Special Events Coordinator Job in Washington, DC

Vacancy No. 25R-TK-312824-MPA-NMNH Department Smithsonian Institution
Salary $101,401.00 to $131,826.00 Grade 12 to 12
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 7/24/2025 Close Date 8/7/2025
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. This position is located in the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) who’s mission is to promote understanding of the natural world and our place in it. NMNH has a collection of 148 million specimens and artifacts. Each one reflects a moment in space and time and in these moments, we find Earth’s story.

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 Special Events Coordinator will assist the supervisor to develop acceptable project plans which typically includes identification of the work to be done, the scope of the project and the deadlines for its completion for the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH). 

In this position, you will:

  • Develop, plan and oversee events, both small and large, sometimes on short notice, including exhibition openings, conferences, ceremonies, formal dinners and receptions hosted by the Secretary, Museum Director, and other Smithsonian officials.
  • Determine the appropriateness of an outside organization’s request to use Smithsonian facilities for a special event based on policy and qualifications of the request.
  • Oversee caterers and suppliers at events and ensure their work is performed within the established budgets.
  • Analyze requirements for each rental event and conduct internal walkthroughs and meetings with the client, vendors and internal staff.
  • Compose and distribute comprehensive outline of event arrangements to client, vendors and internal staff.
  • Attend each special event to see that all requirements are carried out efficiently, effectively, and without issues, and ensures immediate corrective action when necessary

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

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.

Must be able to work evenings and/or weekends

Requires walking, long periods of standing, longer than average workdays several times a week and evenings during busy times, and the carrying of light items such as papers, magazines, and books.

Qualifications

Experience GS-12: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level in the Federal Service.  For this position, specialized experience is defined as having experience planning and coordinating high-level events for a museum, educational or cultural institution, including galas, receptions, dinners, conferences, and board meetings, for a wide range of audiences; and coordinating logistics such as space, facilities maintenance, and security for events. 

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.

In an effort to streamline our hiring process, SI employees whose current position of record is in the same job series (0301) and who are in a Federal competitive 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

This position has no basic education requirement.

Additional information

This position is included in the bargaining unit.

More than one selection may be made from this announcement.

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.

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 of handling special events, including areas of event design, protocol, international and government relations, logistics, and overall propriety.
  • Knowledge of administrative policies, practices and regulations applicable to the administration and coordination of special events.
  • Knowledge of business management as related to special events in order to track events revenue and expenses, design and follow budgets, solicit vendors.
  • Skill in oral communication.
  • Skill in written communication.

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.

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).

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.

Additional Information:

Agency contact information

Tony Khanna
Address
SMITHSONIAN
Office of Human Resources
POB 37012, 600 Maryland Avenue, MRC 700
Suite 7000
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.


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


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