Summary The incumbent serves as a Cultural Resources Specialist and is responsible for guidance and assistance to field personnel and resource technical teams for conservation, protection, and enhancement of cultural resources, including Native Americal issues, encountered in all NRCS programs and activities. Responsibilities Defines areas of major cultural resource/environmental concerns, and designs and implements methodologies to address such concerns. Provides guidance and training on cultural resource issues to field office personnel in the assigned area of responsibility. Assists with the development of state cultural resource policy and procedures as requested. Contributes directly to national cultural resources policy and procedures documents as requested. Serves as liaison to other federal, state, tribal, and local agencies. Responsible for technical quality of cultural resources reviews for all field office personnel in the assigned area of Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. Basic Education Requirement: Degree: A. Education- 1. 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. and 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; and Archeological field school. 2. 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). B. 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 C. 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 one of the Basic Requirements listed above, applicants must meet the following Minimum Qualifications Requirement in order to be considered: Specialized Experience: To qualify for the GS-09 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. For this position, Specialized experience is defined as two or more of the following: Participating in groups to conduct 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 archeological field reconnaissance searches in areas planned for such activities as timber management, wildlife habitat improvement, agricultural practices, or construction. OR Substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience for the GS-09 level: 2 year(s) of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree. OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of graduate-level education and experience, as described above, may be used to qualify for this position. This combination must have equipped you with the necessary knowledge and/or experience to successfully perform the duties of this position. Combinations of experience and education must total at least 100% as outlined in OPM Qualifications policy. Specialized Experience: To qualify for the GS-11 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. For this position, 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 participating in archeological survey and site evaluation work and preparation of technical reports; 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 Substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience: 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. OR Combination of Education and Experience: Possess a combination of graduate-level education and experience, as described above, may be used to qualify for this position. This combination must have equipped you with the necessary knowledge and/or experience to successfully perform the duties of this position. Combinations of experience and education must total at least 100% as outlined in OPM Qualifications policy. For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here: Archeology Series 0193 (opm.gov) 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. Education If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements: You must submit a copy of your transcripts to include course number, title, completion and grade. 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. If a relevant course is not clearly qualifying (e.g. special topic, seminar, research, thesis, obscure or misleading course title, etc.), please submit an official course syllabi and/or detailed course description from the university/college for that particular course to ensure you are properly evaluated. Please note that qualifications determinations are based solely on the information submitted for each particular vacancy announcement. Important: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. Click on this link for more information. Failure to provide all of the required documents/information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating. Additional Information Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100. Promotion Potential: 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 neither implied nor guaranteed. Recruitment and/or relocation incentives may be authorized. Physical Demands: This work is performed in an office and field environment. Field work requires regular and recurring physical exertion such as walking, climbing, bending, crossing rivers and creeks, excavating samplings sites and performing shovel tests, and walking across farmland, rangeland, or forested terrain for periods of several hours' duration carrying loads of up to 20 pounds. Physical fitness and common sense precautions are required for both office and field settings. Work Environment: The normal setting for this work is primarily performed in an office. PLEASE NOTE: In the interest of filling these positions as efficiently as possible, we are requiring the following: If called for an interview, applicants must be available to interview within 3 business days of being contacted. If a tentative job offer is extended, selectee will have 2 business days in which to accept or decline. This position is eligible for telework within the local commuting area of the position and other flexible work arrangements. Current USDA policy includes telework for an 8 hour work day, 4 days per week; other flexibilities are possible dependent upon availability and/or the position and its associated duties. Employee participation is at the discretion of the supervisor.