This position is located in the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of African American History and Culture, Office of Curatorial Affairs. The employee assists the supervisor with research, collections development (including acquisitions, documentation, and management), exhibition development, public service and programming related to the visual art collection.
Responsibilities
Work assignments may require duty locations either at the NMAAHC offices in Capital Gallery building and the National Mall in Washington, DC or the Smithsonian’s Pennsy Collections and Support Center in Landover, Maryland. This position reports to a Supervisory Museum Curator.
Duties and responsibilities include:
- research and writing on topics, themes, graphic images and objects within the Smithsonian, outside museums, private collections, universities, libraries and other cultural and educational organizations associated with American history and visual art;
- collections including collaborating with collections management and curatorial staff in the long-term development of the visual art collection and information pertaining to it;
- and acquisitions and loans support by preparing justifications, researching potential acquisitions, and communicating with vendors.
Qualifications
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 or comparable pay band system. For this position specialized experience is defined as conducting research, analysis and/or writing in the field of American art in support of a museum, cultural or educational institution; conducting/writing acquisitions, publications, collections, loans, and potential acquisitions; communicating with art galleries, donors, and vendors.
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.
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 American art history, the history of art by Americans of African descent, and American history and culture.
- Skill in conducting art historical and/or historical research, analysis, and writing related to exhibitions, publications, presentations, collections, and potential exhibitions.
Knowledge of museum curatorial practices. - Skill in using research resources such as databases, archives, books, and media specific to the field of art history.
- Skill in written communication.
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.
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. If you want to receive full credit for relevant experience your resume MUST contain the job title (including the occupational series and grade if it is Federal), duties, starting and ending dates (month and year), hours worked per week, and salary.
USAJOBS has guidance on how to ensure that you submit a complete resume: If you have not written a Federal resume before, you may watch this Resume Writing Tutorial video on the USAJOBS YouTube channel, or read through a helpful Resume Writing FAQ article on the USAJOBS Help Site to learn what details you should, and should not, include in your resume. If any of the above information is not included in your resume we may not be able to fully credit you for your experience.
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.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
