Duties

Summary

This position is located in Maggie L Walker National Historic Site, in the Resource Management Division.

It is a permanent Career/Career-Conditional Full-Time appointment.

Applicants must currently reside within the local commuting area of Richmond, VA to be eligible for consideration for this position.
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Responsibilities

This Curator position overall professional and technical direction for the museum collection program, plans for and develops recommendations for programming priorities of all museum management functions, and ensures that NPS and professionally recognized procedures are applied in all operations. The collections cover any one or a combination of disciplines, including archeology, ethnology, history, archives, biology, geology, and paleontology. Duties may include:

• Represents the superintendent/park on museum matters; develops and maintains liaison and effective working relations with related groups and individuals, agencies, and the public; attends management and professional conferences and other events for the purposes of exchanging information and advancing advocacy for park stewardship;
• Consults with all divisions to assure the park's compliance with legislative requirements and NPS Policy related to cultural and natural resource management concerns;
• Ensures development and implementation of all required museum collection programs and plans in compliance with related NPS guidelines and handbooks;
• Develops work plans and schedules, project statements, scopes of work, cost estimates, and proposals to justify funding requests and accomplish goals;
• Recommends acquisitions according to the scope of collections statement; accessions and catalogs objects, verifying the accuracy of information in collection records and files; organizes collections and maintains proper preservation, security and fire protection, collection storage, and research laboratory conditions; monitors and prepares programs for use of the collections; researches content documentation for exhibits; participates in developing exhibit plans.

POSITION LOCATION: Richmond offers a wealth of amenities not easily found among other East Coast municipalities. Richmond is enhanced by several first-class museums and prominent universities, its own symphony and numerous theater companies and art galleries. Summers usually average 85 - 98 degrees with humidity. Winters usually average 35-55 degrees with frigid nights and a couple of snowfalls a year. Schools, malls and medical facilities are available. Mountains, beaches and Washington, D.C. are within a two-hour drive.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - You may be expected to occasionally travel for this position.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
None

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. Citizenship required.
• Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
• Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males

• Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
• Time-In-Grade: Any individual who is currently holding, or has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet time-in-grade requirements (must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent in the Federal service). Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. You must provide sf-50s that will verify you meet this requirement.
• You will be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties; a valid driver's license is required. You will be required to submit a Motor Vehicle Operator's License and Driving Record. You may also be required to submit all certified driving records from all States that disclose all valid driver's licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you.
• Government housing is not available.
• You will be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
• You may be required to occasionally work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
• If you are a new employee or supervisor in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
• You may be required to occasionally travel overnight away from home. You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-11/02/2020.

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience . For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience.

For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected.

ATTN: ****To qualify for this MUSEUM CURATOR at the GS-11 grade level, you must possess THE BASIC REQUIREMENT PLUS MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS by close of the announcement,11/02/2020 :

BASIC (EDUCATION) REQUIREMENT:
Successfully completed a full four year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included a major field of study in Museum Curation or related disciplines appropriate to this position. You must include your transcript.
--OR--
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 above.
--OR--
Combination of education and experience that included course work equivalent to a major as described above , PLUS appropriate experience or additional education. The quality of the combination must demonstrate that I possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform the work of this position and is comparable to that normally acquired through the completion of a full four-year course of study with a major as described above.

****AND****

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT:
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience may include duties such as: ensure museum collections are stored, exhibited, handled, inventoried and monitored according to policy; maintain records and documentation for museum collections; ensure collections transactions meet legal, ethical, and collections management policy; and evaluate program needs and make recommendations on priorities, cost estimates, and budget requirements. You must include hours per week worked.
--OR--
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least three full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree from an accredited college or university in museum work or an applicable subject-matter field. You must include transcripts.
--OR--
Successful completion of a COMBINATION of education and experience as described above. To calculate your combined amount, first determine the amount of your specialized experience as a percentage of the experience requirement listed above; then determine the amount of your graduate education in excess of two full years (normally 36 semester hours) as a percentage of the education requirement listed above; then add the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify.

Volunteer Experience: 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.

CTAP/ICTAP: Current surplus and current or former displaced Federal individuals who have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for special priority selection. Well qualified means that the applicant meets the following: OPM qualification standards for the position; all selective placement factors, where applicable; special qualifying conditions that OPM has approved for the position, where applicable; is physically qualified with reasonable accommodation, where appropriate to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry; and is rated by the organization at least at the well qualified level on all competencies. Federal employees seeking CTAP/ICTAP eligibility must submit proof that they meet the requirements of 5 CFR 330.605(2) for CTAP and 5 CFR 330.704 for ICTAP. This includes a copy of the agency notice, a copy of their most recent Performance Rating, and a copy of their most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location. Please annotate your application to reflect that you are applying as a CTAP/ICTAP eligible. If you are selected for Federal employment, you will be required to fill out a Declaration of Federal Employment, OF-306, prior to being appointed to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation. Failing to answer all questions truthfully and completely or providing false statements on your application may be grounds for not hiring you, or for firing you after you begin work. Also, you may be punished by fine or imprisonment (U.S. Code, Title 18, section 1001). ?

Education

To qualify based on education, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an accredited institution with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking. Transcripts do not need to be official, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.

If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.

Additional information

A selectee receiving a first appointment to the Federal Government (Civil Service) is entitled only to the lowest step of the grade for which selected. The display of a salary range on this vacancy shall not be construed as granting an entitlement to a higher rate of pay.

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.
Physical Demands: The work requires mental alertness, better than average manual dexterity, and mobility. Although primarily sedentary, inspections and operations evaluations involve activities demanding a certain amount of exertion such as walking, climbing, crawling, lifting of heavy objects, bending, stooping, and reaching. Working with collections can involve prolonged exposure to hazardous materials an equipment. Working with lighting systems, environmental control systems, and alarm systems can involve exposure to electrical current and the use of power tools with physical hazards. The work entails the ability to concentrate for long periods of time.

Working Conditions: Most of the work is performed in an office and storage or laboratory facility. Frequent visits are made to the library, visitor center, and other museums in the park. May require occasional field trips to the backcountry. Some travel to other facilities and museums, as well as to training and professional meetings is required.

The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document that you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application. Click the following link for more information, https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Alternate_Application_Information .

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

A review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses provided in the Assessment Questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation, you will be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified', or your score will be adjusted accordingly. If a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications or experience, you can lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully; errors or omissions can affect your rating.

Candidates who apply under Competitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are highly qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Best qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.

Candidates who apply under Noncompetitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are minimally qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.

You will be evaluated on the following competencies:

• Oral Communication
• Planning and Evaluating
• Technical Competence
• Written Communication

Performance Appraisals and Awards:
Please submit 1) a copy of your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation and 2) a list of any awards (e.g. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increase, etc.) you received in the last 5 years. Any performance appraisal/evaluation and award documentation you provide will be forwarded to the selecting official. The selecting official will review this documentation and give it due weight consideration during the overall selection process.

If you do not have your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation, please submit a statement as to why it is not available. Please indicate if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level.

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
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 11/02/2020.

Resume which includes your name and address, phone and email contact, and a list of all significant jobs held and duties performed, dates specified in month and year format, and the resume must reflect either full-time or 40 hours per week. If a part-time work schedule is reflected, the hours must be annotated to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. If military or civilian, please include your rank and/or grade.

A complete Occupational Questionnaire - PLEASE NOTE: You will not be considered for any eligibility you do not select.

Merit Promotion Eligibility Documentation such as:

• Federal employees must submit a copy of their latest SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action" that reflects career or career-conditional tenure, such as the initial hire, promotion, or reassignment, showing position title, series, grade and tenure (please do not submit an Award SF-50 unless it provides the necessary information) and, if different, an SF-50 showing highest permanent grade ever held.
• Veterans Preference Documentation (e.g. DD-214, SF-15, VA Letter as appropriate)
• LMWFA: Documentation for the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) eligibility, which includes ALL Appointment AND Termination SF-50s for EACH appointment as well as ALL performance evaluations, for each qualifying period of temporary employment claimed.

Other Supporting Documents, if applicable, such as:

• Veterans Preference Documentation:
  • If you are a Discharged, Non-Disabled Veteran, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 showing character of discharge (Member 4 copy), or other Documentation of Service and Separation under Honorable Conditions, as listed on the SF15 . If you don't have your DD-214, you may request it after discharge from the National Archives .
  • If you are a veteran within 120 days of discharge, you must submit signed documentation from the Armed Forces certifying: 1) your expected release/retirement from active duty, 2) under honorable conditions, 3) your pay grade/rank/rate at time of discharge, 4) dates of active duty service, 5) any campaign or expeditionary medals received, & 6) dated within 120 days of your separation.
  • If you are a Disabled Veteran, Purple Heart Recipient, or Mother or Spouse of a Disabled or Deceased Veteran, you must submit all additional proof required by the SF15 , and if applicable, a completed SF15 . You may request a copy of your Department of Veterans Affairs letter from www.ebenefits.va.gov or call 1-800-827-1000 to establish proof of disability.
• Performance Appraisals and Awards:
  • All applicants must submit their most recent performance appraisal showing the official rating of record and signed by a supervisor or, if one is unavailable, a statement as to why it is not available (including if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level).
  • Failure to submit any of the above mentioned required documents will result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.
• Documentation that you meet Selective Factors, if applicable.

College transcripts, if qualifying based on education.

Documentation for Interagency/Career Transition Assistance Plan consideration if you are a displaced Federal employee within the local commuting area. You must include: 1) Proof you are a displaced Federal employee, e.g., RIF Separation Notice, Notice of Proposed Removal, etc; 2) SF-50s (Notifications of Personnel Action) showing career/conditional tenure competitive status, promotion potential and duty location; and 3) your most recent performance appraisal. To exercise selection priority, displaced or surplus Federal employees must be rated well-qualified or above 85 on the rating criteria for this position.

Do not submit photographs with your application package. Documents with photographs may not be seen by hiring officials - you must remove your image from any badges, licenses, etc.

Do not upload Adobe portfolio documents. Adobe portfolio documents are not viewable by our agency's staffing offices.

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.