(Seasonal) Archivist

Created at: January 21, 2026 00:12

Company: National Park Service

Location: Tupelo, MS, 38801

Job Description:

A selectee receiving a first appointment to the Federal Government (Civil Service) is entitled only to the lowest step of the grade for which selected The display of a salary range on this vacancy shall not be construed as granting an entitlement to a higher rate of pay. The typical seasonal entry-on-duty period for these parks is March-November, but the season may be extended or reduced due to weather conditions, project needs, or funding. Anticipated Entry on Duty: March 22, 2026.
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-02/03/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year), and the resume must reflect full and/or part-time or total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount of qualified specialized experience. BASIC REQUIREMENT: Bachelor's degree in archival science or bachelor's degree with a major that includes 18 semester hours in archival science, history and/or in political science or government, and 12 semester hours in one or any combination of the following: archival science, history, American civilization, economics, political science, public administration, or government. -OR- Combination of education and experience - at least 30 semester hours that included courses as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Evaluation of Experience: Professional experience must have been in archival science, or in a directly related field of work such as history that involved the collection, appraisal, analysis, or synthesis of information having historical or archival values. The following are illustrative of kinds of experience that may be accepted as meeting the professional experience requirements: (1) experience as an archivist in Federal, state, religious institution, business, or other archives, or in manuscript depositories, and (2) experience of an archival nature that involved research in archival science, or in a directly related field such as history, government, economics, political science, international relations, or international law. Candidates who do not meet this requirement by close of this announcement will receive no further consideration for this position. - AND - To qualify for this position at the GS-9 grade level, you must possess one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-7 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as:1) applying national archival standards, methodologies, and best practices to all the activities of archival processing including arrangement , description, and preservation of archival collections; 2) identifying, analyzing, and arranging bodies of records; 3) creating and maintaining accessible, retrievable archives and databases; and 4) assisting in setting up, arranging and maintaining, cataloging, and exhibiting collection materials. . You must include hours per week worked. -OR- EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least a master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the work of the position, such as archival science, history, American civilization, economics or political. You must include transcripts. -OR- Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. You must include transcripts. Volunteer Experience: 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.
This position serves as an Archivist in any program or office of the National Park Service (NPS). The primary purpose of this position is to analyze, evaluate, and coordinate matters involving archival records. At this grade level, the position is responsible for applying a full range of archival science concepts, principles, and practices to identify, interpret, and resolve moderately complex archival issues and complete a variety of well-precedented projects and assignments. Performs a preliminary evaluation of all records, archival, and manuscript collections with the records management guideline. Evaluates records against well-established criteria. Recommends specific nonofficial records for inclusion in museum collection. Develops and maintains liaisons and effective working relations with related groups and individuals, agencies, and the public in order to encourage and facilitate cooperative regional management strategies. Attends management and professional conferences and other events for the purpose of exchanging information. Accessions appropriate collections into the park museum collections. For collections of similar type, researches collection provenance, original order, series components, dates, document formats, processes, creators, authenticity, topical content data, legal status, and legal validity of access restrictions and ownership history. Deaccessions inappropriate collections following established NPS policies. Complex issues are referred to the supervisor. Following detailed preliminary instructions, conducts baseline condition survey of archival collections and prioritizes collections for treatment or reformatting. Writes initial recommendations for treatment or reformatting, scope of work for treatment or reformatting, and treatment or reformatting inspection criteria for review by the supervisor. Rehouses the park archival and manuscript collections, as needed. Sets up archival storage, processing, work and reference services areas, reading room spaces with good environments, security, fire protection, and supervision. Assists in monitoring and maintaining the environment for collections, including light, temperature, relative humidity, and air quality, and does the integrated pest management program. Arranges the collection following detailed guidelines. Creates, edits, and indexes folder lists, box/container lists, and updates edits and indexes the collection-level survey description as needed. In consultation with the records manager, surveys park records in park structures, and writes collection-level survey descripitions. In conjunction with the records manager, identifies the historical records, determining which materials are active and inactive, and disposes of inactive official records as described in the records management guideline. Produces finding aids and a repository-level guide. Distributes these documents and publications to appropriate libraries, archives, and related research repositories. Publicizes the archival and manuscript collections on the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections and related national bibliographic databases. Provides effective reference and research services for the public, scholarly researchers, and education specialists, according to the access and usage policies of the NPS.


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