Visitor Experience and Accessibility Manager

Clarification from the agency

This Merit Promotion position is open to Current Federal Employees and Former Federal Employees with permanent status or reinstatement eligibility. Individuals who are eligible for a special appointing authority may also apply such as Individuals with Disabilities (Schedule A), former Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, and Vista volunteers; certain Military Spouses, or individuals eligible under various programs for Veterans (VRA, VEOA, 30% disabled).

The Visitor Experience and Accessibility Manager has responsibility for overseeing all aspects of the operation and administration of the Visitor Experience, Accessibility, and Volunteer Program.

In this position, you will:

• Oversee and support the day-to-day operations of visitor and accessibility services and learning spaces to ensure effective and consistent service delivery.

• Implement established policies and procedures governing visitor flow, service protocols, and public engagement activities.

• Provide guidance, assign work, monitor performance, and support employee development. Participate in hiring, preparing performance plans and evaluations, and recommending awards or corrective actions as appropriate.

• Plan, coordinate, and implement visitor experience, accessibility, and volunteer programs within established frameworks and priorities set by leadership. Track program performance metrics, analyze visitor feedback and operational data, and recommend improvements

• Coordinate volunteer program operations, including recruitment, onboarding, training, and communication, using established procedures and practices.

• Coordinate with internal stakeholders to support program activities and ensure visitor service considerations are addressed.

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, 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 on OPM website.

Additional Requirements:

1. A Tuesday through Saturday work schedule is required.  In addition, this position will require the selectee to work occasional evenings.
2. This position requires standing, walking, and moving throughout museum spaces or outside of the museum for extended periods while supporting program delivery. Some lifting or carrying of educational materials may be required. Physical demands are consistent with those of a museum and office environment.
3. Work is performed primarily in museum spaces, classrooms, and office settings. The environment involves everyday risks typical of public and office environments. Some activities may occur in laboratory or collections areas, requiring adherence to established safety protocols and the use of appropriate protective attire.

Qualifications

Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level in the Federal Service. For this position, specialized experience is defined as 1) overseeing visitor experience, accessibility, and volunteer programs, and 2) using customer service practices and visitor engagement strategies to create the highest quality experience within a large museum.

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.  

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. Knowledge of museum visitor experience and service delivery practices (including visitor communication, wayfinding, customer service, engagement techniques) sufficient to implement, evaluate, and improve programs in a large museum environment.

2. Ability to supervise and accomplish work through staff, including providing guidance, monitoring performance, supporting employee development, hiring, evaluating, and recommending awards or corrective actions for a diverse staff.

3. Knowledge of accessibility practices, assistive technologies, and applicable standards (e.g., ADA and Smithsonian directives) to support inclusive services.

4. Knowledge of volunteer program operations, including recruitment, training, evaluation, and coordination to support a large volunteer workforce.

5. Ability to communicate verbally effectively at all levels to interact with tact and diplomacy among diverse audiences.

6. Ability to communicate effectively at all levels to interact with tact and diplomacy in preparing clear materials.

BASIS OF RATING:  Once the announcement closes, your application will be automatically evaluated and rated by the system and a Human Resources Specialist. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your application and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the occupational questionnaire. The numeric rating you receive is based on your responses to the questionnaire. The score is a measure of the degree to which your background matches the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of this position. If, after the Human Resources Specialist reviews your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that the score you have received is not a true reflection of your qualifications and/or experience, your score can and will be adjusted to more accurately reflect the information you provided that support your abilities. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Your resume should provide detailed information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.

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:

• Primary Appointing Authorities for Career and Career-Conditional Appointments
• Hiring Authorities for Veterans
• People with Disabilities

Your application package will 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. 
• 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. 
• For assistance with creating a resume, please click USAJOBS Help Center - How do I write a resume for a federal job?  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.
• 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. SI Trust employees are ineligible for Merit Promotion consideration unless you submit a Standard Form (SF) - 50, "Notice of Personnel Action", that indicates proof you previously held a 'status' position and proof of time-in-grade.  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. 
• 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.
• Proof of Veteran's Preference - DD214 (Member 4 Copy) if you are requesting a special appointment authority, such as VRA or VEOA
• Proof of severe disability if you are requesting special placement consideration.
• Proof of eligibility for a military spouse appointment, such as a permanent change station military order.
• Proof of eligibility for any other special appointing authority not specifically mentioned here.

Next steps