Supervisory IT Program Manager Job in Washington, DC

Vacancy No. 25R-SB-312901-MPA-AAA Department Smithsonian Institution
Salary $142,488.00 to $185,234.00 Grade 14 to 14
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 8/13/2025 Close Date 9/3/2025
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 within the Archives of American Art (AAA). Founded in 1954, the Archives of American Art fosters advanced research through the accumulation and dissemination of primary sources, unequaled in historical depth and breadth, that document more than two hundred years of our nation’s artists and art communities. 

Duties

The Supervisory IT Program Manager provides executive leadership, management, policy guidance, and strategic direction for all digital operations and strategy in support of AAA's programs and activities, with an emphasis on access, outreach and engagement. 

In this position, you will:

  • Perform administrative functions related to supervising a staff; supervise employees; interview candidates for positions; assign work to subordinates; evaluate work of subordinates; and develop performance standards. 
  • Lead the development, justification, execution, and day-to-day oversight of AAA’s digital infrastructure. 
  • Manage short-term and long-term planning and budgetary resources.
  • Provide the methodology and techniques for implementing digital transformation strategies.
  • Act as expert consultant on matters relating to digital strategy and policy development.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • Pass Pre-employment Background Investigation
  • May need to complete a Probationary Period
  • Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer
  • Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.

Conditions of Employment

Qualification requirements must be met within 30 days of the job announcement closing date.

For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions on OPM website.

Qualifications

Experience: You qualify for this position if you possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-13 level in the Federal Service.  For this position, specialized experience is defined as:

  • 1) leading a digital operations department in the archive, library, and/or cultural heritage sector;
  • 2) providing technical oversight over subordinate staff;
  • 3) designing, implementing, and maintaining information management technology, systems, and applications in the archive, library, and/or cultural heritage sector;
  • 4) overseeing the creation and maintenance of digitization/digital imaging workflows for data and digital asset management; and
  • 5) creating and managing websites to maximize discoverability, accessibility, and audience engagement.


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 addition to meeting the Specialized Experience for all positions individuals must have related experience demonstrating each of the four competencies listed below:

Attention to Detail:  Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.

Customer Service: Anticipates and meets the needs of both internal and external business partners and customers (any individuals who use or receive the services or products that your work unity produces including the general public, individuals who work in the agency, other agencies, or organizations outside the Government).  Provides information or assistance. Delivers high-quality products and services; is committed to continuous improvement.  Effectively manages customer relationships.

Oral Communication:  Makes clear and convincing oral presentations to individuals and groups. Listens effectively; clarifies information, as needed.  Speaks and writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner that is appropriate to the audience.  Facilitates an open exchange of ideas to ensure all group input is considered.  Handles technical, sensitive, or controversial topics with agility involving executives/managers as appropriate.

Problem Solving: Identifies and analyzes problems, weighs relevance and accuracy of information, generates and evaluates alternative solutions, and makes sound recommendations.

The employing agency is responsible for identifying the specific level of proficiency required for each competency at each grade level based on the requirements of the position being filled.

In the Basic requirement questions section below you will have an opportunity to prepare narrative relating to your IT experience which demonstrates each of the four competencies (Attention to Detail, Customer Service, Oral Communication, and Problem Solving).

Education

There are no education requirements for this position. 

Additional information

This position is not included in the bargaining unit.

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.

Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA):  If you are applying for a VEOA appointment, you must be a veteran and must be honorably separated and either a preference eligible or have substantially completed 3 or more years of active service. ("Active Service" under this law means active duty in a uniformed service and includes full-time training duty, annual training duty, full-time National Guard duty, and attendance, while in the active service, at a school designated as a service school by law or by the Secretary concerned.) A veteran who is released under honorable conditions shortly before completing a 3-year tour is also eligible.

Noncompetitive Appointment Authorities:  The following links contain information on the eligibility requirements to be considered under a noncompetitive appointing authority:

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 sufficient information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.

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 www.sihr.si.edu for a complete description.

Flexible Spending Accounts - http://www.fsafeds.com/fsafeds/index.asp
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 - http://www.opm.gov/retire/index.asp

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Applicants will be evaluated in multiple stages.  

Occupational Questionnaire - The first stage is an evaluation of your responses to the online assessment questions that assess your experience, education, and/or training for the job-related competencies. If you are found qualified and meet or exceed a predefined rating threshold from your questionnaire responses, your application will be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration. The applications that meet the basic qualifications will be evaluated further against the following criteria:

  • Knowledge of staff management, including delegating and coordinating work assignments, setting performance goals and evaluating performance, addressing and resolving workplace conflict, and supporting and facilitating staff professional development. 
  • Knowledge of program and project management relating to digital operations and digital strategy
  • Knowledge of Digitization Program Management

Individuals determined as highly qualified will be contacted by email to participate in a two-stage interview process that includes 1) a structured interview and 2) a problem-solving scenario assessment with a panel followed by another structured interview.  

Structured Interview - The structured interview will be held over zoom with an interview panel composed of relevant Smithsonian staff. Candidates advancing to this round will receive notification by email; failure to respond to the invitation within five business days will render the candidate ineligible for consideration. If you do not meet the rating threshold to move to the next evaluation stage, you will be notified by email. 

Problem Solving Scenario Assessment – This portion of the interview process will be held in person at the Archives of American Art offices at 750 9th Street Washington, D.C. and will include an on-site tour of the facilities followed by an on-site two-part structured interview with the interviewing panel. For the first part of this phase, candidates will be provided with three (3) problem-solving scenarios and given thirty minutes to prepare verbal responses to be shared with the interviewing panel. This presentation and accompanying question and answer period will be followed by a structured interview with the interviewing panel.  Candidates advancing to this round will receive notification by email; failure to respond to the invitation within five business days will render the candidate ineligible for consideration. If you do not meet the rating threshold to move to the next evaluation stage, you will be notified by email. 


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.
  • Proof of Veteran's Preference - DD214 (Member 4 Copy), if you are a veteran. Additionally, applicants claiming 10-point preference must complete Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, as well as additional documentation required by the SF-15, such as a VA letter.
  • 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.

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

Stephani Brownlee
Phone
202-633-6409
Fax
000-000-0000
Email
BrownleeST@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 www.sihr.si.edu/jobs.cfm.
  • The Smithsonian does not pay relocation expenses but recruitment incentives may be authorized.
  • 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.