NEH is an independent grant-making agency of the government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities.
Summary
NEH is an independent grant-making agency of the government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities.
Note: Applicants may apply to be considered for multiple Director positions.
Director positions are responsible for overseeing the administration of grants related to the specific subject matter supported by the following divisions:
The Division of Collections and Infrastructure makes grants to organizations that seek to address the physical deterioration of their humanities collections as well as to provide access to them, including through the latest digital and other technologies.
The Division of Research supports advanced humanities research by making grants to scholars, teachers and writers, and to educational and research organizations.
The Division of Lifelong Learning supports humanities projects in museums, historical and cultural organizations, libraries, K-12 classrooms, and colleges and universities, as well as for television, radio, and digital media.
Federal/State Partnership is the NEH office charged with carrying out the Congressional mandate of establishing and maintaining humanities councils in the 56 states and jurisdictions and coordinating the partnership between NEH and the councils.
Directors of these Offices/Division will perform the following duties:
Management of the Self-Assessment Process.(Fed/State Only) Manages the self-assessment review process and compliance procedures for the councils and is responsible for all phases of their implementation. Management of the Review Process. (Research, Lifelong Learning, Collections and Infrastructure Only) The Director is responsible for ensuring that all applications for grants in the Division of Collections and Infrastructure are thoroughly and fairly evaluated in strict accordance with agency procedures and the relevant review criteria. Ensures that the staff follows agency procedures for selecting panels, conducting panel discussions, and preparing summary review materials. Development and Implementation of Agency Policies. Recommend changes to existing agency policies governing NEH's support for division projects and assists in the development of new policies. Budget, Oversight, and Evaluation. In cooperation with other NEH offices, responsible for the preparation of annual budgetary materials. Monitors the expenditure of funds allocated to the Division; oversees the preparation of the Division's offers and awards in cooperation with the Office of Grant Management. Representation of Programs. Responsible for conveying information about the Division's grant programs to the public and must stay abreast of developments in the humanities that may affect the operations of the Division. Staff Management. Leads the Division's professional and support staff, assigns duties and responsibilities; assesses workloads; evaluates performance; administers timekeeping and attendance reporting procedures; and ensures the effectiveness of the staff.
Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with the Selective Service
Qualifications
To qualify for this position, your resume must state sufficient experience and/or education, to perform the duties of the specific position for which you are applying.
At the GS-14 level Qualified candidates must possess:
1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-13 level or equivalent experience.
Specialized experience is experience which is directly related to the line of work of the position to be filled and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position, for example: subject matter expertise in a discipline of the humanities, review of applications and programmatic oversight of active grants and cooperative agreements, oversight of humanities programs and program evaluation, humanities outreach, and creation and administration of collaborative partnerships - or other professional humanities work of equal importance, difficulty, and responsibility. All related experience must be performed in a leadership or senior specialized capacity.
At the GS-15 level Qualified candidates must possess:
1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-14 level or equivalent experience.
Specialized experience is experience which is directly related to the line of work of the position to be filled and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position, for example: Subject matter expertise in a discipline of the humanities, review of applications and programmatic oversight of active grants and cooperative agreements, management and analysis of complex budgets, program evaluation, humanities outreach, creation and administration of collaborative partnerships, planning and directing humanities programs, conducting high-level meetings and making presentations on the humanities, working with humanities organizations, allocating work and setting priorities for a professional staff, determining short- or long-term goals and strategies to achieve them - or other professional humanities work of equal importance, difficulty, and responsibility. All related experience must be performed in a leadership/supervisory capacity.
Education
A Masters degree in a discipline of the humanities is required (a Ph.D. is preferred).
Additional information
1. Veterans' preference rules does not apply to this position however, veterans who are deemed best qualified will receive consideration amongst other candidates. If you are a preference eligible veteran, you must attach a copy of your DD-214 (Member-4 copy) or other proof of eligibility. If you are a 10-point (CP or CPS) veteran, you must attach an SF-15, "Application for 10-Point Veterans' Preference" plus the proof required by that form.
2. If you are the spouse of a member of the armed forces on active duty, the spouse of a 100 percent disabled member of the armed forces, or the spouse of a deceased member of the armed forces, you may apply for consideration through the Military Spouse Noncompetitive Appointing Authority. You must meet certain criteria for each of these eligibility categories. Learn more about hiring options available to military spouses. Your eligibility does not entitle you to a job within the federal government. You must still apply and meet qualification standards and additional requirements, such as a background investigation.
3. If you are a male applicant who was born after 12/31/59 and are required to register under the Military Selective Service Act, the Defense Authorization Act of 1986 requires that you be registered or you are not eligible for appointment in this agency.
4. All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review in our office, in other Federal agency personnel offices, and on OPM's web site at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1700/general-education-and-training-series-1701/.
5. This position may require completion of a 1-year supervisory probationary period.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
We will review your résumé and supporting documentation to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for this position. All applicants who meet minimum qualifications will be forwarded to the selecting official for consideration.
Any exaggeration of an applicant's experience, false statements, or attempts to conceal information may be grounds for rating an applicant ineligible, not hiring the applicant, or for termination after he/she begins work. If a determination is made that in responding to the competency-based question an applicant has rated themselves higher than is evident in their resume, experience, and/or education, the applicant's score may be manually adjusted by a Human Resource Specialist.
INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS will receive a rating of IFM (ineligible due to missing forms). Requests for reconsideration will not be considered for applicants who fail to submit a complete application package. We cannot be held responsible for incompatible software, fax transmissions, etc.
Only send documentation as requested/required by this announcement and that directly supports your qualifications for this position.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
All applicants are required to submit the following supporting document type(s):
Resume
SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
Transcript
Submission of a one page cover letter is encouraged.
Your resume must thoroughly describe how your skills and experiences align to the criteria defined in the "Qualifications" section of this announcement and it must support your responses to the assessment questionnaire. We cannot assume you have performed the necessary experience required for this position regardless of your employment history or academic career.
To ensure all of the essential information is in your resume, we encourage you to use the USAJOBS online Resume Builder . If you choose to use your own resume, you must ensure it contains all of the required information and you organize it so we can associate the following information for each experience/position:
Job title
Name of employer
Start and end dates (including the month and year)
Hours worked per week. We will assume full-time unless otherwise stated. We will prorate part-time employment in crediting experience.
The level and amount of experience-for instance, whether you served as a project manager or a team member helps to illustrate your level of experience.
Examples of relevant experiences and accomplishments that prove you can perform the tasks at the level required for the job as stated in the job announcement. Your experience needs to address every required qualification.
Series and grade or equivalent (if a federal position)
If the position has an education requirement you must include relevant transcripts. If you are qualifying on the basis of education, you must list your education history including the type of degree and your major of study and provide the relevant transcript. If the position requires a certain number of credit hours, you are strongly encouraged to list the relevant courses in your resume. Detailed information regarding resume formats can be found at USAJobs HelpCenter.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
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.
To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.
The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 07/10/2025 to receive consideration.
To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
Click the Submit My Answers button to submit your application package.
It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.
To verify your application is complete, 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 Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
National Endowment for the Humanities
400 7th Street SW
Washington, DC 20506
US
Next steps
Once the online questionnaire is received you will receive an acknowledgement email that your submission was successful. After a review of your complete application is made you will be notified of your rating and/or referral to the hiring official. If you are selected for an interview you will be contacted by the selecting official.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
All applicants are required to submit the following supporting document type(s):
Resume
SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
Transcript
Submission of a one page cover letter is encouraged.
Your resume must thoroughly describe how your skills and experiences align to the criteria defined in the "Qualifications" section of this announcement and it must support your responses to the assessment questionnaire. We cannot assume you have performed the necessary experience required for this position regardless of your employment history or academic career.
To ensure all of the essential information is in your resume, we encourage you to use the USAJOBS online Resume Builder . If you choose to use your own resume, you must ensure it contains all of the required information and you organize it so we can associate the following information for each experience/position:
Job title
Name of employer
Start and end dates (including the month and year)
Hours worked per week. We will assume full-time unless otherwise stated. We will prorate part-time employment in crediting experience.
The level and amount of experience-for instance, whether you served as a project manager or a team member helps to illustrate your level of experience.
Examples of relevant experiences and accomplishments that prove you can perform the tasks at the level required for the job as stated in the job announcement. Your experience needs to address every required qualification.
Series and grade or equivalent (if a federal position)
If the position has an education requirement you must include relevant transcripts. If you are qualifying on the basis of education, you must list your education history including the type of degree and your major of study and provide the relevant transcript. If the position requires a certain number of credit hours, you are strongly encouraged to list the relevant courses in your resume. Detailed information regarding resume formats can be found at USAJobs HelpCenter.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
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.
To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.
The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 07/10/2025 to receive consideration.
To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
Click the Submit My Answers button to submit your application package.
It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.
To verify your application is complete, 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 Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
National Endowment for the Humanities
400 7th Street SW
Washington, DC 20506
US
Next steps
Once the online questionnaire is received you will receive an acknowledgement email that your submission was successful. After a review of your complete application is made you will be notified of your rating and/or referral to the hiring official. If you are selected for an interview you will be contacted by the selecting official.
Fair and transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
