Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open to current federal employees and special hiring authorities under merit procedures. More than one selection may be made from this vacancy announcement.

The Senior Curator and Head of Modern and Contemporary Art  will be at the center of a robust exchange of ideas, aimed at reconceiving how the National Art Gallery's collections are made relevant and accessible to its audiences.  Support will also come from the National Gallery’s digital experience teams, which have developed multiple channels of experimental content targeting our virtual visitors.  With the right dynamic Head of Modern and Contemporary Art in place, we feel poised to launch a new age of appreciation for modern and contemporary art.

Duties for this position include 

• Undertakes/oversee major art historical research projects based on observation, critical analysis, hypothesis, investigation, evidence, and conclusions, utilizing established or innovative art historical approaches.
• Subject Matter Expert in American, European or global contemporary art. 
• Manages staff; assigning, monitoring, reviewing, and providing constructive feedback to the work of subordinates
• Leads the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art implementing the Gallery’s strategic plan in consultation with the Chief Curator and Conservation Officer in active collaboration with other departments.
• Pursues acquisitions as gifts or purchases to ensure the growth and expansion of the collection.
• Delegates scholarly work on the collection/potential acquisitions ensuring proper authentication and documentation of modern/contemporary belonging to the Gallery or proposed as gifts/purchases                                                                                                                         

Conditions of employment

• You must be a United States Citizen.
• This employer participates in the e-Verify program.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service
• See "Other Information" section regarding Selective Service requirements.
• Suitable for Federal employment, determined by a background investigation
• May be required to successfully complete a supervisory probationary period.
• Must meet TIG requirements by close of announcement

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 viewable on OPM Website. It is your responsibility to ensure that you submit appropriate documentation prior to the closing date. Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must highlight your most relevant and significant experience as it relates to this job announcement. Be clear and specific when describing your work history since human resources cannot make assumptions regarding your 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). Your resume must include the dates of all qualifying experience (from month/year to month/year) and the number of hours worked/volunteered per week.

Qualifications

EACH MANDATORY TECHNICAL QUALIFICATION (MTQ) MUST BE ADDRESSED AND TITLED SEPARATELY AND MUST NOT EXCEED TWO PAGES PER STATEMENT

Do not enter "Refer to Resume" to explain your answer. Applications directing the reader to search within the application or to "See Resume" are considered incomplete and WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

Basic Qualification Requirements for 1015 (Museum Curator series):
A) Degree: museum work; or in an applicable subject-matter field; or

B) Combination of education and experience -- courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education; or

C) Four years of experience that provided knowledge comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of the 4-year course of study as shown in A above.

You must submit transcripts as proof of education or certification to be considered for this position. You must demonstrate in your resume at least one (1) year of qualifying specialized experience. Specialized 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.

In addition to meeting the basic education requirements, applicants must meet the following minimum qualifications.

Specialized Experience Statement: While not required by regulation, agencies may require that at least 1 year of the specialized experience must be at least equivalent to experience at GS-15 (5 CFR 319.301(c)(2)). To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, candidates must possess a minimum of one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to grade level GS-15.

Specialized experience is defined as curating contemporary or modern and contemporary art of the Global South exhibitions and collections for a museum or other cultural institution and the demonstrated ability to perform the duties of the position, including progressively broad and complex experience directly related to the skills and abilities outlined under the Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQs) below.

OPM Qualifications Standard:

Individual Occupational Requirements: Museum Curator Series 1015

Associated Group standard:  Group Coverage Qualification Standard for Professional and Scientific Positions

MANDATORY QUALIFICATIONS:
Applicants must address the following mandatory qualifications separate from their resumes. Statements must provide specific examples that address relevant experience, accomplishments and evidence that you possess demonstrated superior technical qualifications. You will not be considered for this position if you fail to submit qualification statements specifically addressing each mandatory technical qualification requirement.

Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQs): Maximum of two pages per MTQ.

• MTQ 1. We are interested in your experience in researching works of art since that function is prominent in this role. Have you overseen major art historical research projects? Were those projects in the area of contemporary or modern and contemporary art of the global south or in other areas? Did the research involve directing others, and were you responsible for assigning and approving work? What were the outcomes of your research? Provide links to the work if applicable.
• MTQ 2. This role benefits from someone who has experience across museum departments and divisions to develop and implement projects and initiatives that support or advance a larger institutional vision. Have you had to initiate or participate in a large museum project that required cross-departmental work related to contemporary art or modern and contemporary art of the Global South? Did you have to develop strategies to advance that collaborative effort? Were you responsible for building team consensus and creating a final product?
• MTQ 3. Describe your skill in acquisitions related to contemporary art or modern and contemporary of the Global South. Have you developed a strategic collecting plan or determined priorities? How did you gain consensus from stakeholders on what pieces of art to acquire? Describe the situation and any obstacles you overcame. How recent was this experience?
• MTQ 4. Describe your recent experience with networking on behalf of an organization. How recent was it? What kinds of relationships have you developed, and how? Are you active in any professional organization, particularly in CAA, AAM, AAMC, and CiMAM-specific networking? regardless, which organizations or affinity groups afforded you a chance to work with groups in similar or complementary fields to yours? What activities were involved in the networking experiences (presenting, listening, teaching, social, serving as an officer, etc.)?
• MTQ 5. Describe your skill in setting short- and long-term goals for yourself and others. How have you ensured that the activities of a team are well-integrated with those of other teams? How have you planned a year or more ahead of time and then delivered on that plan? Address the way and frequency with which you have collaborated with others to achieve something bigger than one person can achieve. Elaborate on methods and outcomes related to generating new ideas for opportunities and initiatives to advance an employer's goals. Has professional development and education factored into the way you lead others – how do you keep up to date on the latest information in your field? Describe the way you supervise and mentor others, including the full range of hiring, supervising, and terminating as circumstances warrant.

Other Relevant Eligibility Criteria:

Your responses to the MTQs will be evaluated based on how clearly and concisely you emphasize your level of responsibilities, particularly, the scope and complexity of the programs, activities, or services managed; program accomplishments; policy initiatives undertaken; level of contacts; the sensitivity and criticality of the issues addressed; and the results of actions taken.
You are required to submit separate narrative statements for each MTQ to receive consideration for this position. Please see the REQUIRED DOCUMENTS section for complete details regarding the page limitation and formatting requirement.
Applicants must carefully review the information in the "How You Will Be Evaluated" section for important information and instructions pertaining to the multi-hurdle assessment process for this position.

Only experience and education obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered.

How you will be evaluated

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

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

Applications will be evaluated based on the quality and extent of accomplishments and experience as they relate to the Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQs). This information will be obtained from the application and narrative statements. Failure to provide specific information in each of the narrative statements will result in you receiving a lower rating or disqualification. A minimum qualifications screening will be conducted by Human Resources. Eligible applicants will then be evaluated by evaluated by a screening panel composed of a diverse mix of senior executives and/or general officers selected from organizational and/or functional backgrounds relevant to this position. The panel will rate minimally qualified applicants in order to determine which candidates are considered  "Superior" (top), "Very Good" (middle), or "Acceptable" (bottom) category. Generally, only the individuals in the Superior (top) category will be referred to the Hiring Manager/Selection Official for interview. Please make sure you answer all questions and follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your evaluation.

Note, the Category Rating Process does not add veterans' preference points or apply the "rule of three" instead Category Rating protects the rights of qualified veterans by placing them ahead of qualified non-preference eligibles within each category. Qualified preference-eligibles will be listed at the top of their assigned category and considered before qualified non-preference-eligibles in that same category. And preference eligible applicants that meet the qualification requirements for the position and have a compensable service-connected disability rating of ten percent or more are listed at the top of the superior (top) category, except in the case of scientific or professional positions at the GS-9 level or higher. Your responses should be clear and concise and show a level of accomplishment and a degree of responsibility. We use a multi-step process to evaluate and refer applicants:

1. Screen for Eligibility and Minimum Requirements: Your application must show that you meet all requirements, including any minimum education and/or experience required for this position. You may be found "not qualified" if you do not possess the minimum competencies required for the position. If your application is incomplete, we may rate you as ineligible.

2. Ranking and Rating: You will be evaluated by a screening panel composed of a diverse mix of senior executives and/or general officers panel based on your responses to the mandatory technical qualification (MTQ) requirements stated in this announcement.

3. Referral: If you are among the Superior (best qualified) candidates, your application will be referred to the hiring manager/selecting official for consideration and possible interview.

• MTQs are required if you are applying for a Senior Executive Service position.
• 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.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

1. Your Resume showing the applicant's name, email address, work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment, and duties performed to include pay plan, series, and grade level for relevant federal experience. Your resume must show complete information for each job entry to support minimum qualifications.

• Do not include the following types of information in your resume:
  • Classified or government sensitive information
  • Social Security Number (SSN)
  • Photos of yourself
  • Personal information, such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc.
  • Encrypted and digitally signed documents

2. Required Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQs): Maximum 2 pages per MTQ.
3. Other supporting documents:
   • Cover Letter, optional
   • Most recent Performance Appraisal, optional
   • Veterans' Preference documentation, if applicable (e.g. DD-214 Member Copy 4 showing type of discharge/character of service; Current Active Duty members must submit a certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions dated within 120 days; SF-15 Form and related documentation; VA letter.) If you are a veteran and you are claiming 5-point veterans' preference, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 or other proof of eligibility.
     If you are a veteran and you are claiming 10-point veterans' preference, you must also submit an SF-15, "Application for 10-Point Veterans' Preference" plus the proof required by that form. For more information on veterans' preference clickhere.

Failure to submit any of the above-mentioned required documents may result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.

Next steps