This position is located in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) which is the largest national museum for the study and exhibition of African American history and culture. The incumbent will serve as a Museum Curator providing expertise and intellectual leadership for the museum’s interpretation of music and the performing arts.
Responsibilities
The curator will support the mission of the NMAAHC by providing leadership in advancing scholarly and public understanding of the history and impact of American music and the performing arts through an African American lens. The curator works to increase the museum’s capacity to preserve and interpret African American music and performing arts through research projects, exhibitions, digital presentations, collections development and public and educational programs, and publications.
Duties include:
- research, including initiating developing and conducting research projects in the area of African American museum and the performing arts, especially popular traditions of the 20th and 21st centuries;
- collections, including participating in the long-term development and maintenance of collections and information pertaining to those collections or exhibitions;
- encouraging the donation of appropriate objects or of funds to make acquisitions;
- exhibitions, including planning and implementing exhibition projects that promote scholarly and public interest in African American music and the performing arts;
- and public service functions to consult and advise colleagues, educational institutions, research foundations, other government agencies and the public.
Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-X level in the Federal Service or comparable pay band system. For this position specialized experience is defined as conducting scholarly research and producing publications related to music and the performing arts; participating in public service efforts; developing a collection of artifacts; serving as a consultant on professional matters relating to music and the performing arts; answering public inquiries.
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.
