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.

• Performing archival records management.
• Provides research services and reference service promptly and effectively to management and staff of the Smithsonian Institution, research scholars, and members of the general public.
• Provides research services and reference service promptly and effectively to management and staff of the Smithsonian Institution, research scholars, and members of the general public.
• CMS Portal processing
• Exercises skill in archival practices to apply core archival methods and techniques as related to the unique characteristics of the Smithsonian and the Smithsonian Institution Archives collections, using knowledge of the Archives appraisal criteria and the functions and records of the Smithsonian Institution, and becoming familiar with Smithsonian history. 
• Exercises skill in archival practices to apply core archival methods and techniques as related to the unique characteristics of the Smithsonian and the Smithsonian Institution Archives collections, using knowledge of the Archives appraisal criteria and the functions and records of the Smithsonian Institution, and becoming familiar with Smithsonian history. 

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 within 30 days of the job announcement closing date.

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

Qualifications

Experience: You qualify for this position if you have 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 assisting with archival records management; processes and enters metadata.  Conducts reference services and assists in research into the history of the Smithsonian Institution.  Processes of Content Management System (CMS) transactions, and support website and/or social media platforms.  

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: 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree

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.

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:

• Ability to apply archival and records management principles, methods and techniques (such as accessioning of archives and manuscript collections and records center accessioning and disposal, arrangement, description, preservation, records acquisitions, reference and public outreach).
• Knowledge of American History and Smithsonian history and the established relationships among SI museums and research units. 
• Ability to communicate orally to assist researchers in gathering scholarly information. 
• Skill in entering, managing, editing and retrieving information utilizing a tailored Collections Management System.
• Ability to apply the principles and theoretical concepts of archival work with versatility, judgment and perception. 
• Ability to communicate in writing to create official finding aids for a museum/archives/library collections and to determine which Smithsonian facility/museum may be best suited to address an inquiry.

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.