Duties

Summary

The Smithsonian Institution (SI) is a diverse museum and research complex dedicated to the increase and diffusion of knowledge. SAAM's collection of more than 45,000 works represents 250 years of American art and serves as the basis for an active schedule of exhibitions, research, collections development and public education through a variety of programs. As Chief Curator, the incumbent is responsible for the operation and development of one of the museum's most important functions.

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Responsibilities

As Supervisory Museum Curator (Art) with Smithsonian, the incumbent will perform the following duties:

• This position is responsible for the management of the curatorial function and, as a recognized
  scholar in the field of American art, is expected to lead by example in performance of personal research, collections management and public service. S
• Serves as part of senior management team advising director and deputy director on museum policy and priorities.
• The incumbent oversees the establishment of goals, articulation of priorities, development of schedules and checklists and the assignment of tasks.
• As an authority in American art, the incumbent is expected to perform advanced scholarly research of a high order, making important contributions to the field including being knowledgeable about current methodological and critical challenges to scholarship and to conduct scholarly research of a high order, making important contributions to the field.
• Regularly evaluates performance, conducts formal and informal evaluations of all staff, assesses training needs and makes recommendations for further staff development.
• The incumbent's stature in the field requires lecturing, serves as a juror and performing similar public service tasks.
• The incumbent maintains contact with artists, scholars, galleries and collectors and, using a broad knowledge of American art, explores the feasibility of acquiring additions to the collection by gift and purchase, acting in concert with the Director to acquire those objects.
• Oversees and develops annual personnel staffing plans, spending and training plans and works with staff in monitoring and developing individual performance plans.
• Prepares performance plans and special service awards, conducts performance appraisals and reviews positions' duties.
• As an authority in American art, the incumbent is expected to perform advanced scholarly research of a high order, making important contributions to the field including being knowledgeable about current methodological and critical challenges to scholarship and to conduct scholarly research of a high order, making important contributions to the field.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
Yes

Promotion Potential
15

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.
• May be required to serve an 18-month probationary period for supervisors.
• U.S. Citizenship

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

You must meet these Basic Education Requirements:

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

or

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

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 in A above.

In addition to Basic Requirements above, you must have following :

Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the 14 grade level in the Federal Service or comparable pay band system. For this position specialized experience is defined as managing the curatorial functions of an art museum; overseeing research, exhibitions, collections development and public service; formulating goals and priorities and ensuring they are achieved; evaluating staff performance; performing scholarly research; determining acquisitions and deaccessions; overseeing curators, guest curators, and others in developing and implementing museum exhibitions, publications, and related programs.

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

NOTE: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

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. The applications that meet the basic qualifications will be evaluated further against the following criteria:

Applicants who meet or exceed minimum qualifications will be assigned to one of three category groups based on job-related criteria:

• Ability to manage and oversee the Curatorial Department of art museum (or similar cultural entity) including developing a long-term plan/vision that is tailored to meet current and future needs of the organization.
• Knowledge of American Art.
• Ability to supervise a museum (or similar cultural entity) based curatorial staff.
• Ability to communicate orally.

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

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.
  
• 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.