Museum Specialist (Zoology) Job in Washington, DC

Vacancy No. 25R-JW-312941-MPA-NMNH Department Smithsonian Institution
Salary $69,923.00 to $90,898.00 Grade 09 to 09
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 9/12/2025 Close Date 9/24/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Status Candidates
Locations:
Washington, DC


Summary

The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo. The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) is a major bureau of the Smithsonian Institution that is responsible for the acquisition, curation, and preservation of collections of objects and specimens of natural history within the field of zoology, which tells the history of the planet and a record of human interaction with the environment and one another.

This job is open to

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.

Duties

The Musuem Specialist (Zoology) performs independent assignments and collections management support duties that may include processing and distribution of scientific specimens in the Department of Zoology.

In this position, you will:

  • Complete assignments and collections management support duties that include processing and distribution of scientific specimens and preparation of outgoing packages and opening of incoming packages of specimens, supplies, and literature.
  • Examine specimen and original data sources for information to aid in taxonomic identification of the specimen and describing its characteristics.
  • Create specimen records in museum collections information systems.
  • Maintain various Departmental databases on packages, supplies, equipment, literature, space, cabinets. 
  • Prepare frozen, preserved, and fresh deceased specimens.
  • Assist with cleaning specimens in prep-lab; makes tissue samples or other preparations that preserve specimens and enable research use. 

Requirements

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

  • May be required to lift upt to 50 pounds.
  • May be required to climb ladders.
  • May work with dry or fluid-preserved museum collections using personal protective equipment (PPE).
  • May be required to be fitted with a respirator.
  • Use of a forklift, or scissor lift may be required.
  • May be required to obtain, and maintain, appropriate license/certification 

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

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 requirements above:

Experience: You must have one year of full-time experience at the GS-07 grade level in the Federal Service or comparable pay band system that is close or similar to the operation or management of a museum or similar collection of valuable objects. For this position specialized experience is defined as identifying mammal specimens, preparing museum study skins of any kind, and collecting living vertebrates for a museum of any size.  

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: Master's or equivalent graduate degree, or 2 full years of progressively higherlevel graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.B. or J.D., if related as specified above.


Unofficial school transcripts (undergraduate and graduate) MUST be submitted within your application package by the closing date of the vacancy announcement. Special instructions for submitting foreign education may be found under the required documents section.

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.

In an effort to streamline our hiring process, SI employees whose current position of record is in the same job series (SPECIFY) and who are in a (Federal competitive or excepted service appointment) (Trust) as this advertised position, are not required to submit a transcript with your application package. However, if selected, you will be required to provide a copy of your transcript before your start date in the position.

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).

Education

None.

Additional information

This position is included in the bargaining unit.  

Recruitment Incentive: Recruitment incentive(s) may be authorized for this position.  However, approval for incentives are contingent upon various availability. If authorized, certain incentives will require the incumbent to sign a service agreement to remain in the Federal government for a certain time period.

Note: This statement does not imply nor guarantee an incentive will be offered and paid.

Selections may be made for vacancies across the Smithsonian Institution (SI). By applying to this position, you agree to allow your application and other personal information to be shared with one or more SI hiring officials for employment consideration for same/similar positions within the location(s) identified in this announcement.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Benefits

The Smithsonian offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, vacation and sick leave, holidays, health/life insurance, accident insurance, and excellent retirement program options.

Please see Benefits at https://www.si.edu/OHR/benefits for a complete description.

Flexible Spending Accounts - https://www.fsafeds.com/
Health Insurance - http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/index.asp
Leave - http://www.opm.gov/oca/leave/index.asp
Life Insurance - http://www.opm.gov/insure/life/index.asp
Long Term Care Insurance - http://www.ltcfeds.com
Retirement Program - https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/

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 current collections management procedures including registration, cataloguing, loaning, permitting, curation and species identification.
  2. Knowledge of vertebrate zoology, including experience with identifying specimens and accessing the advanced literature of vertebrate systematics (which implies understanding of the terminology and language of the science).
  3. Ability to use of a variety of database software programs involved in management of a scientific collection of zoological specimens, including facility in entering, modifying, querying data, and producing reports.
  4. Knowledge of word processing and electronic mail systems, and a familiarity with digitation techniques.
  5. Knowledge of the various techniques used to collect and prepare high-quality museum specimens.
  6. Knowledge of the principles and methods of museum operations, including established methods of preparing and preserving vertebrate specimens.

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.


You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Required Documents

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), hours worked per week, and salary 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 here.

  • 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. It is your responsibility to have your education credentials evaluated by a private organization and submitted with your application package by the closing date of the announcement. You may use the following websites ECE | NACES Member | Foreign Credential Evaluation Services, World Education Services: International Credential Evaluation for U.S. (wes.org), or other reputable services to obtain these evaluations.

From the list above, you need only to submit documents that are specific to your personal status and/or eligibility.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

Click on the "Apply Online" button on the upper right side of the page.
Please Note:

  • You must apply for this position online through the 'Apply Online' button and submit required supplemental documents (if they are relevant to you).
  • You may submit required documents by uploading them online during the application process.
  • The complete application package, including any required documents, is due in the Smithsonian Office of Human Resources on the closing date of the announcement by 11:59 PM Eastern Time.
  • If you are unable to apply online, paper applications may be accepted with prior approval of the Contact Person listed below.

Agency contact information

Jan Williams
Phone
202-633-6383
TDD
202-633-6409
Fax
202-633-6401
Email
WilliJa@si.edu
Address
SMITHSONIAN
Office of Human Resources
POB 37012, 600 Maryland Avenue, MRC 517
Suite 5060
Washington, District of Columbia 20013-7012
United States

Next steps

At the end of the application process you will be able to create and save a PDF file that contains your responses to the assessment questions. You may save this file as initial receipt of your application. After the job announcement closes, you will receive an email from the Smithsonian with confirmation of receipt.

The Smithsonian receives many applications for each job. Each application is reviewed carefully which may take a few weeks. We will send you an e-mail to update you as we go through phases of the application review process. You may also check your application status by logging into www.usajobs.gov and selecting the tab "My USAJOBS;" e-mailing vacancy.info@si.edu; or by contacting the Office of Human Resources Representative listed.

Additional Information:

  • Tips on applying for Smithsonian jobs are available at https://www.si.edu/OHR/howtoapply.
  • The Smithsonian does not pay relocation expenses.
  • The Smithsonian Institution is an equal opportunity employer. Additional information can be found on our website at (www.si.edu/oeesd).


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


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