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 primary purpose of this position is to lead and manage enterprise-level budget, finance, and business services for multiple SI museums, research centers, and/or offices. The incumbent leads the implementation of financial strategies,  strategic management, and ongoing development of a centralized finance center that delivers comprehensive financial services for multiple units.  Responsibilities encompass financial and budget analysis, operations, grants and trust management, procurement, travel, contracts, audit, compliance, policy guidance, and program management.

In this position, the incumbent:

• Directs financial operations by overseeing daily financial systems, managing workflows across client units, and leads procurement, grants, and externally funded resources to ensure compliance, accuracy, and strategic alignment.
• Provides expert guidance, audit leadership, and staff coaching while performing hands-on financial work to resolve operational challenges and supports mission-critical programs.
• Supports centralized financial operations across multiple Smithsonian units by assisting with multiyear financial planning, the full budget lifecycle, financial analysis and reporting, procurements, and advises on resource allocation, compliance, and resolution of financial and administrative issues.
• Supervises and leads a team of financial and administrative professionals by setting priorities, managing workloads and resources, evaluating performance, supporting staff development, and ensuring compliance with HR, EEO, safety, and ADA requirements while maintaining high standards of accountability and a collaborative work environment.

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

Experience:

For GS-14-You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-13 level in the federal service (or equivalent experience in the public or private sector) providing financial management work. Experience must demonstrate responsibility for directing department or unit-wide financial operations, advising or applying federal financial laws and policy, advising unit or department leaders on significant financial matters.

For GS-15- You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-14 level in the federal service (or equivalent experience in the public or private sector) leading complex financial management programs. Experience must demonstrate responsibility for directing unit-wide or enterprise-level financial operations, applying federal financial laws and policy, advising senior executives on high-impact financial matters, overseeing centralized or shared financial services, and exercising full supervisory authority over staff.

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.

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 enterprise financial management, strategic coordination, application of federal financial policy, hands-on procurement experience; executive advisory support, cross-organizational collaboration, and leadership judgment to align financial operations with institutional priorities while ensuring compliance.

2. Skill in federal and trust budget management, enterprise financial planning, application of financial law and policy, risk analysis, strategic resource allocation, and authoritative advisory judgment to manage complex, multi-organization financial programs and centralized services.

3. Skill in enterprise financial management, strategic alignment, application of federal financial policy, executive advisory support, cross-organizational collaboration, and judgment to ensure compliant, mission-focused financial operations.

4. Skill in supervising and leading staff, managing workforce and resources, evaluating performance, supporting employee development, addressing conduct issues, and ensuring compliance with workplace, safety, and equal employment requirements.

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.

Next steps