Supervisory Exhibits 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.

The Supervisory Exhibits Specialist is the head of the Fabrication Shop and supervises a team of full-time exhibition specialists, as well as occasional interns and detailers, who are responsible for the fabrication and installation of exhibitions and exhibition components. Other responsibilities include the daily oversight of the Metal Shop, Paint Shop and Plastic Shop, all within the Fabrication Shop.

In this position, you will:

• Direct, supervise, and plan all work performed by the Fabrication Shop.
• Act as the Project Manager for designated fabrication programs and projects as assigned by the Exhibits Production Director, ensuring successful delivery within established scope, schedule, budget, and quality standards.
• Meet with the Exhibits Production Director and other Exhibit Production Supervisors to discuss current operations, emerging industry trends, and important issues affecting Exhibits Production.

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

• Work is generally sedentary. Incumbent may be required to stand for long periods of time and to lift objects weighing up to 50 lbs. unassisted.
• Work is generally performed in an exhibition production workshop and office setting. The incumbent will work with wood, plastics, solvents, adhesives, and paints during exhibit construction. Incumbent may be exposed to hazardous chemicals, loud noises, fumes, dust, and other construction hazards.
• Incumbent must be able to obtain and maintain COTR Level 1 certification.
• Incumbent will be required to take regular safety training to perform work duties.
• Work requires special safety precautions and the use of protective masks, goggles, shoes, and other necessary personal protective equipment (PPE).

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: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal Service.  For this position, specialized experience is defined as planning, organizing, and coordinating fabrication projects; consulting with clients to assess project requirements; collaborating with internal and external offices to facilitate fabrication work; and ensuring compliance with applicable policies, procedures, and operational standards.

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.

The applications that meet the basic qualifications will be evaluated further against the following criteria:

• Ability to supervise the work of exhibit production staff in the areas of cabinetry, finishing and painting, crafting, objects processing and plastics.
• Knowledge of project management techniques, practices, and guidelines relating to the planning, budgeting, design, production, and installation of museum exhibitions.
• Ability to develop and implement effective strategies aligned with the mission and goals of the NMAH, evaluating issues from both short and long-term perspectives and incorporating emerging trends, best practices, and innovations in the museum exhibition field.

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 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.

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