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 International Project Coordinator provides administrative and programmatic support to OGA's portfolio of international projects and strategic initiatives. This position also provides support across all efforts at overall international project management and supporting initiatives that will streamline reporting and tracking of international programs for the Smithsonian Institution.

In this position, you will:

• Coordinate the Smithsonian’s international projects, including providing administrative support to both ongoing projects as well as the start-up and close-out of projects.
• Participate in facilitating the Global Activities Tracking Process (GATP) and the Global Activities Committee (GAC); including but not limited to leading communications with SI staff.
• Liaise with members of mission-enabling units who may intersect with international work or operations with an emphasis on improving engagement regarding global operations. Identifies opportunities to increase SI’s ability to provide guidance on best practices for various global operational functions.  
• Develop and oversee budget management tools for international projects within OGA and other Units at the Smithsonian. Completes data entry of financial information into budget management tools developed for international projects.
  
  

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

GS-7 Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-06 level in the Federal Service.  For this position, specialized experience is defined as providing operational and administrative support to projects in foreign country locations; including support of start-up and close-out activities, financial monitoring, report preparation, data collection, communication with internal and external stakeholders, risk mitigation, compliance, and proposal development.

OR

Education: One full year of graduate level education or Superior Academic Achievement may be substituted to meet the specialized experience requirement. Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) - A Bachelor's degree, with one of the following: A GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale for all completed undergraduate courses or those completed in the last 2 years of study, or a GPA of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale for all courses in the major field of study or those courses in the major completed in the last 2 years of study, or rank in the upper one third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, or membership in a national scholastic honor society recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies.

OR 

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.

Note: Grade point averages should be rounded to one decimal point. For example, 2.95 is rounded to 3.0, and 2.94 is rounded to 2.9. If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) was taken on a pass/fail or similar basis, your claim must be based on class standing or membership in an Honor Society.

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.

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:

• Knowledge and understanding of project coordination in foreign country locations in order to support all aspects of project implementation, including but not limited to carrying out desk research, collecting information related to in-country operations, and developing relationships with key external organizations.
• Ability to coordinate multiple administrative and technical tasks related to reviewing and tracking international projects; ability to provide an analysis of potential areas of risk for activities seeking to operate internationally; and ability to multitask within a complex operating environment and work effectively in a team environment.
• Knowledge and understanding of best practices and rules and regulations utilized by organizations implementing donor funded projects.
• Ability to establish, maintain, and oversee financial data entry and use Microsoft Excel for budget monitoring tools.

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.

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.

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