Position Description

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
POSITION DESCRIPTION FOR JOB POSTING
Position Number: 00203950	Description Activated On: 4/22/2026 1:14:41 PM

Position Purpose: Describe the primary purpose of this position and how it contributes to the organization’s objectives. Example: Provides clerical and office support within the Division to ensure its operations are conducted efficiently and effectively.

This position is established in the Department of Transportation's Bureau of Design and Delivery, Environmental Policy and Development Division, and headquartered in either District 3-0 and 4-0, and exists to ensure Department projects in Districts 3-0 and 4-0 consider cultural resources in an environmentally sensitive and timely manner, and to provide workable solutions to problems that arise over cultural resource issues. The Historic Preservation Specialist (Archaeology) assists District Project Managers and other Department staff in the development and implementation of the archaeological portions of the Department's programs relating to the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of highway and other transportation development projects.

Description of Duties: Describe in detail the duties and responsibilities assigned to this position. Descriptions should include the major end result of the task. Example: Types correspondence, reports, and other various documents from handwritten drafts for review and signature of the supervisor.

Participates as the archaeological member of a cultural resources team that provides technical guidance on compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and the PA State History Code on Department projects in Districts 3-0 and 4-0, on behalf of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and on applicable projects, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).

Maintains close communication with the architectural historian member of the districts’ cultural resources team.

Attends project scoping field meetings and prepares archaeological assessments. Prepares effects findings for the Department on the presence of and effects to archaeological resources by project undertakings.

Reviews environmental documents and their accompanying technical basis reports to ensure conformance with Department policies and procedures as well as technical completeness and accuracy. Participates in review meetings and field views.

Prepares scopes of work for cultural resources studies.

Initiates and conducts consultation with consulting parties, including Native American Tribes and Nations, that have expressed an interest in the counties that make up Districts 3-0 and 4-0 and projects undertaken by the district. Coordinates with PennDOT’s Tribal Liaison as needed on projects with complex tribal consultation issues.

Reviews consultant letters of interest and technical/price proposals for the performance of archaeological investigations.

Develops and administers open-end contract for cultural resources studies and other contracts for archaeological investigations.

Monitors archaeological investigations conducted by consultants to review the site boundaries, significance, degree of impact and the appropriate degree of preservation.
Makes recommendations on the appropriate boundaries and significance, the degree of impact, the need for further investigation, and the degree of preservation.

Coordinates and directs meetings to identify and resolve problems related to archaeological investigations.

Attends and monitors project-related community involvement activities, e.g., public meetings, plan displays, and public hearings during the development of environmental documents.

Prepares Letters and Memoranda of Agreement and Programmatic Agreements for Department projects.

Conducts archaeological investigations for selected high priority projects.

Maintains regular communication with the PA Historical and Museum Commission (PA SHPO), FHWA staff, and other agencies and consulting parties.

Conducts occasional training in cultural resources matters for District and consultant staff and assist Central Office staff in developing and revising training programs.

Conducts Quality Control on District projects, including recording and monitoring measures of cost, timeliness, and quality of decisions and products generated by the Section 106 process.

Assists Central Office in ensuring quality of Department projects, including: process reviews with FHWA, USACE, and PA SHPO on selected projects in the District and working with Central Office to find ways to improve overall quality.

Identifies streamlining opportunities for managing cultural resources that can be advanced through specific initiatives.

On an availability basis, participate in District-level project development initiatives.

Identifies opportunities and needs for changes to Central Office cultural resources policy in response to operational or technical issues.

Assists in preparing Department policy and procedures on conducting archaeological investigations and the preparation, review and processing of the required documentation.

Maintains familiarity with current environmental legislation, state and federal agency regulations, scientific publications, and other related publications. Distributes important informational materials to other District staff.

Works closely with Central Office EPDD to identify archaeological research needs, state-of-the-art approaches and innovations which will aid in improving transportation project development activities.

Assists Central Office in providing background content and material for Department cultural resources websites and social media. Works closely with the Central Office EPDD and consultants to ensure informational reports, posters, pamphlets, online resources, etc. that maximize benefit to the public.

Coordinates the work efforts of co-op students, summer interns, or temporary employees who may work in historic preservation or archaeological fields.

Work results are completed in accordance with PennDOT's overall strategic plan and PennDOT Publication No. 689.

Performs other related duties as required.

Safety Requirements
1. Assess your environment and be responsible for your safety, the safety of co-workers, and the public.
2. Attend required safety training and adhere to the requirements of all safety manuals, policies, and laws.
3. Immediately report to your supervisor any incident, unsafe practice, or near miss.
4. When in an enclosed environment (office buildings, confined spaces, flagger stations, equipment pinch points, etc.), know your evacuation process and escape route, your communication protocols, and appropriately react in the event of an incident.
5. Evaluate the contractor’s operations:
• Immediately stop any unsafe actions.
• Engage in an ongoing safety dialogue with the contractor’s leadership.

Succession Planning
Take an active role in succession planning by completing a Career Development Plan in collaboration with the supervisor. In conjunction with the supervisor, participate in knowledge management/transfer by identifying key aspects of the job and sharing explicit and tacit program/technical knowledge with other employees.

Department Green Plan Policy
As part of PennDOT’s MS4 obligations including NPDES Permit compliance and stockpile good housekeeping, commit to following the Departments Green Plan Policy (Pub 712) and the associated principals. Failure to comply with Department Green Plan Policy shall be documented in employee’s performance review.

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
Unless directed by your supervisor or manager, comply with stated work hours for the 7.5/8.0 hour day.

Decision Making: Describe the types of decisions made by the incumbent of this position and the types of decisions referred to others. Identify the problems or issues that can be resolved at the level of this position, versus those that must be referred to the supervisor. Example: In response to a customer inquiry, this work involves researching the status of an activity and preparing a formal response for the supervisor’s signature.

The Cultural Resources Professional (CRP) works independently under the general oversight of the Archaeology Group Leader and Historic Preservation Supervisor. Work assigned is in the form of project lists and project priorities, within which the Cultural Resources Professional must navigate the Section 106 process for each project. Priorities are adjusted monthly within each Engineering District, or by exception. The Cultural Resources Professional has primary responsibility for technical judgment and decisions. The Cultural Resources Professional is expected to be highly competent in the field of archaeology and be able to decide how to best navigate the Section 106 process that involves archaeological issues, as well as how archaeological issues will affect the NEPA process. The Cultural Resources Professional is expected to be able to provide accurate scoping on level of effort and recommendations on whether technical and price proposals are sufficient and appropriate. Project-specific archaeological issues that are unusually complex or that have Department-wide policy implications should be elevated to Central Office.

The Cultural Resources Professional exercises considerable freedom of judgment in making technical decisions. The work completed by the Cultural Resources Professional is monitored largely by the customer service input provided by project managers and environmental managers to the Cultural Resources Professional.

Requirements Profile: Identify any specific experience or requirements, such as a licensure, registration, or certification, which may be necessary to perform the functions of the position. Position-specific requirements should be consistent with a Special Requirement or other criteria identified in the classification specification covering this position. Example: Experience using Java; Professional Engineer License

Experience:

Meet or exceed the Secretary of the Interior’s (SOI) minimum professional qualifications to work as an archaeologist, including a graduate degree in archeology, anthropology, or closely related field; at least one year of full-time professional experience or equivalent specialized training in archeological research, administration, or management; at least four months of supervised field and analytic experience in general North American archeology, and; demonstrated ability to carry research to completion.

Licenses, registrations, or certifications:

1.   N/A

2.   N/A

3.   N/A

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Essential Functions: Provide a list of essential functions for this position. Example: Transports boxes weighing up to 60 pounds.

1.	Function as a member of a cultural resource team with an above ground CRP.
2.	Function as a member of an engineering district environmental unit.
3.	Travel to various sites to attend project scoping field meetings.
4.	Provided well-reasoned and concise determinations of eligibility and effect for Section 106 and State History code findings.
5.	Review, understand, and interpret various environmental documents.
6.	Prepare scopes of work.
7.	Review and evaluate consultant reports.
8.	Complete in-house archaeological investigations.
9.	Use technology and online tools (including Pennsylvania Transportation and Heritage (PATH) and SHPO's PA-SHARE to efficiently process projects.
10.	Communicate effectively orally and in writing.