Museum Specialist

Clarification from the agency

Current Smithsonian Institution Internal Employees/Agency Employees Only may apply including current Smithsonian Institution employees with Federal career/career-conditional status or eligibility. More than one selection may be made from this announcement. More than one selection may be made from this announcement.

This position is organizationally located in the Office of Collections Management (OCM), Office of Collections (OC), National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC), Under Secretary for Museums & Culture, Smithsonian Institution (SI).  

The Museum Specialist will:

·       Coordinate collections aspects of exhibit projects; contribute to the development of budgets and obtain required resources (e.g. supplies, contractor support).

·       Work across various Museum locations to obtain exhibit objects and document pertinent data into the Museum Computer Information System (CIS) and other project coordinating databases.

·       Coordinate preliminary object assessments for objects, recommend and provide solutions for the safe handling, housing, packing, movement, and transport of objects for exhibits, safely secure objects and update databases and stakeholders for exhibits as required.

·       Conduct object loan coordination and provide logistics for exhibit installation and de-installation.

·       Conduct collections management work across NMAAHC exhibition projects both independently and on teams.

·       Collaborate with curatorial, collections management, conservation, cataloguers, photographers, exhibition services staff and project managers in the development and installation of exhibitions.

Conditions of employment

• Requires career/career-conditional status or eligibility.
• Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.

Conditions of Employment

Occasionally the work is strenuous, with significant physical activity required to lift some object types that are large and heavy up to 50 lbs.

Qualification requirements, including one year time-in-grade at the next lower grade level for promotion candidates, must be met within 30 days of the job announcement closing date. See the 'Required Documents' section for additional information.

For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions viewable on OPM Website.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications:  Experience related to the operation or management of a museum or similar collection of valuable objects. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include collections management, registration, cataloging, research, preservation, restoration, or conservation of collections of museum material, or other experience related to the position to be filled.  Most positions require a particular subject-matter specialization, e.g., aeronautics, anthropology, art, geology, history, natural science, technology, biology, or zoology.

In addition to the basic qualification requirement above:

Experience:

For GS-9: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-7 level in the Federal Service. For this position, specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience 1) assisting senior specialists with object exhibition projects and documentation 2) assisting with object handing, housing, storage, movement and transportation 3) coordinating photography and logistics of objects for exhibits and 4) utilizing collection procedures to ensure the safe handling, housing, packing, movement and transport of objects.

For GS-11: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-9 level in the Federal Service. For this position, specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience 1) preparing museum objects for exhibitions 2) managing museum object information entered into Computer Information System (CIS) or similar databases 3) performing object handling, housing, storage, movement and transportation 4) coordinating photography of objects for exhibits and 5) providing advice on collection procedures and logistics.

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.

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.

Time-in-Grade Requirements: Under competitive merit promotion procedures, any individual who is currently holding, or who has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under a non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet "time-in-grade" requirements (have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade of the grade for which you are applying).

How you will be evaluated

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

Your application will be evaluated first for the basic qualifications described above. The applications that meet the basic qualifications will be evaluated further against the following criteria:

1. Knowledge of collections.
2. Ability to assist in the transportation, storage and movement of museum objects.
3. Ability to provide logistics assistance for exhibits.

Important Note:

Your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses to the occupational questionnaire or other assessment tool for consistency. Your resume must be no more than two (2) pages. 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 detailed 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?

• Current and former employees MUST submit a copy of their Standard Form (SF)-50, “Notice of Personnel Action,” that indicates proof of status and time-in-grade eligibility. The SF-50 must include your position title, series, grade, step, salary, type of service (competitive or excepted in block 34), and tenure (1 or 2 in block 24). Please provide a SF-50 that shows the length of time you have been in your current/highest grade level.  Examples of appropriate SF50s include: Appointments, Reassignments, Within-grade/range increases or Promotion actions.  NOTE: Pay adjustments and award SF-50s do not include the length of time in your current position, therefore, they are NOT acceptable SF-50’s on their own. You may need to provide more than one SF-50. Failure to provide the appropriate SF-50(s) may prevent you from receiving consideration for this position.  

• 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.
• Proof of Veteran's Preference - DD214 (Member 4 Copy) if you are requesting a special appointment authority, such as VRA or VEOA
• Proof of severe disability if you are requesting special placement consideration.
• Proof of eligibility for a military spouse appointment, such as a permanent change station military order.
• Proof of eligibility for any other special appointing authority not specifically mentioned here.

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