Archeologist (Tribal Liaison)/Smithsonian Institution Permanent

Summary

The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, with the National Zoo. This position is located in the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH). The purpose of this position is to perform repatriation-related research and associated outreach activities related to the inventory, documentation, tribal consultation, and repatriation of Native American human remains, archaeological objects and ethnographic objects from the United States.

Duties

The Archeologist serves as a museum representative to Native American tribal representatives in the mandated consultation phase of the repatriation process.

In this position, you will:

• Conducts repatriation-related research and associated outreach activities related to the inventory, documentation, tribal consultation, and repatriation of human remains, archaeological objects and ethnographic objects from one or more subregions of the United States.
• Generates and presents scholarly documentation necessary to make decisions concerning the repatriation of human remains and objects in the collections; and produces relevant database management records and written reports as needed.
• Applies activities mandated by the repatriation provisions of the 1989 federal legislation establishing the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI Act, 20 U.S.C.Sec.80q [PL 101-185]) and its amendment in 1996 (PL 104-278).
• Provides tribal consultations to include outreach activities that involves travel to Native American communities and to other locations beyond the immediate scope of repatriation.

Requirements Conditions of Employment

• Pass Pre-employment Background Investigation
• May need to complete a Probationary Period
• Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer
• Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.

Conditions of Employment

COVID-19 VACCINATION REQUIREMENTS:

For the latest information on the COVID-19 vaccination requirements and its impact on your application, click on Smithsonian Institution’s Frequently Asked Questions. 

Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.

For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions on OPM website.

Qualifications

Individual Occupational Requirements:

Basic Requirements:

A. Education

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.
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 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 the basic qualification requirement above:

Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-9 level in the Federal Service.  For this position, specialized experience is defined as research on archaeological Native American collections from one or more subregions of the United States. 

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.

Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience. Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week.

Or Education: Three years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in a related curriculum described above.

Or a Combination: Education and experience may be combined to meet the basic qualifications. For a full explanation of this option please see the Qualification Standards. Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are qualifying by education and/or you have education completed in a foreign college/university described above, it is your responsibility to provide transcripts and proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study. For instructions on where to fax these documents, see the “Required Documents” section of this announcement.

SPECIAL NOTE:

Unofficial school transcripts (undergraduate and graduate) must be submitted with your application package by the closing date of the vacancy announcement.
If you have foreign education, you must show proof by the closing date of the vacancy announcement that education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials. Transcripts and proof of the evaluations must be submitted within your application package as indicated under “Required Documents”. Applicants may use the following websites http://www.fceatlanta.com/ or www.ies.aacrao.org to obtain these evaluations.

Additional Details