Archaeology Field Director / GIS Manager

The Great Basin Institute, in cooperation with the USFS, is recruiting one (1) Field Director to complete Section 106 cultural resource project planning, surveys, site recording, and monitoring for various projects within the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. These projects all serve the Cultural Resources program’s greater mission of helping the USFS in their critical goal of improving forest resilience in the face of worsening climate conditions and increased wildfire threats. The work that you will do directly protects sensitive cultural resources, helping ensure the stories they tell are preserved for generations to come.

The Field Director position provides professional development and leadership opportunities in cultural resource management including increased exposure and responsibility enacting USFS processes, procedures, and compliance measures; reporting and data entry/quality assurance and control; and increased technical and project planning experience. The Field Director will also act as liaison between USFS staff and archaeology crews in the field and will serve in a hybrid role that splits time between field and office duties. Expanded opportunities and exposure to additional disciplines (e.g., forestry, wildlife, hydrology, etc.) and projects may exist. These positions will serve USFS vegetation management and fuels reduction efforts, supporting initiatives for healthy, productive, and resilient forest landscapes and resources.

The field director would oversee, coordinate, and direct field crews in order to manage multiple aspects of the project fieldwork to include: planning/logistics, supervising field staff, data collection, site recording, artifact analysis, site record completion, and ensuring compliance with survey standards and project needs. The Field Director will be responsible for ensuring crews have an identified field plan and understand the tasks required for each field session. The Field Director will be in the field in order to assist with keeping crews on track, helping with artifact identification, questions about resource recording, and ensuring that all necessary information is captured during recording (QA/QC). Crew size will range between 3-8 people. 

Primary archaeology field duties may include, but are not limited to:

• Assisting with project planning and initial onboarding of other crew members;
• Lead two archaeology crews to conduct and complete field surveys to document, assess and characterize the status of new cultural resources;
• Monitor existing sites and complete site updates and condition assessments.
• Prepare site records, GIS maps, and photographic records in addition to inputting data to the USFS heritage database;
• Lead and collaborate with agency personnel and all other crew members to support field safety, communication, planning, logistics, quality assurance, field implementation;
• Author technical reports, potentially including a project area overview and evaluation context report;
• Create and manipulate GIS data, upload to ArcGIS Pro or ArcMap, and create project maps in support of fieldwork or project reporting;
• Help crew members download and file GPS and photograph data, electronic notes, scan and file paper notes, help complete field session photo logs;
• Help train crew members on GIS standards and maintain consistency with proper data collection, file naming, and storage protocols;
• Create and maintain survey unit geodatabases with all relevant geospatial data per unit;
• This position may have the opportunity to enter site record data into the Forest Service’s NRM Heritage database.

Location: Mountain City, Ruby Mountains, Jarbidge Ranger District, Elko, NV

The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest offers a setting of classic Western beauty and is known for its many recreational opportunities, scenic vistas, and wild places where visitors can still find solitude. The Forest does not resemble most other National Forests in that it has numerous fairly large but non-contiguous sections scattered across most of the state of Nevada and a portion of eastern California. It is divided into seven uniquely different administrative units. Six of the units are referred to as “ranger districts” and one is a “national recreation area.” Located in northeastern Nevada, the Ruby Mountains area is composed of rocky peaks, glacier-formed lakes, steep narrow canyons, and rolling hills. 

Compensation and Benefits:

• Wage: $38/hour with overtime at 1.5x hourly rate;
• Shared housing may be provided;
• Camping Per Diem: $15/night as necessary;
• Uniform Stipend;
• Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance premiums are covered 100% by GBI. Available on the first day of the month following the start of employment;
• Personal Leave Time (PLT) accrued (beginning on the first day of employment) at a rate of 0.05 hours per hour worked (~4 hours biweekly);
• $25,000 Basic Life & AD&D insurance covered 100% by GBI;
• Paid federal holidays.

Contract Timeline: 

• Full time, average 40 hours per week;
• Projects are dependent on the local weather, and there is always a chance the season will end earlier if weather prevents safe field operations;
• Up to 12 months, with potential contract extension

Qualifications:

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in anthropology, archaeology or related discipline, including relevant field methods training coursework AND three years of archaeology-related field work, including:
  • At least twenty-four (24) months’ experience successfully conducting archaeological investigations at the level of Crew Leader
    • At least twelve (12) months experience investigating precontact sites
    • At least twelve (12) experience investigating historic sites
• Ability to recognize and record precontact and historic artifacts, features, and architecture;
• Possess a clean, valid, state-issued driver’s license with the ability to safely operate and maintain a 4WD vehicle on and off paved roads;
• Ability to work effectively in a team setting with USFS staff, GBI staff, interns, volunteers, academic, state, and federal partners;
• Ability to work safely and productively in remote field settings under adverse conditions. This may include occasional overnight work & camping in remote areas for consecutive nights;
• Ability to understand, implement and adhere to established data collection, inventory, assessment, and monitoring protocols;
• Capacity to collect and maintain field data in an organized manner that is easily understood and accessible to other resources staff;
• Strong communication skills with with agency officials, the public, property owners etc.,, both written and oral;
• Willingness to work a variable schedule in response to project needs, possibly including some weekends, nights, or holidays;
• Physically able to work outdoors, carry up to 50 pounds of personal and/or field equipment, and withstand the rigors of a forested and/or high desert environment in all seasons;
• Experience leading crews in the field, including oversight of crew safety, communication, fidelity to methods and data quality;
• Experience with photography, GIS mapping, soils identification;
• Experience identifying the need to defer to subject matter experts, as appropriate, for specialized analyses and or identification efforts (i.e., geoarchaeology, human and non-human bone identification, historic-period artifact identification);

Preferred:

• Master’s degree in anthropology, archaeology or related discipline and at least three years of field leadership experience;
• Familiarity with Section 106/110 NHPA, NAGPRA, and Nevada SHPO compliance procedures;
• Knowledge of cultural resource management issues in the Western United States;
• Understanding of cultural history and habitats of the Great Basin region;
• Advanced skill using specialized software such as Microsoft Office and Google Suite, ArcMap or ArcGIS Pro GIS, and Avenza Pro.
• Competency identifying human/faunal skeletal remains;
• Significant experience conducting research within the Great Basin area.
• Experience interacting and collaborating with descendant community representatives (e.g., Tribal elders and monitors and/or heritage organizations), clients