Clarification from the agency

This position is open to all U.S. Citizens or U.S. Nationals (including Veterans recruitment). Excepted Service employees may also apply to this announcement. Note: Federal employees with permanent status or individuals eligible for special appointing authorities may also apply to Job Announcement #19R-RA-304148-MPA-NMAH. More than one selection may be made from this announcement.

• Writes or edits a wide range of materials and guides production through several stages.

• Edits submitted scripts for style, grammar, completeness, thoroughness, accuracy, appropriateness of tone, and fluidity of writing style.

• Ensures that the final script supports the objects on display and the accompanying visual elements.

• Participates in exhibition planning as a member of the exhibition team. 

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.

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

ATTENTION: Due to the large number of qualified applicants for positions of this type, this job announcement will close at 11:59 pm Eastern Time on either: (A) The closing date listed above or (B) The date that 150 applications are received; whichever occurs first. If the announcement closes on the date that 150 applications are received, all applications submitted by 11:59 pm that day will be given consideration, including those in excess of 150. We encourage applicants to apply as soon as possible to ensure their applications are submitted before the announcement closes. We will not consider applications which are late due to the announcement closing once the above number of applications is reached.

Experience: You qualify for this position if you possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-7 level in the Federal Service or comparable pay band system. 

For this position, specialized experience is defined as experience with developmental editing, copy editing, proofreading, fact-checking, and writing public-facing print and electronic products. This experience should also demonstrate the ability to ensure history and culture projects conform to content development and educational standards for a public audience. 

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:

Master's or equivalent graduate degree

or

2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree

or

LL.B. or J.D., if related

Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.

One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement.

Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended.

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. 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.

PLEASE NOTE:
If you are found qualified for this position and meet or exceed a predefined rating threshold from your questionnaire responses, you may be contacted by email to complete or submit additional assessments such as work samples, short essays, or other appropriate assessments within approximately two weeks of the job announcement closing. If you do not meet the rating threshold to move to the next evaluation stage, you will be notified promptly by email.

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:

• Skill in writing and editing interpretive exhibition scripts for museums or cultural organizations.
• Skill in working on multiple writing and editing projects and translating complex language and ideas into language that is easily understandable by a variety of audiences.
• Knowledge of accepted principles of writing and editing and of best practices in using standard editing and proofreading marks. 
• Skill in editing text for style, grammar, completeness, consistency, clarity, factual accuracy, and thoroughness.
• Skill in using software for word processing and layout such as Word and Adobe Acrobat Pro and applying style guides such as the Chicago Manual of Style, and skill in applying its recommendations. 
• Skill in working as part of a team, in collaborative writing and editing tasks, and in communicating and explaining edits. 

All applicants who meet or exceed minimum qualifications will receive a final rating within one of three category groups based on one or more stages of evaluation which measure job-related criteria:

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, but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-veterans within each quality category.  The Hiring Manager may make selections from the highest quality category (Best Category) provided no veteran in that category is passed over to select a non-veteran in that category unless the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 3317(b) or 3318(b) are satisfied. Veterans 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.