Exhibits Specialist (Mount Maker)

Clarification from the agency

This position is open to all U.S. Citizens or U.S. Nationals. More than one selection may be made from this announcement.

The Exhibits Specialist (Mount Maker) is responsible for designing, fabricating, installing, and maintaining custom mounts for artifacts and museum objects at the National Museum of Natural History, ensuring their safe display, handling, preservation, and exhibition

In this position, you will 

• Fabricate mounts/brackets for specified specimens and objects from approved drawings and/or verbal instruction from the designer, curator, and conservator.  
• Design mounts and brackets for museum objects, producing technical drawings and diagrams for review and approval by exhibition, curatorial, photography, publication, and conservation staff.
• Coordinate with exhibition, conservation, and collection staff to ensure the safe handling, movement, installation, and deinstallation of museum objects.
• Produce accurate castings that may require paints or intrinsic colorants, determines the best model making techniques, the appropriate materials, the correct color and a wide variety of other materials to make molds, fabricate diorama elements, lifelike models, and natural scenes to fulfill the specifications set by the exhibit designer or curator in the available time frame. 
• Repair and finish fragile museum exhibit components and reproduce original exhibit parts that have been broken or damaged.
• Repair and maintains current exhibits, including the reproduction of original exhibit components that have been damaged and the repair of chipped and/or broken pieces with plaster, wood, plastic or other materials. 

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

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

Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- illustrative design, commercial art, fine arts, industrial design, architecture, drafting, interior design, or other fields related to the position.

Advanced training in a vocational school, technical institute, or art institute above the high school level in one of the fields listed above is creditable as general experience on a month-for-month basis.

Or

Specialized Experience (for positions above GS-5): Experience in the actual type of work for which application is made. Unpaid experience is creditable, provided the work done was of a quality level and demonstrated the ability required for the position. This includes work in the appropriate field, e.g., design, modelmaking, art, taxidermy, or restoration.

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-09 level in the Federal Service.  For this position, specialized experience is defined as designing and fabricating conservation-grade mounts for scientific collections and specimens; assisting with conservation treatments; repairing exhibit components; operating fabrication equipment (e.g., mills, welding equipment, and 3D printers); using lifting and rigging equipment for object handling; and creating accurate models using 3D sculpting or traditional modeling techniques.

Your resume must be no more than two (2) pages and should clearly demonstrate how your experience aligns with the responsibilities and specialized experience required for this position. Do not copy language directly from the vacancy announcement, as you will be deemed ineligible for consideration. Instead, provide detailed, descriptive information about your actual 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.

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:

Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related.
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.

Important Note:

Your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses to the occupational questionnaire or other assessment tool for consistency. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience. Your resume should provide sufficient information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Applicants for this position may be evaluated in multiple stages. The first stage is an evaluation of your responses to the online multiple-choice questions that assess your experience, education, and/or training for the job-related competencies below:

SELECTIVE FACTOR:  Skill in performing conservation tasks, including evaluating and developing treatment plans, for a wide range of natural history collections, including paleontological specimens and sensitive anthropological objects.

• Knowledge of contemporary materials, methods and techniques of mount making as applied to museum processes such as object handling, collections management, research, exhibition, photography, and conservation.

• Knowledge of various methods, techniques, and materials used in the design and fabrication of museum mounts/brackets, including familiarity with contemporary conservation perspectives on material selection and an ability to balance design aesthetics with necessary mount function.

• Knowledge of contemporary, generally approved practices in object handling and care: including the use of conservation grade padding for temporary and permanent storage of objects, the use of industrial lifting and rigging equipment, and a facility with re-housing techniques appropriate for wet-mounted specimens.
• Knowledge of the range of model making procedures that rely on traditional casting and mold making techniques, the use of handheld 3D scanning equipment, the use of CAD software for interpretive sculpting, and industrial additive manufacturing equipment. 

• Skill in working with a variety of art and construction media including plastics, epoxies, plaster, wood and metal, and the properties of a variety of adhesives, pigments, solvents, plastics, epoxies, rubbers, fiberglass, etc.

Applicants who meet or exceed minimum qualifications will be assigned to one of three category groups based on job-related criteria:

• Best Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and excels in most of the job-related competencies above.
• Better Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and satisfies most of the job-related competencies above.
• Good Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements but does not satisfy most of the job-related competencies above to a substantive degree.

This category rating process does not add veterans' preference points or apply the "rule of three", but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category. A selecting official may make selections from the highest quality category (Best Category) provided no preference eligible in that category is passed over to select a non-preference eligible in that category unless the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 3317(b) or 3318(b) are satisfied. Preference eligibles who meet minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-9 grade level or higher. Applicants who have not submitted a resume in the USAjobs system and/or have not answered all of the vacancy questions will not be considered for this position.

Your application package should include the following documents:

• Resume - Your resume can be uploaded and attached to your application or created using the USA Jobs on-line resume builder. Ensure your resume contains the job title (including the occupational series and grade if it is Federal), job-related qualifications, starting and ending dates (month and year), and hours worked per week, for each employment period. It is your responsibility to ensure all information is submitted. Failure to include this information may result in disqualification for the position.

  For assistance with creating a resume, please click USAJOBS Help Center - How do I write a resume for a federal job?
• Proof of Veteran's Preference - DD214 (Member 4 Copy), if you are a veteran. Additionally, applicants claiming 10-point preference must complete Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, as well as additional documentation required by the SF-15, such as a VA letter.
• Unofficial school transcripts, if the position has an education requirement or if you are using education to qualify. If selected for the position, you must provide an official transcript before appointment.
• Proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study, if applicable.

Next steps