Archeologist/Historian

Reclamation is seeking a career professional looking for an opportunity to capitalize on their expertise as a Archeologist/Historian. You can make a difference in the West by assisting in meeting increasing water demands while protecting the environment.

Duty Location: Sacramento, California

• Interprets and provides advice on the National Historic Preservation Act and regulations of 36 CFR Part 800, Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, Archaeological Resources Protection Act, and other cultural resources legislation to Area Office staff and management.
• Evaluates the significance of cultural resources, specifically historic/built-environment resources, and reports findings. Recommends preservation, mitigation, avoidance, protection and/or restoration measures for Reclamation undertakings.
• Prepares context statements, site records, determinations of eligibility, and other reports for historic structures, buildings, features, and sites.
• Performs occasional cultural resources surveys, inventories, and National Register of Historic Places eligibility evaluations.
• Recommends preservation, mitigation, avoidance, protection, and/or restoration measures on existing and future project lands.
• Prepares technical specifications and contract clauses for historical and archeological investigations and for evaluations and mitigation programs prepared by outside entities. Reviews and interprets reports received to ensure that they meet Reclamation standards.
• Develops procedures and actions to implement historical and archeological field investigations, personally or by contractors.
• Monitors construction for activities in historically and archeologically sensitive areas.
• Collaborates in the preparation of determination of eligibility documents, inventories for historic properties, preliminary case reports, and subsequent negotiations for mitigation of impacts.
• Maintains liaison with appropriate Federal and State representatives, universities, and private organizations to facilitate Reclamation's cultural resources program.
• Act as a cultural resources liaison with the Lahontan Basin Area Office (LBAO), for all projects within the boundaries of the area office in Nevada and California.

Basic Education Requirement: To be eligible for consideration, you must first meet the Basic Education Requirement for this position:

Historian Discipline, GS-0170:

A. Degree in history; or related field that included at least 18 semester hours in history. OR

B. Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in history, or a major in a related field that included at least 18 semester hours in history, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Archeologist Discipline, GS-0193:

A. Education1. 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.

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.

Specialized Experience Requirement: In addition to the basic education requirement, the HR Office must be able to determine that the applicant meets the specialized experience requirement - this information must be clearly supported in the resume.

To qualify at the GS-12 level, applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 in Federal service. Specialized experience at this level is defined as: experience planning and conducting historical/archeological investigations; evaluating potential project impacts to cultural resources; conducting cultural resource investigations, including archival research, record and literature searches, as well as fieldwork consisting of surveys and cultural resource evaluations with an emphasis on historic-era resources; reporting findings in professional reports; experience in museum property management; and recommending preservation, mitigation, avoidance, protection and/or restoration measures.

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, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Time-In-Grade: Current career or career-conditional employees of the Federal government, or former career or career-conditional employees, who have a break in service of less than one year, are required to meet the time-in-grade restriction of one year of Federal experience at the next lower-grade, with few exceptions outlined in 5 CFR 300.603(b).

You must meet all Eligibility and Qualification requirements, including time-in-grade restrictions and any selective placement factors if applicable, by 03/22/2024.