Duties

Summary

The National Museum of African American History and Culture's primary purposes are to acquire, maintain and preserve objects which document social, cultural, political, military, technological and scientific developments in the United States related to the African American experience; to conduct research in the field of African American history, to publish findings for all audiences; and interpret historical developments through public exhibits and programs as well as digital content.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

The incumbent reports to the Assistant Director for Communications, Office of External Affairs, National Museum of African American History and Culture, and performs the following duties and responsibilities:

• provides support to the Public Affairs, Marketing and Communications, and Social Media teams, which may include several of the following areas: fiscal management, travel, management information systems, contract administration, property management, procurement, and overall office management;
• reviews project deliverables and tracks priorities against timetables, keeping the supervisor abreast of any items for which feedback or further action is needed;
• manages changes to the project scope, project schedule and projects costs using appropriate verification techniques;
• coordinates content for inclusion in reports, collateral and presentations, including collection of content and graphics;
• writes action plans for multi-phased projects, using standard project management best practices;
• ensures internal and external parties receive the necessary information to advance mission-critical initiatives;
• maintains best practices for the archival, storage, security and retrieval of records;
• orders a variety of goods and services using Smithsonian's financial system (ERP);
• prepares spending reports in MS Excel and Smartsheet;
• tracks expenditures from one or more federal funds, including determining or verifying financial and other codes based on transaction, source, purpose, and program and enters transactions into NMAAHC automated funds tracking system;
• books hotels, transportation, and occasionally arranges site meetings and prepares travel papers in hard copy and/or automated system; and
• maintains calendar(s) for supervisor, including leave, meetings, and project calendars.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
09

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.

Qualification requirements must be met within 30 days of the job announcement closing date.

Qualifications

Experience: You qualify for this position if you possess 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 serving as an executive assistant managing administrative functions, projects and operations logistics for an executive in a museum or cultural setting, government office, nonprofit or corporation assembling data for reports; responding verbally and in writing to inquiries and requests from the public; preparing agendas, minutes and other materials for meetings; writing letters, memos, reports and other documents using Word; preparing PowerPoint presentations; developing Excel worksheets for budgets and to track projects; processing and monitoring financial transactions, expense management, procurement and travel authorizations; and establishing and maintaining office files and schedules.

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: master's or equivalent graduate degree or two full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's or equivalent degree related to the position may be substituted to meet the experience requirements.

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.

Education

Additional information

Flexible Spending Accounts - http://www.fsafeds.com/fsafeds/index.asp
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 - http://www.opm.gov/retire/index.asp

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 provide high-level administrative support to senior management, including screening calls, managing and maintaining calendars and monitoring project deliverables.

Knowledge of procurement, travel, and financial management practices using automated systems to record and monitor funds expenditures and balances.

Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing using correct and proper English grammar, spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and terminology.

Skill in software applications, such as Microsoft Office Suite technology and office practices.

Skill in project management.

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.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

Your application package should include the following documents:

• 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.
• 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.

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.