Archeologist

Summary

This position is located in the Montana Area Office, responsible for complying with cultural resources and historic property laws and preparing environmental documents that evaluate the effects of construction, operation and maintenance of Bureau of Reclamation projects; large rural water program construction with the new water system built by tribal governments and rural water authorities in partnership with Reclamation; and construction projects involving Reclamation's Safety of Dams Program.

Duties

• This position is located within the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Great Plains Region, Resource Management Division in Billings, Montana. At the full performance level (GS-11) the major duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following: Is the primary functional specialist for all National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) compliance activities, including the preparation of appropriate cultural resource and historic property related documents. Identifies existing and potential cultural resource impacts associated with planning, construction, operation, and maintenance activities of Reclamation projects for the Montana Area Office (MTAO). Collaborates with engineers, hydrologists, planners, facility managers, environmental specialists, natural resource specialists, and other professionals and specialists to identify, minimize, or mitigate adverse impacts to cultural resources and/or historic properties. Provides assistance and serves as MTAO's cultural resource liaison to other Federal agencies, Indian tribes, as well as State and local entities to ensure that outside customers have a clear understanding of NHPA and Reclamation's responsibilities for compliance. Prepares other special technical reports, such as museum and historic properties and lends technical assistance to Government or contracting personnel involved in preparing such reports and/or permits. Reviews and interprets reports received to ensure they meet Reclamation standards. 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.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-11/09/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected. Basic Qualification Requirement: Archeologist: Applicants must possess the basic requirement for an Archeologist. If qualifying based on education, transcripts MUST be submitted and include your name, school name, credit hours, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking. We cannot determine eligibility without this information. (A copy of your official transcripts will be required before entrance on duty, if selected). The Basic Requirement may be met in one of the following ways: 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 1 above (including archeological field school). -OR- 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- 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 requirements listed above for this position, applicants must also meet the minimum qualifications outlined below: Specialized Experience: To qualify at the GS-11 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the difficulty and responsibility to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service…

Education

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. https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualification