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Supervisory Museum Curator (Art)

Employer
USAJobs
Location
Washington, D.C
Closing date
Sep 28, 2021
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 nresponsible for the operation and development of one of the museum's most important functions.

Learn more about this agency

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

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 :

    Specialized 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 resume will be used to evaluate your experience, education, and/or training that address the competencies below:
    • 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.

    Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA): If you are applying for a VEOA appointment, you must be a veteran and must be honorably separated and either a preference eligible or have substantially completed 3 or more years of active service. ("Active Service" under this law means active duty in a uniformed service and includes full-time training duty, annual training duty, full-time National Guard duty, and attendance, while in the active service, at a school designated as a service school by law or by the Secretary concerned.) A veteran who is released under honorable conditions shortly before completing a 3-year tour is also eligible.

    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
      • Hiring Authorities for Veterans
      • People with Disabilities

    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 .

    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.
    • 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.
    • A recent performance evaluation
    • Proof of Veteran's Preference - DD214 (Member 4 Copy) if you are requesting a special appointment authority, such as VRA or VEOA.
    • Proof of severe disability if you are requesting special placement consideration.
    • Proof of eligibility for a military spouse appointment, such as a permanent change station military order.
    • Proof of eligibility for any other special appointing authority not specifically mentioned here.


    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.

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