Summary This position is assigned to Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) Business Center (BC), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Nebraska. 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 American issues, encountered in all NRCS programs and activities Responsibilities The incumbent serves as a staff specialist with primary responsibility for cultural resources associated with soil, water, plant, and related conservation concerns. Provides technical cultural resource sections of contracts, environmental documents, agreement document and other instruments of agency intent in the assigned area of responsibility. Determines and prioritizes allocation of time and resources to best achieve annual goals of the cultural resource program for the assigned area of responsibility. Provides technical and administrative support for activities in the assigned area of responsibility for all aspects of the cultural resource program. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the 06/03/2024 of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined above. Basic Qualifications: You must possess the Basic Requirements identified below to be considered eligible all positions at the GS-9 grade level and above. Your application or resume must clearly show that you possess the appropriate experience requirements. For the GS-09/11 level: Archeology - 0193: 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). OR 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 archaeology field experience, which may include that gained in an archaeological field school. Field experience should have included a combination of professional experience in archaeological 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 archaeologist, 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 archaeological project. GS-9 Specialized Experience: Applicants must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 grade level in the federal service which is in or directly related to the line of work of the position to be filled and which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Examples of qualifying specialized experience that would be creditable for this position include: Excavation and collection of artifacts to determine significance of archaeological sites. Designing and establishing cultural resource management programs OR Substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience for the GS-09 level: Possess 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a masters degree or masters equivalent graduate degree (i.e. degree in archeology, anthropology, or any other directly-related subject matter); OR Combination of Education and Experience: Posses a combination of graduate-level education and experience, as described above. This combination must have equipped the applicant with the necessary knowledge and/ore experience to successfully perform the duties of this position. Combinations of experience and education must total at least 100% as outline in OPM Qualifications Policy. GS-11 Specialized Experience: Applicants must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level in the federal service which is in or directly related to the line of work of the position to be filled and which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Examples of specialized experience include: Preserving and maintaining written, photographic and drawn records and electronic databases; Explaining policies, programs, and projects to stakeholders such as federal agencies, state agencies, and various organizations. OR Substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience for the GS-11 level: Possesses three (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: Posses a combination of graduate-level education and experience, as described above. This combination must have equipped the applicant with the necessary knowledge and/ore experience to successfully perform the duties of this position. Combinations of experience and education must total at least 100% as outline in OPM Qualifications Policy. Note: The OPM Qualification Standards for this position can be found at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=List-by-Occupational-Series 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 This position is being concurrently announced under Merit Promotion Announcement Number 12418793. Current or former Federal employees or other eligible applicants may apply to both announcements to expand all possibilities of consideration since different referral criteria apply to each type of announcement. See the above announcement for more 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: The work will involve both an office environment and a field environment. Field work requires regular and recurring physical exertion such as walking, climbing, bending, crossing rivers and creeks, excavating sampling 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 typical for both office and field settings is required. Work Environment: Work is variable. In the office, the work is primarily performed in a normal setting. In the field, the environment is varying, including extreme cold, hot sun, rain and snow; special protective measures may be required. 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. Recruitment and/or relocation incentives may be authorized.