Museum Curator
Full Job Description
As a Museum Curator (Art), the incumbent provides historical research and administrative support that serve the Curatorial Departments’ acquisitions, research, and exhibitions programs.
Typical duties includes:
- Conducts and compiles modern and contemporary art historical and other research relevant to the understanding, use, loan, display, and care of works of art in the collection and for publication, curatorial projects, or public programs.
- Supports curatorial staff on the presentation and rotation of collection works in the museum galleries, lobby, garden, and plaza.
- Maintains exhibition checklists, working with Hirshhorn staff and outside artwork lenders to track exhibition items’ titles, media, dates, credit lines, installation requirements, loan status, insurance values, and other needs.
- Provides exhibition tours and collection gallery tours to members of the public, Trustees, tour groups, and other Hirshhorn visitors and stakeholders.
- Arranges travel for visiting artists and scholars.
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.
COVID-19 VACCINATION REQUIREMENTS:
For the latest information on the COVID-19 vaccination requirements and its impact on your application, click on Smithsonian Institution’s Frequently Asked Questions.
Qualification requirements must be met within 30 days of the job announcement closing date.
Qualifications
Basic Requirements:
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 A 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 A above.
AND
Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 level in the Federal Service or comparable pay band system. For this position Specialized experience is defined as assisting curators and providing departmental support in performing research pertaining to exhibitions, acquisitions, and works of art in a modern and/or contemporary art museum collection; conducting research in a contemporary art museum library and on the internet, including foreign language sources; assisting in the acquisition of materials and artwork from collectors, libraries, galleries, and other modern and contemporary art museums.
Or Education: 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master’s degree or master’s or equivalent graduate degree
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. 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.
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
This job does not have an education qualification requirement.
Additional information
This position is 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.
Benefits
The Federal Government offers a comprehensive benefits package.
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.
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:
- Ability to conduct scholarly research on a variety of topics relevant to Modern and Contemporary art.
- Knowledge of researching, acquiring, and installing collections; knowledge of issues and methods of collections documentation, storage, and conservation.
- Knowledge of museum procedures and operations gained through work experience in a museum, gallery, or auction house setting; knowledge of issues and methods of collections documentation, storage, and conservation.
- Ability to speak publicly and give tours on art historical topics to small groups.
- Knowledge of Smithsonian travel and procurement policies and processes.
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
As a new or existing federal employee, you and your family may have access to a range of benefits. Your benefits depend on the type of position you have – whether you’re a permanent, part-time, temporary or an intermittent employee. You may be eligible for the following benefits, however, check with your agency to make sure you’re eligible under their policies.
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.
How to Apply
Click on the “Apply Online” button on the upper right side of the apply 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;
OR
You may manually fax required documents. Faxes are received by an automated system, not a physical fax machine. Documents that are faxed as part of the application process must be sent with the system generated cover sheet by the closing date. Documents faxed without the system generated coversheet are not retrievable and cannot be considered as part of the application package. - 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
Joseph Wingate
Phone 202-633-6367
TDD 202-633-6409
Email: wingatej@si.edu
Address
SMITHSONIAN
Office of Human Resources
POB 37012, 600 Maryland Avenue, MRC 517
Suite 5060
Washington, District of Columbia 20013-7012
United States