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 curator will support the mission of the NMAAHC by providing leadership in advancing scholarly and public understanding of the history and impact of American music and the performing arts through an African American lens.  The curator works to increase the museum's capacity to preserve and interpret African American music and performing arts through research projects, exhibitions, digital presentations, collections development and public and educational programs, and publications.  Duties include:

• research, including initiating developing and conducting research projects in the area of African American museum and the performing arts, especially popular traditions of the 20th and 21st centuries;
• collections, including participating in the long-term development and maintenance of collections and information pertaining to those collections or exhibitions;
• encouraging the donation of appropriate objects or of funds to make acquisitions;
• exhibitions, including planning and implementing exhibition projects that promote scholarly and public interest in African American music and the performing arts; and
• public service functions to consult and advise colleagues, educational institutions, research foundations, other government agencies and the public.

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

Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal Service or comparable pay band system. For this position specialized experience is defined as conducting scholarly research and producing publications related to music and the performing arts; participating in public service efforts; developing a collection of artifacts; serving as a consultant on professional matters relating to music and the performing arts; answering public inquiries.

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.

For a full explanation of this option please see the Qualification Standards. 

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:

1. Skill in conducting research for and about African American music and the performing arts.
2. Ability to communicate in writing research information pertaining to the history or music and the performing arts by and about African Americans.
3. Ability to organize, develop, maintain and refine collections of artifacts illustrating and documenting music and the performing arts by and about African Americans.
4. Skill in planning and implementing museum exhibitions, programs and publications related to the field of music and the performing arts by and about African Americans.
5. Ability to communicate orally with colleagues, educational institutions, research foundations, government agencies, and the public.

Applicants who meet or exceed minimum qualifications will be assigned to one of three category groups based on 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 or apply the "rule of three", but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category. A selecting official may make selections from the highest quality category (Best Category) provided no preference eligible in that category is passed over to select a non-preference eligible in that category unless the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 3317(b) or 3318(b) are satisfied. Preference eligibles 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.