On-Call Assistant Staff Historian

About the opportunity

SWCA Environmental Consultants is looking for an On-Call Assistant Staff Historian to support projects in CTO (Central Texas & Oklahoma) Region. We are expanding our Cultural Resources team and are looking for dynamic individuals who are following their passion in delivering the highest-quality project work. This position will perform a variety of office and field tasks including historic research, report writing, completion of historic resource evaluations/assessments, property documentation, oral history documentation, community engagement, and working with and developing new clients.

This is an hourly, on-call (no benefits) position, reporting to our Austin, TX office, and offers the flexibility of either a "hybrid" work environment, with a few days in the office, or a distributed (remote) location. This position has the potential to evolve into a part-time and/or full-time role later.

Application deadline: Our team will begin reviewing applications immediately, and interviews will be scheduled with qualified candidates on a rolling basis. The application process will remain open until we have received a robust pool of qualified candidates. Once we have identified suitable individuals, we may close the application process without prior notice. We appreciate the time and effort invested by all applicants and will carefully consider each submission.

What you will accomplish

• Support archaeology, architectural history, and historic preservation projects and assist other project managers in the execution of archaeological, architectural history, historic preservation, preservation planning, and components of multi-disciplinary projects.
• Conduct archival research, focusing on primary and secondary sources, and write historic narratives and context statements.
• Conduct oral history documentation, including but not limited to conducting interviews, transcribing oral histories, and synthesizing oral histories into historic context documentation.
• Coordinate community engagement efforts by developing community engagement plans, holding stakeholder interviews, leading public meeting workshops, and summarizing community engagement results.
• Write technical reports, including but not limited to technical memorandums, critical issues analyses, survey reports, historic context statements, and National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) nominations.
• Assist with historic resource surveys of residential, commercial, agricultural, industrial, and institutional properties using tablet computers, digital photography, and other survey methodologies.
• Evaluate historic resources under NRHP criteria.
• Prepare defensible compliance documentation in support of Section 106 review of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA), as amended.
• Carry out project-level review for compliance with the Secretary of the Interior and National Park Service standards in support of NHPA and local permitting projects.
• Assist local governments with creating and revising planning regulations, including historic preservation ordinances.
• Assist with project management tasks (i.e., developing budgets and staff coordination).
• Contribute to proposal and marketing efforts.
• Maintain SWCA’s high standard of ethics and technical quality assurance and ensure that project deliverables meet agency and industry standards and be motivated to identify and resolve problems in creative ways.
• Manage quality and completeness of data collection, analysis, and report completion from start to finish.
• Perform mid-level technical peer review of documents.
• Work closely with the Cultural Resources Director and/or Cultural Resource Team Lead(s), as well as project managers, directors, and principal investigators throughout the company to promote SWCA’s business interests in adherence to its mission, vision, and values.
• Work with clients to identify project needs and make recommendations for management of historic resources.
• Collaborate with SWCA’s Historic Preservation Working Group and architectural historians throughout the company.
• Adheres to the safety program and looks out for the safety of others, promptly communicating and mitigating safety hazards

Experience and qualifications for success

Minimum qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in history, Historic Preservation, Public History, Heritage Conservation, Architectural History, or a closely related field. Master’s Degree preferred.
• Experience in cultural resources management as a historian
• Demonstrated knowledge of the history of the United States.
• Strong research, writing, and communication skills.

Preferred qualifications:

• One (1) year of experience in cultural resources management as a historian.
• A working knowledge of federal and state cultural resources and historic preservation laws and practices, including Section 106 of the NHPA
• Prior experience assisting in the management of projects (schedules, budgets, RFP's).

Why Work at SWCA:

SWCA Environmental Consultants is a growing employee-owned firm, providing a full-spectrum of environmental services. Our Vision (the North Star) is to make SWCA the best workplace and industry leader in sustainability, bringing sound science and creative solutions to global environmental challenges while maintaining a dedication to employee-ownership. We live our core values: we collaborate as #OneSWCA; we are #AlwaysLearning, we #NeverSettle, and we #GiveBack.

We are 100% employee-owned, and we build our success together. With offices across the United States, SWCA is one of the largest environmental compliance firms and ranks among Engineering News-Record’s Top 200 Environmental Firms. We offer a supportive, team-oriented work environment and competitive wages and benefits, including an 100% employee stock ownership plan (retirement).

At SWCA, we support our team members in developing their careers to make them leaders in their industry. Our Career Landscape initiative is a process and guide designed to help develop chart rewarding career paths for employees at SWCA. We encourage professional conference attendance, internal and external professional development and training programs, education reimbursement, a Science and Leadership Program, and bonuses for publications meeting certain criteria. All regular status employees are eligible to participate in SWCA medical, dental, vision, employee assistance, wellness, life and disability plans, and are eligible to participate in the SWCA 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan and Trust.

If you need assistance accessing SWCA’s website, completing the online application, or require accommodations at any point during the hiring process due to a disability, please contact us at accommodations@swca.com or call 1-480-581-5378. We’re committed to providing an inclusive and supportive experience for all candidates. This contact information is specifically for accommodation requests; other inquiries will not receive a response.

EOE - women, minorities, individuals with disabilities and veterans are encouraged to apply. At SWCA Environmental Consultants, we celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive work environment. We strongly encourage candidates from all backgrounds, including those with diverse experiences and veterans, to apply. We believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce enhances creativity, innovation, and overall organizational success.

SWCA is committed to salary equity and salary transparency for all its employees. In alignment with this commitment, SWCA posts good faith pay ranges in all its advertised job postings to promote pay equity and transparency.

An on-call, hourly employee in this Austin, TX-based position can expect an hourly rate of $22.71/hr. - $29.20/hr. Actual pay within this range may depend on experience, qualifications, geographic location, client requirements where applicable, and other factors permitted by law. Regular-status employees are also eligible for performance bonuses. Candidates are also encouraged to consider SWCA’s Total Rewards package, which includes a competitive Benefits Package, forward-thinking workplace flexibility, outstanding corporate culture, award-winning career development, and more.

SWCA continues to invest deeply in career development programs, delivering our award-winning Career Landscape support resources to accelerate the growth of our staff. We recognize the valuable skills and experiences our internal team members bring to SWCA’s continued success. Qualified internal candidates are encouraged to apply and will be seriously considered for this position. We believe in promoting from within, where possible, providing our existing employees with compelling opportunities to advance their careers.

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