Head of Learning & Engagement
About This Position
The National Gallery of Art welcomes all people to explore art, creativity, and our shared humanity. Nearly four million people come through our doors each year—with millions more online—making us one of the most visited art museums in the world. Our renowned collection includes nearly 160,000 works of art, from the ancient world to today. Admission to the West and East Buildings, Sculpture Garden, special exhibitions, and public programs is always free.
Qualifications
To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, candidates must possess a minimum of one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to grade level GS-15. Specialized experience is defined as the demonstrated ability to perform the duties of the position, including progressively broad and complex experience directly related to the skills and abilities outlined under the Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQs) below: MANDATORY QUALIFICATIONS: Applicants must address the following mandatory qualifications separate from their resumes. Statements must provide specific examples that address relevant experience, accomplishments and evidence that you possess demonstrated superior technical qualifications.
You will not be considered for this position if you fail to submit qualification statements specifically addressing each mandatory technical qualification requirement. Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQs): Maximum of two pages per MTQ. Demonstrated general knowledge of art, art education, and art history from a wide range of periods and cultures as represented in the National Gallery's growing collection, supported by a broad knowledge of teaching and learning in an art museum or comparable arts organization; the ability to articulate this knowledge clearly and effectively in speech and writing in support of programs that activate the National Gallery's mission, vision, and values and engage a wide range of audiences.
Demonstrated senior-level leadership and managerial success in the art museum and/or art education fields, including leading, managing, and supervising complex teams and departmental operations to achieve impact; managing large-scale programs and interpretation; adaptability and excellent judgment, communication skills, and growth mindset; inspiring and aligning staff through transparent communication and genuine collaboration; and hiring and training staff to maintain high performance and morale. Demonstrated strategic, evaluative, and institutional management capability, including developing departmental plans, goals, and priorities in alignment with the National Gallery's mission and strategic plan; formulating clear, measurable objectives; establishing and overseeing comprehensive, data-driven evaluation using quantitative and qualitative methods; managing budgets, assets, and cost/benefit analyses; participating in National Gallery-wide planning and advisory committees; collaborating with executive leadership and other department heads on major initiatives; and applying professional judgment to innovate, assess, and refine programs with proven public impact.
You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement. 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.
Major Duties
This position is located in the Office of Exhibitions, Programs and Audience Engagement. The Head of Learning and Engagement position supervises and directs a department of approximately 40 staff in three departments that strive to support an audience-centered experience through on-site and online programs, experiences and materials. Through these efforts, the team seeks to maximize the power of art to connect people of all ages and backgrounds to our past, present and future – and to each other.
The department also includes more than 400 volunteers who assist with programs. The Head of Learning and Engagement will: Provide strategic leadership to develop and implement a dynamic and ambitious portfolio of programs and offerings that activate the National Gallery's mission, vision and values and have proven impact with a range of audiences. Leads, inspires and aligns staff for success and with a commitment to transparent communication and genuine collaboration.
In consultation with the Executive Officer – Exhibitions, Programs, and Audience Engagement (XO/P), oversees the development of high-quality interpretive, educational, and public programming and recommends goals and priorities to ensure quality, efficiency, productivity, and the best use of resources, consistent with the National Gallery's overall standards and objectives. Establish, supervise, and champion a comprehensive, ongoing program of data-driven evaluation of departmental progress toward achieving stated goals and objectives in educational programming. Recommends what aspects of the program should be initiated, continued, modified, and discontinued.
Establish allocation of and manage departmental resources including divisional budgets, staffing needs (hiring, training, retention), volunteers, program resources, and funding. Works closely with the Development team to lead or assist in the acquisition of additional support for current programs and new initiatives in learning and engagement. Evaluate new suggestions and initiatives for the department and the National Gallery.
Coordinates research, programs and initiatives, which help establish the National Gallery as a meaningful contributor of critical resources in support of museum and visual arts education and public engagement. Assist the XO/P and other executive officers in management duties beyond the department level, as assigned. They participate in National Gallery-wide advisory and management committees and are a vital team member in National Gallery-wide planning and in the execution of major initiatives.
Conditions of Employment
Suitable for Federal employment, determined by a background investigation May be required to successfully complete a probationary period Requires availability for national and international travel up to 20%.
Education
This position does not have a positive education requirement, and education is not required for experience/mandatory technical qualifications identified above. Education must be obtained from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Foreign education must be reviewed by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website.
How You Will Be Evaluated
Applicants will be evaluated against the resume and mandatory qualification requirements. The candidate's experience will be reviewed in determining the degree to which he/she possesses each of the qualification requirements.
You will not be considered for this position if you fail to submit qualification statements specifically addressing each mandatory technical qualification requirement. Failure to meet any of the Mandatory Qualifications standards will eliminate you from further consideration. A preliminary review will be made by Human Resources.
Candidates may then be evaluated by a screening panel composed of a diverse mix of senior executives and/or general officers selected for organizational and/or functional backgrounds relevant to this position. The panel will rate minimally qualified applicants in order to determine which candidates are considered Highly Qualified. Generally, only the individuals in the highest category and/or those that are non-competitive eligibles will be referred to the hiring official for review.
You may preview questions for this vacancy.
Additional Information
The National Gallery of Art fosters a diverse and inclusive workplace and is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Some positions may require completion of a probationary period of up to 1 (one) year. AN EXTERNAL SELECTED CANDIDATE MUST BE FINGERPRINTED AND RECEIVE A BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION, RESULTING IN A SATISFACTORY SUITABILITY DETERMINATION BEFORE BEING HIRED FOR THIS POSITION.
All males born after December 31st 1959 must abide by laws regarding Selective Service registration. To learn more about this law, visit the Selective Service web page, Who Must Register. If you are not registered and don't have an approved exemption, you will not be eligible for employment with the Federal government.
EEO Policy: https://help.usajobs.gov/equal-employment-opportunity Reasonable Accommodation Policy: https://help.usajobs.gov/reasonable-accommodation Veterans Information: https://help.usajobs.gov/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/veterans Selective Service Registration: http://www.sss.gov/ Reasonable Accommodation Requests: To learn more, please consult the following resources: Disability Employment - Reasonable Accommodations (OPM) How to contact an agency
How to Apply
To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section of this vacancy.
The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the closing date to receive consideration. If you have questions about this job, please contact the HR Office representative listed in the "Agency Contact Info" section of this vacancy announcement. If you need assistance in applying on-line, please refer to the How to Apply section below and explore the Federal Application Process information on the USAJobs website. To begin, click Apply Online to access an online application.
Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents.
You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account or you may need to create a new account.
You will be taken to an online application.
Complete the online application, verify the required documentation, and submit the application. Read the Eligibility questions carefully. The questions address if you are eligible to apply to this JOA.
Your responses will affect your consideration for the position.
You may qualify for more than one eligibility, so please choose carefully.
You will only be considered under the options you have selected. If you respond that you do not meet any of the eligibility questions, you will not be considered for this position.
You will receive an email notification when your application has been received for the announcement. If experiencing a significant hardship which hinders your ability to apply on-line, please contact the Agency Contact listed on this announcement at least two business days before the closing date, to discuss your situation. Failure to contact us within sufficient time may result in your hardship request being denied.
The National Gallery of Art receives many applications for each job. Each application is reviewed carefully which may take a few weeks. To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the More Information link for this position.
The Application Status page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and your responses submitted to the online application.
Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. 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.
If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content (e.g. SSN or DOB), your resume will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations and you will not be considered for this vacancy. Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office.
Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you.
You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application.
You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility. Do not upload Adobe portfolio documents. Adobe portfolio documents are not viewable by our agency's staffing offices.
Required Documents
To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes the requirements below: Your Resume & Cover Letter showing the applicant's name, email address, work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment, and duties performed to include pay plan, series, and grade level for relevant federal experience.
Your resume must show complete information for each job entry to support minimum qualifications. Do not include the following types of information in your resume: Classified or government sensitive information Social Security Number (SSN) Photos of yourself Personal information, such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc. Encrypted and digitally signed documents Required Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQs): Maximum 2 pages per MTQ.
Other supporting documents: Most recent Performance Appraisal, optional SF-50 (optional) Your most recent Promotion, Within Grade Increase (WRI/WGI), or Appointment/Conversion SF-50 - Notification of Personnel Action showing you are/were in the competitive service and the highest grade or promotion potential held. Veterans' Preference documentation, if applicable (e.g. DD-214 Member Copy 4 showing type of discharge/character of service; Current Active Duty members must submit a certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions dated within 120 days; SF-15 Form and related documentation; VA letter.) If you are a veteran and you are claiming 5-point veterans' preference, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 or other proof of eligibility.
If you are a veteran and you are claiming 10-point veterans' preference, you must also submit an SF-15, "Application for 10-Point Veterans' Preference" plus the proof required by that form. For more information on veterans' preference click here. Failure to submit any of the above-mentioned required documents may result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package.
It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted have been submitted prior to the closing date of the announcement.