (dated within 18 months from the closing date of the vacancy announcement), which identifies your official rating of record (must be at least "Fully Successful") AND is signed by the supervisor, OR a statement explaining why the performance appraisal/review/evaluation is unavailable OR incomplete. If you fail to provide a copy of the performance appraisal/review/evaluation, or a statement advising why it is unavailable, you will be removed from further consideration. N/A is not considered an acceptable response.

5. SF-50 for CURRENT OR FORMER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES -- Documentation Relating to Your Federal Employment:

  • Submit a copy of your most recent NON-AWARD SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, which shows your current (or most recent) title, series, grade, and competitive service status. (To verify your competitive service status, on the SF50, Box 34 "Position Occupied" should show a "1" and Box 24 "Tenure" should show a "1" or "2".)
  • Indicate on your application the highest permanent grade you have held; if this grade is different from your current grade, submit a copy of an additional SF-50 showing this grade.
  • If you are currently on a Veterans Recruitment Appointment (VRA), submit a copy of an SF-50 showing that. Also, you must submit a copy of your DD214 or other documentation showing dates of service and type of discharge and any other applicable documents such as SF-15, VA letters, etc.

Additional Required Documents if Applying Through the Hiring Authorities Listed Below:

6. NON-COMPETITIVE REINSTATEMENT: If you are a former federal employee who has been separated for at least one year and wish to be non-competitively reinstated for a higher grade or full performance level than which you left federal employment, you MUST provide a copy of your separation SF50 (the "position occupied" block on the SF-50 should show a "1" and your "tenure" block should show a "1" or "2") AND the last performance appraisal you received from your federal employment which shows at least a fully successful rating. Note: You will NOT be given consideration under this option, if a performance appraisal document is not submitted.

7. Veterans Preference documentation (if applying under VEOA or VRA): DD-214 - Member Copy 4 or other copies that indicate character of discharge; SF-15 and VA Letter (as appropriate). If you are claiming veterans preference, please visit the website for veterans hiring paths located at https://www.usajobs.gov/help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/veterans/.

8. If you are applying under a special hiring authority (e.g. Military Spouses, Interchange Agreement, Schedule A Disability, etc.), please visit the website https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/faq/application/eligibility. In order to be eligible under one of these authorities, you must submit all required documentation as outlined in that specific hiring authority. For additional guidance on documents please visit: applicant guide for required documentation.

9. CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PLAN (CTAP) OR INTERAGENCY CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PLAN (ICTAP) DOCUMENTATION: If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee, click CTAP/ICTAP for eligibility and a detailed list of required documents you must submit in order to be eligible.

10. Land Management Eligibles must provide all required documentation to verify eligibility, prior performance, and qualifications for the target position. You can find information on the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act and eligibility HERE. Land Management Eligibles must compete under competitive merit promotion procedures and meet all applicable requirements as such (time-in-grade restrictions do not apply).

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

The National Archives and Records Administration has partnered with the Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service to provide certain personnel services to its organization. Fiscal Service's responsibilities include advertising vacancies, accepting and handling applications, and extending job offers.

The following instructions outline our application process. You must complete this application process and submit any required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, please contact us by noon ET on the announcement's closing date.

The Bureau provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us if you require this for any part of the application and hiring process.

  • 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.
  • 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.


To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (USAJOBS 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/.

For additional information on how to apply, please visit the Partnership for Public Service's Go Government website.

To preview the assessment questionnaire: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12620688

Agency contact information

Applicant Call Center
Address
RESEARCH SERVICES
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740
US
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

Once the online questionnaire is received, you will receive an acknowledgement email that your submission was successful. We will review your resume and transcript(s) (if appropriate) to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. We will evaluate each applicant who meets the basic qualifications on the information provided and may interview the best-qualified applicants. After making a tentative job offer, we will conduct a suitability and/or security background investigation. A final job offer for this position is typically made within 40 days after the closing date of the announcement.


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


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