Supervisory Museum Curator (Assistant Director) Job in Washington, DC

Vacancy No. 25R-YH-311918-DEU-NMAAHC Department Smithsonian Institution
Salary $163,964.00 to $191,900.00 Grade 15 to 15
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 12/10/2024 Close Date 1/6/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
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 in the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). The National Museum of African American History and Culture is a national museum for the study and exhibition of African American history and culture. 

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

This position is open to all U.S. Citizens or U.S. Nationals. More than one selection may be made from this announcement.

Duties

The Assistant Director serves as a member of the curatorial staff with duties relating to the research, collections, interpretation, teamwork, and creative public engagement that generates publicly engaged scholarship, research, and preservation of collections; and the spirit of generous participation that nurtures collaboration in NMAAHC, buttresses history as a profession, and advances civic engagement at the national level.

In this position, you will:

  • specialize in the specialty program of Culture, which includes diaspora, music and sports, black entrepreneurship and business, and curatorial culture (including dress, dolls, textiles, fashion).
  • research which typically results in publications and exhibitions that make authoritative and original contribution to the field. Collaborate with colleagues across division as well as with specialist in collections management, design, production, writing/editing, education, public programs and project management.
  • contribute to the long-term health of the collection through strategic acquisition and deaccession, collections documentation within a shared data management system and the advancement of public access.
  • serve as a senior representative in discussions about policy and direction and is frequently called upon to promote public awareness of the projects and their content through presentations (orally or in writing) to funders, media contacts; publications; and through presentations to nonacademic and academic groups.
  • oversee the establishment of goals, articulation of priorities, development of schedules and checklists, and the assignment of tasks, through subordinate supervisors, to enhance the Museum’s work aligned with its strategic pillars.

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.
  • May be required to serve an 18-month probationary period for supervisors.

Conditions of Employment

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 on OPM website.

Qualifications

Basic Education Requirement:

  1. Degree: museum work; or in an applicable subject-matter field. or
  2. Combination of education and experience -- courses equivalent to a major, as shown in 1 above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. or
  3. 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 1 above.

In addition to the Basic Education Requirement above:

You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the grade 14 level in the Federal Service.  For this position, specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience leading and/or supervising staff; conducting research in the field of culture (e.g., diaspora, music and sports, black entrepreneurship and business, and cultural culture (including dress, dolls, textiles, fashion); responding to queries relating to research, collections, exhibitions and public outreach; contributing to long-term health of the collection through strategic acquisition; and developing and implementing strategic collections plans.

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.

Education

  1. Degree: museum work; or in an applicable subject-matter field. or
  2. Combination of education and experience -- courses equivalent to a major, as shown in 1 above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. or
  3. 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 1 above

Additional information

This position is not included in the bargaining unit.

Current or Former Political Appointees: Beginning January 1, 2010, agencies must seek prior approval from OPM before they can appoint a current or recent political appointee to a competitive or non-political excepted service position at any level under the provisions of title 5, United States Code. If you are currently or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-career SES employee in the executive branch, you MUST disclose that to the Office of Human Resources. Submit a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment:

  • Position title;
  • Type of appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES, or Presidential Appointee);
  • Agency; and,
  • Beginning and ending dates of appointment.

Recruitment Incentive: Recruitment incentive(s) may be authorized for this position.  However, approval for incentives are contingent upon various availability. If authorized, certain incentives will require the incumbent to sign a service agreement to remain in the Federal government for a certain time period.

Note: This statement does not imply nor guarantee an incentive will be offered and paid.

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.

ATTENTION: Due to the large number of qualified applicants for positions of this type, this job announcement will close at 11:59 pm Eastern Time on either: (A) The closing date listed above or (B) The date that 250 applications are received; whichever occurs first. If the announcement closes on the date that 250 applications are received, all applications submitted by 11:59pm that day will be given consideration, including those in excess of 250. We encourage applicants to apply as soon as possible to ensure their applications are submitted before the announcement closes. We will not consider applications which are late due to the announcement closing once the above number of applications is reached.

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:

  1. Skill in conducting research for and about African American culture.
  2. Skill in written communication.
  3. Ability to organize, develop, maintain and refine collections of artifacts illustrating and documenting culture by and about African Americans.
  4. Skill in oral communication.
  5. Ability to supervise staff.

Applicants who meet or exceed minimum qualifications will be assigned to one of three category groups based on job-related criteria:

  • Best Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and excels in most of the job related competencies above.
  • Better Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and satisfies most of the job related competencies above.
  • Good Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements, but does not satisfy most of the job related competencies above to a substantive degree.

This category rating process does not add veterans' preference points or apply the "rule of three", but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category. A selecting official may make selections from the highest quality category (Best Category) provided no preference eligible in that category is passed over to select a non-preference eligible in that category unless the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 3317(b) or 3318(b) are satisfied. Preference eligibles who meet minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-9 grade level or higher. Applicants who have not submitted a resume in the USAjobs system and/or have not answered all of the vacancy questions will not be considered for this position.

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.


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.

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.

Agency contact information

Yvonne Humphries
Phone
202-633-7448
TDD
202-633-6409
Email
humphriesy@si.edu
Address
SMITHSONIAN
Office of Human Resources
POB 23772, 600 Maryland Avenue, SW 517
Capital Gallery
Washington, District of Columbia 20013-7012
United States
Learn more about this agency

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 https://www.si.edu/OHR/howtoapply.
  • The Smithsonian does not pay relocation expenses but recruitment incentives may be authorized.
  • The Smithsonian embraces diversity and equal employment opportunity (www.si.edu/oeema).


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


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