Museum Specialist (General)

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.

The Supervisory Museum Specialist oversees a portion of the collections information management services and participates with the Assistant Director in establishing long- and short-term goals, hiring, space management and budget.

In this position, you will:

• Assess potential acquisitions to flag any issues with the collections policies, providing relevant information to the Collections Committee and Director to assist them in their decision to follow through with or deny an accession.
• Manage incoming loans for inaugural and temporary exhibitions. Negotiates terms of agreements and associate paperwork. Manage and implement all aspects of the museum's outgoing loans program.
• Regularly review and update policies and procedures in accordance with evolving museum practices.
• Specify requirements and monitor packer, shipper, airline, freight forwarder and customs broker provision of proper packing, handling, control and timely delivery of objects. Ensures that museum standards for security, care and handling of objects are observed both in transit and while objects are in the custody of NMAAHC.
• Plan work to be accomplished by staff.

Conditions of employment

• Requires career/career-conditional status or eligibility.
• Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.
• May be required to serve an 18-month probationary period for supervisors.

Conditions of Employment

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:

Grade 13:  You qualify for this position if you possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal service or comparable pay band system that is in or closely related to the operation or management of a museum or similar collection of valuable objects.  For this position specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience managing incoming and outgoing loans, negotiating loan contracts, overseeing object installation, organizing shipping of museum objects, and accessioning. 

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.

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 the principles and practices of museum registration and the Museum’s Collections Policies, including the current ethical, legal, and technological issues relating to the collections’ care and documentation.
2. Ability to negotiate, coordinate and document all phases of the loan process.
3. Ability to communicate in writing.
4. Knowledge of special packing materials, handling, and insurance requirements in order to reduce risks of moving museum objects.
5. Ability to lead, motivate and/or supervise staff.

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 detailed information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.

• Your resume should include relevant work experience, applicable education and your contact information. For current or previous federal employees, include the pay plan, series and grade.
• Your SF-50 shows a federal position you've held, grade level and duty location. Your SF-50 can support position changes, conversions or separation for employment eligibility.

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. 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.

  • 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. 

  • 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).

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