Clarification from the agency

This position is open to all U.S. Citizens or U.S. Nationals. More than one selection may be made from this announcement.

The primary purpose of the position is to provide public-facing, user-centered access to NMAH’s archival collections, including:

• Oversees the Archives Center’s on-site reference presence by staffing the reading room, scheduling researchers, maintaining registration and related researcher orientation activities, and ensuring the retrieval and return of collections materials. Develops strategies for improved reference service.
• Responds to remote reference inquiries and requests for materials and collaborates with other staff in Archives, Rights and Reproductions, and Digital Assets to fulfill requests for surrogates.
• Analyzes data about archival users and uses to maintain awareness, advise on resources, project future needs, and inform priorities for collecting, processing, and outreach.
• Facilitates digital access to the Archives Center and its collections by scoping and managing digitization projects, overseeing the posting of electronic finding aids online via the Smithsonian Online Virtual Archives (SOVA), ensuring all collections information is current and accurate in ArchivesSpace, managing the Archives Center’s ingest workflows into the Smithsonian’s Digital Access Management System (DAMS), and managing and enhancing Center’s web presence.
• Performs outreach activities, including designing and coordinating special programs.

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.

Conditions of Employment

COVID-19 VACCINATION REQUIREMENTS:

For the latest information on the COVID-19 vaccination requirements and its impact on your application, click on Smithsonian Institution’s Frequently Asked Questions. 

Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.

For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions on OPM website.

Qualifications

All applicants must meet these Basic Requirements: (You must submit academic transcripts): 

Education: Bachelor's degree in archival science or bachelor's degree with a major that includes 18 semester hours in archival science, history and/or in political science or government, and 12 semester hours in one or any combination of the following: archival science, history, American civilization, economics, political science, public administration, or government.

OR

Combination of education and experience - at least 30 semester hours that included courses as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

In addition to meeting the basic requirements above applicants must also meet the following minimum qualifications:

Specialized Experience:
Grade 11: You qualify for this position if you possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the Federal service or comparable pay band system. For this position specialized experience is defined as: 1) performing reference and outreach activities for an archival institution or organization ;2) performing onsite reference duties; 3) collecting data about the use and users of archival collections; 4) answering written inquiries /remote research access;  5) participating in outreach activities to promote the use of collections; and 6) digitizing collections.

OR

Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree if directly related to the work of the position. Related degrees may include library and information science, archival studies, and archival science.  

OR

A combination of related Ph.D. level education and specialized experience as described above.

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.

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.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Applicants for this position may be evaluated in multiple stages. The first stage is an evaluation of your resume that will be used to evaluate your experience, education, and/or training for the job-related competencies below:

1. Knowledge of archival reference principles and practices to fulfill complex reference responsibilities.
2. Skill sufficient to create digital surrogates from archival collections in accordance with established SI standards.
3. Ability to collect and synthesize data regarding the Archive Center’s activities.
4. Knowledge of current archival description and digitization standards and skill in using digital collections and reference management systems for archives.
5. Ability to communicate verbally and in writing to coordinate outreach activities and respond to a diverse clientele in person, by telephone, online, and in formal correspondence.

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.