Museum Specialist (Natural Science)
About This Position
The Smithsonian Institution is the world's largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo.
This position is located in The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) is a major bureau of the Smithsonian Institution that is responsible for the acquisition, curation, and preservation of collections of objects and specimens of natural history, which tells the history of the planet and a record of human interaction with the environment and one another.
Qualifications
Experience related to the operation or management of a museum or similar collection of valuable objects. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include collections management, registration, cataloging, research, preservation, restoration, or conservation of collections of museum material, or other experience related to the position to be filled. Most positions require a particular subject-matter specialization, e.g., aeronautics, anthropology, art, geology, history, natural science, technology, natural science, biology, or zoology.
In addition to the basic qualification requirement above: Experience: You must have one year of full-time experience at the GS-7 grade level in the Federal Service or comparable pay band system that is close or similar to the operation or management of a museum or similar collection of valuable objects. For this position, specialized experience is defined as performing physical and digital collection management work in a natural science environment related to registration, cataloging, loans, curation, as well as specimen and storage preparation.
Your resume must be no more than two (2) pages and should clearly demonstrate how your experience aligns with the responsibilities and specialized experience required for this position. Do not copy language directly from the vacancy announcement, as you will be deemed ineligible for consideration. Instead, provide detailed, descriptive information about your actual 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. 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.
OR
Education: Two full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's or equivalent degree related to the position may be substituted to meet the experience requirements. Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are qualifying by education and/or you have education completed in a foreign college/university described above, it is your responsibility to provide transcripts and proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study. For instructions on where to fax these documents, see the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.
OR
a Combination: Education and experience may be combined to meet the basic qualifications; For a full explanation of this option please see the Qualification Standards. In an effort to streamline our hiring process, SI employees whose current position of record is in the same job series (1016) and who are in a Federal competitive as this advertised position, are not required to submit a transcript with your application package. However, if selected, you will be required to provide a copy of your transcript before your start date in the position.
Time-in-Grade Requirements: Under competitive merit promotion procedures, any individual who is currently holding, or who has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under a non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet "time-in-grade" requirements (have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade of the grade for which you are applying).
Major Duties
The Museum Specialist is involved in various technical aspects of collections and data management, curation, and research support, including the transportation, preparation, registration, preservation, storage, and the utilization of specimens in the National Collections within the natural science specialization. In this position, you will: Perform independent assignments and collections management support duties, using museum guidelines, prepares correspondence and creates records for loans, acquisitions, and disposals of collection items as directed. Prepare collection items as traditional museum study collection items within the natural science departments.
Provide physical and/or digital access to collections for users according to departmental guidelines. Assist in the logistics of moving parts of collections in and out of the Natural History Buildings, and other associated collections facilities.
Conditions of Employment
Conditions of Employment 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. See the 'Required Documents' section for additional information. For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions viewable on OPM Website.
How You Will Be Evaluated
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: Knowledge of current coll ection management procedures and policies as they apply to area of specialization including registration,cataloguing, loaning, permitting,curation, item identification and preservation. Knowledge of ethical and professional considerations in the management and preparation techniques of standard and sensitive collections, including handling,storage, access, use, analysis and other aspects of stewardship.
Knowledge of the standards for museum storage and security. Knowledge required involves physical collections care of one or more of the natural sciences such as anthropology, biology, botany, geology, molecular biology,paleobiology, or zoology 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 detailed information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.
You may preview questions for this vacancy.
Additional Information
This position is included in the bargaining unit. Recruitment Incentive: Recruitment incentive(s) may be authorized for this position. However, approval for incentives are contingent upon various availability. If authorized, certain incentives will require the incumbent to sign a service agreement to remain in the Federal government for a certain time period.
Note: This statement does not imply nor guarantee an incentive will be offered and paid. Selections may be made for vacancies across the Smithsonian Institution (SI). By applying to this position, you agree to allow your application and other personal information to be shared with one or more SI hiring officials for employment consideration for same/similar positions within the location(s) identified in this announcement.
How to Apply
Click on the "Apply Online" button on the upper right side of the page. Please
Note: You must apply for this position online through the 'Apply Online' button and submit required supplemental documents (if they are relevant to you).
Your resume must be no more than two (2) pages.
You may submit required documents by uploading them online during the application process.
The complete application package, including any required documents, is due in the Smithsonian Office of Human Resources on the closing date of the announcement by 11:59 PM Eastern Time. If you are unable to apply online, paper applications may be accepted with prior approval of the Contact Person listed below.
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. Ensure your resume contains the job title (including the occupational series and grade if it is Federal), job-related qualifications, starting and ending dates (month and year), and hours worked per week, for each employment period. It is your responsibility to ensure all information is submitted.
Failure to include this information may result in disqualification for the position. For assistance with creating a resume, please click USAJOBS Help Center - How do I write a resume for a federal job? Current and former employees MUST submit a copy of their Standard Form (SF)-50, “Notice of Personnel Action,” that indicates proof of status and time-in-grade eligibility.
The SF-50 must include your position title, series, grade, step, salary, type of service (competitive or excepted in block 34), and tenure (1 or 2 in block 24). Please provide a SF-50 that shows the length of time you have been in your current/highest grade level. Examples of appropriate SF50s include: Appointments, Reassignments, Within-grade/range increases or Promotion actions.
NOTE: Pay adjustments and award SF-50s do not include the length of time in your current position, therefore, they are NOT acceptable SF-50's on their own.
You may need to provide more than one SF-50. Failure to provide the appropriate SF-50(s) may prevent you from receiving consideration for this position. 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.