Duties

Summary

The Smithsonian Institution (SI) is a diverse museum and research complex dedicated to the increase and diffusion of knowledge. Smithsonian Libraries and Archives (SLA) captures, preserves, and shares with the public the history of the institution. The position requires application of professional archival principles and methods of appraisal, arrangement, preservation and description to retire official records of the Institution and to acquire and research archives.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

• Perform reference services and assist in research into the history of the Smithsonian Institution, the historical development of museums in the United States and the history of American intellectual development
• Provide research services and reference service promptly and effectively to management and staff of the Smithsonian Institution, research scholars, and members of the general public
• Manage inquires and request for materials
• Assess reference function in collection management system portal, make recommendation and implement improvements in public on access, outreach programs and operational efficiency
• Write agency histories for Smithsonian offices and museums and is familiar with the standards and implementation of Encoded Archival Context for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families (EAC-CPE)
• Review and evaluate request to reproduce Unit collections for research, publication, production, exhibition, and presentation online

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
11 - FPL 11

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, including one year time-in-grade at the next lower grade level for promotion candidates, 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 Qualifications:

You must meet these Basic Education Requirements:

Bachelor's degree in archival science or bachelor's degree with a major that includes 18 semester hours in archival science, history and/or in political science or government, and 12 semester hours in one or any combination of the following: archival science, history, American civilization, economics, political science, public administration, or government.

or

Combination of education and experience - at least 30 semester hours that included courses as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-7 level in the Federal Service or comparable pay band system. For this position Specialized experience is defined as performing archival records management and conducting records surveys, research, appraisals; developing records management and delivery schedules; processing of collection management system transactions, and researching and assisting with the support of online and/or social media platforms.

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

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/

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.

• Ability to apply a solid grasp of basic archival principles, concepts, methods, and procedures including reference services, collections processing, arrangement and description
• Knowledge of American History and Smithsonian history and the established relationships among SI museums and research units
• Ability to attend professional archival meetings and conferences, and to develop professional and archival contacts outside the Smithsonian Archives by communicating orally to assist researchers in gathering scholarly information
• Use of conventional historical research methodology, while skilled in entering, managing, editing and retrieving information utilizing a tailored Collections Management System to reach defensible conclusions
• Use of judgement in the analysis and evaluation of documents in order to determine their relationships and establish their evidential or informational values
• Works under the overall guidance of a Supervisory Archivist, while addressing inquiries for the organization and other components

BASIS OF RATING: Once the announcement closes, your application will be automatically evaluated and rated by the system and a Human Resources Specialist. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your application and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the occupational questionnaire. The numeric rating you receive is based on your responses to the questionnaire. The score is a measure of the degree to which your background matches the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of this position. If, after the Human Resources Specialist reviews your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that the score you have received is not a true reflection of your qualifications and/or experience, your score can and will be adjusted to more accurately reflect the information you provided that support your abilities. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Your resume should provide detailed information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.

Noncompetitive Appointment Authorities: The following links contain information on the eligibility requirements to be considered under a noncompetitive appointing authority:

• Primary Appointing Authorities for Career and Career-Conditional Appointments

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
Not Required

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

Trust determination process
Credentialing

Required Documents

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.
  
• A copy of your most recent SF-50 which shows your position title, series, grade, step, salary, position occupied, and tenure to verify Time-in-Grade/competitive status. If you have previously held a higher grade and are applying based on that grade you must provide a copy of the SF-50 showing you held the higher grade and/or have promotion potential to the grade being advertised. Do NOT submit award SF-50s.
• 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.