Museum Curator

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Salary: $61,947 – $80,532 a year
Job Type: Full-time

Full Job Description

As a Museum Curator (Art), the incumbent:

Develops an in-depth understanding of the objects and their place in American art in a wide context.
Uses knowledge of collections and exhibitions to locate and organize information for incorporation into popular publications, articles and brochures.
Conducts research on the permanent collection to help establish a complete database on each work.
Reviews art works in regard to loan requests, examine collections for conditions requiring conservation and perform cataloging of collections.
Works with Chief Curator and senior staff to develop exhibition topics.
Participates in the preparation and staging of exhibitions and exhibition catalogs.
Is responsible for completeness and accuracy of exhibition wall text.
Presents gallery talks and lectures related to the museum collections.
Responds to routine inquiries from the public.

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.
U.S. citizenship

Conditions of Employment

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.

For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions viewable on the web at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

1. Degree: museum work; or in an applicable subject-matter field.

2. Combination of education and experience – courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, plus
appropriate experience or additional education.

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 This specialized experience is defined as experience is defined as familiarity with Asian American art and history that deals with principles and methods of art historical research; art museum collections; art museum activities, and art museum procedures.

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

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/

This position is not covered in the Bargaining Unit.

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:

Knowledge of Asian American art and history.
Ability to conduct art historical research.
Ability to assess collections, perform cataloging and work with museum collection database.
Knowledge of curatorial functions.
Skill in written and digital communication.
Skill in oral communication.
Skill in verbal communication.
The review of your resume will determine your final rating and should provide sufficient information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.
Applicants who meet or exceed minimum qualifications will be assigned to one of three category groups based on job-related criteria:
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.

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

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.

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
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.
After you apply, you will receive an automated acknowledgement email that your submission was successful.

When you apply for this announcement, your resume will be maintained in our candidate inventory and eligible applicants will be considered for vacancies that occur during the open period of this announcement. As vacancies occur, highly qualified candidates from the current inventory of applicants will be referred to the selecting official for further consideration.

An inquiry on the status of your application is not pertinent for this open announcement; because if further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted directly. If you are determined ineligible for this announcement, an updated status will be provided on USAJobs. .

Please submit written requests to withdraw your application from consideration via email to the contact person listed on the job opportunity announcement.

Agency contact information

Monica Lacey

Phone: 202-633-6312

TDD: 202-633-6409

Fax: 202-633-6401

Email: LaceyM@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
Next steps

Additional Information:

Tips on applying for Smithsonian jobs are available at www.sihr.si.edu/jobs.cfm.
The Smithsonian does not pay relocation expenses.
The Smithsonian embraces diversity and equal employment opportunity (www.si.edu/oeema).