Supervisory Museum Specialist (Deputy Director, Collections Services Division) Job in Bowie, MD

Vacancy No. HMM-3663-2026-0006 Department U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
Salary $143,913.00 to $187,093.00 Grade 14 to 14
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 8/19/2026 Close Date 9/2/2026
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Status Candidates
Locations:
Bowie, MD


Supervisory Museum Specialist (Deputy Director, Collections Services Division)

U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

Summary

This position is located in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), Rubenstein National Institute for Holocaust Documentation, Collections Services Division, Conservation Branch, David and Fela Shapell Collections, Conservation, and Research Center, Bowie, MD.

In this position, the Deputy Director, will provide comprehensive strategic direction for the three CSD branch chiefs and their staffs, with an emphasis on the management and administration of collections programs.

This job is open to

Federal employees - Competitive service

Current federal employees whose agencies follow the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's hiring rules and pay scales.

Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)

Federal employees whose job, agency or department was eliminated and are eligible for priority over other applicants.

Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open to current INTERNAL USHMM permanent federal employees and Agency Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) applicants ONLY.

Duties

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is a federally chartered, nonpartisan institution that was created by the US Congress to serve as America’s national memorial to the victims of the Holocaust and an educational institution dedicated to the history and lessons of the Holocaust. The Museum seeks to educate Americans from all 50 states and all walks of life as well as international audiences. The Museum has three areas of expertise: Holocaust remembrance, Holocaust scholarship and education, and genocide prevention.

In carrying out its important memorial and educational mission, the Museum is guided by its institutional values for our workplace: Honor the memory of the victims; carry out our work with dignity, humility, integrity and respect for others; and strive for excellence through teamwork, rigor, and a culture of continuous learning. Consistent respect for others is the foundation for trust, collegiality and inclusion.

Duties include: 

Provide comprehensive strategic direction for the three CSD branch chiefs and their staffs, with an emphasis on the management and administration of collections programs and activities.

Oversees the daily operation of the Collections Management and Registration branches and ensures that the Museum's policies for acquiring, maintaining, and safeguarding the collections are implemented.

Develops and establishes procedures to ensure the cohesive and cooperative nature of services and activities for the registration and collections management of the Museum's collections.

Provides leadership in short and long-range strategic planning and for the development, implementation, and management of programs, policies, systems, and procedures in accordance with professional museum standards, Museum policies, and Federal guidelines.

Serves as an expert technical authority on collections management matters, registration matters, an advisor on conservation matters, and acts as an advisor to Museum staff and leadership.

Initiates or drafts preparation of grant proposals and reports to donors in cooperation with the Office of Development staff, and in collaboration with the Rubenstein Institute Director of Planning and Administration and Office leadership.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

On-line resumes must be submitted by 11:59pm EST of the closing date.

·       You must be a suitable for Federal employment.

·       You must be a U.S. citizen.

·       You must be registered for Selective Service if applicable (www.sss.gov).

·       Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date.

·       A one year supervisory probationary period may be required.    

·       Payment of relocation expenses is not authorized.

·       The USHMM is an equal opportunity employer.

·       This agency provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities.  If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency.  The decision granting reasonable accommodation will be on a case-by-case basis.

·       As a condition of employment, all new hires must agree to direct deposit of their salary checks.  Employees will have up to two (2) pay periods from the date they enter on duty to arrange for their direct deposit transaction.

·       This is a Federal agency.  Former employees who received a voluntary separation incentive (“buyout”) must repay the full amount of it if reemployed under any type of appointment or under a personal service contract within five years after separation with a buyout.

Qualifications

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards. 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.

Specialized Experience:

You qualify for the GS-14 grade level if you possess one year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-13 (or equivalent) grade level in the federal government. Specialized Experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. The specialized experience for this position is overseeing the daily operation of the Collections Management and Registration branches and ensures that the Museum's policies for acquiring, maintaining, and safeguarding the collections are implemented; implementing collections management and registrarial procedures and priorities in close collaboration with the needs of and workflows within the Office; developing procedures to ensure the cohesive and cooperative nature of programs, services, and activities for the collections management and registration of the Museum's collections; and preparing and delivering presentations on behalf of the Museum at meeting and conferences of appropriate professional organizations.

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). Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to current employees applying for a Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. NOTE: All current or former Federal employees must provide a copy of their SF-50 (you may need to submit more than one), "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, tenure (1 or 2), and type of service (Competitive or Excepted).

***Failure to submit required documentation will result in an ineligible rating.

Education

If this position requires proof of higher education, you must submit an unofficial transcript or a list of courses that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education's website. You MUST provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing along with your application. Failure to provide such documentation by the closing date of the announcement will result in lost consideration.

Additional information

A complete application consists of the following:

Resume showing relevant experience. Your resume must clearly demonstrate, in two pages or less, how your skills and experiences align with the "Qualifications" section and support your questionnaire responses. If the resume exceeds two pages, only the first two will be reviewed.  You must include information about your paid and nonpaid work experience related to this position including: job title, duration of employment (mm/dd/yy – mm/dd/yy), hours per week, duties and accomplishments, salary, and your education. For work in the Federal service, please include the grade level for the position(s). Your resume may be used to validate your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire.

If you are a veteran with preference eligibility and you are claiming 5-points veterans' preference, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 stating disposition of discharge or character of service or other valid proof of eligibility (i.e., statement of service that shows service dates AND character of service). If you are claiming 10-point veterans' preference, you must also submit an SF-15, "Application for 10-Point Veterans' Preference" plus the proof required by that form. For more information on veterans' preference see Vet Guide

Active Duty Service Members-- You must submit a statement of discharge/certification of release or an official written document from the armed forces that certifies you are expected to be discharged or released from active duty service in the armed forces under honorable conditions no later than 120 days from the date the announcement closes. Enlisted Record Briefs and military identification do NOT qualify as official documentation. If the appropriate information is not submitted to confirm the discharge status, dates of service, etc., you will not be considered for this job opportunity under Veteran Preference procedures. To gain access to your DD-214 online please visit Military Service Record

Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) documentation, if applicable.

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.

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How you will be evaluated

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

We will review your resume and supporting documentation (transcripts if applicable) to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for the position. If you meet the minimum qualifications stated in the vacancy announcement, we will compare your resume, and supporting documentation to your responses on the scored occupational questionnaire that you completed as part of the application. However, your resume or optional cover letter must support your responses to the occupational questions, or your score will be lowered. The best-qualified candidates will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be invited for a structured interview.

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

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (ex: resume and supporting documents), your responses to the application questionnaire, and the results of the online assessments required for this position. Be sure your resume includes enough detail to support your qualifications.

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): Strategic Thinking and Planning, Leading and Developing People, Innovation and Solution Development. 

To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process.

Optional Essay Questions:  Applicants may choose to respond to four short essay questions (200 words max each) to help us better understand your alignment with the agency's mission. These responses are optional and will not affect the applicant's eligibility.


You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Required Documents

  • Your resume should include relevant work experience, applicable education and your contact information. For current or previous federal employees, include the pay plan, series and grade.
  • A separation notification used to determine employment eligibility.
  • Your SF-50 shows a federal position you've held, grade level and duty location. Your SF-50 can support position changes, conversions or separation for employment eligibility.
  • Transcripts may support your qualifications for a federal job and can include high school, college or other schools.

A complete application includes

1. Resume showing relevant experience. Your resume must clearly demonstrate, in two pages or less, how your skills and experiences align with the "Qualifications" section and support your questionnaire responses. If the resume exceeds two pages, only the first two will be reviewed. 2. Vacancy question responses, and 3. Submission of any required documents. Please note that if you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, you may not be considered for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible). Please ensure all required documents are included to your application package.

All applicants are required to submit a résumé either by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one of their own choosing. Please limit your resume to two-pages.  If the resume exceeds two pages, only the first two will be reviewed. To receive full credit for relevant experience, please list the month/date/year and number of hours worked for experience listed on your résumé. We suggest that you preview the online questions, as you may need to customize your résumé to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions. For resume writing guidance, please visit USAJOBS Help Center - How do I write a resume for a federal job?

VETERANS' PREFERENCE DOCUMENTATION: If you are claiming veterans preference, please see applicant guide for required documentation. In order to be considered for veterans preference, you must submit all required documentation as outlined in the applicant guide.

CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PLAN (CTAP) OR INTERAGENCY CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PLAN (ICTAP) DOCUMENTATION: If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee, click CTAP/ICTAP for eligibility and a detailed list of required documents you must submit in order to be eligible.

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 the Apply Online button to create an account on USAJOBS.gov or log into your existing USAJOBS account. Pull up the Museum’s vacancy announcement that you are interested in.  Follow the prompts to complete the on-line Assessment Questionnaire. Please ensure that you click the Submit My Answers button at the end of the process.

Application Assistance: If applying online poses an extreme hardship, you must contact careers@ushmm.org no later than noon Eastern Time on the closing date to request a complete application package.  After this time, requests to apply will not be granted. 

All electronic application packages must be submitted online by 11:59 p.m. eastern time by the closing date of the vacancy announcement.

NOTE: Submission of a resume alone IS NOT a complete application. This position requires the completion of additional forms and/or supplemental materials as described previously. Please carefully review the complete job announcement and the "How to Apply" instructions. Failure to provide the required information and/or materials will result in you not being considered for employment.

Agency contact information

Chanel Cabiness
Phone
202-488-0400
Email
ccabiness@ushmm.org
Address
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, S.W.
Attn: Division of Human Resources
Washington, District of Columbia 20024
United States

Next steps

You will be notified of your application status through USAJOBS at four points during the hiring process, as applicable. You can check the status of your application by accessing the USAJOBS website at http://www.usajobs.gov and clicking on “Track Your Online Application.” The four points of notification are:

  1. Application Received or Application Incomplete
  2. Minimum Qualification Requirement Met or Minimum Qualification Not Met;
  3. Eligible (Application Referred to the Selecting Official) or Eligible (Application Not Referred to the Selecting Official); and
  4. Selected or Not Selected.

By submitting your application, you are certifying the accuracy of the information contained in your application.  If you make a false statement in any part of your application, you may not be hired; you may be terminated after you begin work; or, you may be fined or jailed.  After making a tentative job offer, we will conduct a suitability/security background investigation.

You will be required to submit official documentation prior to appointment.  The agency will then verify the information provided on your application (i.e., degree, veterans’ preference, disability, etc.).

U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

THE UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM is America's national institution for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust history, and serves as this country's memorial to the millions of people murdered during the Holocaust. The Museum's primary mission is to advance and disseminate knowledge about this unprecedented tragedy; to preserve the memory of those who suffered; and to encourage its visitors to reflect upon the moral and spiritual questions raised by the events of the Holocaust as well as their own responsibilities as citizens of a democracy. The US Holocaust Memorial Museum is located within walking distance of the Metro and Mass Transit and offers its employees Metro Transit Subsidy, flexible work schedules, complimentary passes to the Museum as well as access to Museum sponsored events and activities. Employees receive a 20% discount at the Museum Shop and Café, and are allowed access to some of the cultural tourist attractions/events for free or at a discounted rate. To find out more information about the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, visit our website at USHMM.ORG

Agency contact information

Chanel Cabiness
Phone
202-488-0400
Email
ccabiness@ushmm.org
Address
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, S.W.
Attn: Division of Human Resources
Washington, District of Columbia 20024
United States