Current Smithsonian Institution Internal Employees/Agency Employees Only may apply including current Smithsonian Institution employees with Federal career/career-conditional status or eligibility.

• Manages the curatorial function as a recognized scholar in the field of American art.
• Determines the direction and emphases of the research, publications, acquisitions and exhibitions of the office; organization of the personnel, fiscal and other office resources; responsibility for proper management of the office's budget; and supervision of diverse curatorial, technical and support staff.
• Lectures and serves as a juror and performing similar public service tasks.
• Maintains contact with artists, galleries, and collectors.

Conditions of employment

• Requires career/career-conditional status or eligibility.
• May be required to serve an 18-month probationary period for supervisors.

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.

For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions viewable on the web at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications.

Qualifications

You must meet these Basic Education Requirements:

(A) Degree: museum work; or in an applicable subject-matter field

OR

(B) Combination of education and experience -- courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education

OR

(C) Four years of experience that provided knowledge comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of the 4-year course of study as shown in A above.

In addition to Basic Requirements above, you must have following:

Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-13 level in the Federal Service or comparable pay band system.  For this position Specialized experience is defined as managing a curatorial department within an art museum, developing a long-term plan and vision for that department, having knowledge of and experience with American Art, supervising staff, and communicating with individuals at all levels both inside out outside the organization.

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: If there is an Education substitution please input the requirement here. If there is no Education substitution please delete this section and the language below.

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.

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. Ability to manage and oversee the Curatorial Department of art museum including developing a long-term plan/vision that is tailored to meet current and future needs of the organization.
2. Knowledge of American Art.
3. Ability to supervise a museum based curatorial staff.
4. Ability to communicate orally with all levels of staff inside and outside an organization including management, staff, subordinates, collectors, donors and comparable positions within other museums.
5. Ability to communicate in writing including preparing written materials for management, staff, exhibitions, collections, loans and publications.

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.