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.

This Visual Information Specialist (Exhibits) position is located in the Office of Project Management and Planning (OPMP), Exhibitions Department, NMAAHC, Smithsonian Institution and is responsible for preparing designs for temporary and permanent collections, galleries and public spaces using a high degree of creativity, while closely collaborating with curators and other museum specialists.

Duties include:

Utilizing CAD software such as Vectorworks, and graphic design software such as Adobe Suite to develop exhibition spaces, millwork, and graphics. This position requires extensive knowledge of 2D and 3D design principles including a full understanding of conservation methods, art handling best practices, museum lighting, A/V systems, architectural and millwork construction techniques, budget planning and project management.

Working closely with curators and program officials to effectively translate their ideas, suggestions, and concerns into viable exhibition designs.

Managing all required SD-410 reviews and will be appointed as Contracting Officers Technical Representative (COTR) on exhibit design projects that require any construction effort from outside contractors.

Developing budgets and other production requirements for exhibitions assigned for design ensuring that they are adhered to. Working closely with the Design and Production Manager, Fabrication Supervisor, AVL Supervisor, Project and Collections Managers to establish production schedules and monitors fabrication progress to ensure that projects remain on schedule and in accord with approved design.

Conditions of employment

• Requires career/career-conditional status or eligibility.
• 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 viewable on OPM Website.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- commercial art, fine arts, art history, industrial design, architecture, drafting, interior design, photography, visual communication, or other fields related to the position. OR

Experience in the actual type of work for which application is made. Unpaid experience is creditable, provided the work done was of a quality level and demonstrated the ability required for the position. This includes planning the preparation and use of photographs, illustrations, drawings, and other art work, charts, diagrams, dioramas, maps, slides, overlays, and other kinds of visual material for use in communicating information through visual means.

In addition to the basic qualification requirement above:

Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the Federal Service.  For this position, specialized experience is defined as working with exhibit team members through all stages of the exhibition project (concept design through final design, detailing, fabrication and installation); creating complete 3D drawing packages suitable for bidding by outside fabricators; working in Macintosh versions of VectorWorks (or equivalent modeling programs like Autocad) and experience in the creation of 3D computer models and renderings; working skills in Macintosh version of Adobe Creative Suite (e.g. InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator) in support of 3D work.

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.

Or Education:

Grade 11: Three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree related to this position may be substituted to meet the experience requirements.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are qualifying by education and/or you have education completed in a foreign college/university described above, it is your responsibility to provide transcripts and proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study. For instructions on where to fax these documents, see the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

Or a Combination: Education and experience may be combined to meet the basic qualifications; For a full explanation of this option please see the Qualification Standards.

In an effort to streamline our hiring process, SI employees whose current position of record is in the same job series 1084 and who are in a Federal competitive as this advertised position, are not required to submit a transcript with your application package. However, if selected, you will be required to provide a copy of your transcript before your start date in the position.

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.  Skill in the use of exhibition design.
2.  Ability to conceive and present to exhibit teams, creative, original ideas for 3D exhibition designs that are attractive, engaging, educational, and accessible.
3.  Ability to produce complete, annotated 3D construction documents packages, including all drawings, details, and specifications suitable for bidding, fabrication, production, and installation of exhibition projects.
4.  Ability to manage time and resources to complete projects on schedule and within budget.

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.

• 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.

Next steps