The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo—shaping the future by preserving heritage, discovering new knowledge, and sharing our resources with the world. This position is located in the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections (RRFAC), Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Smithsonian Institution.
Summary
The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo—shaping the future by preserving heritage, discovering new knowledge, and sharing our resources with the world. This position is located in the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections (RRFAC), Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Smithsonian Institution.
The Archivist of Latina/o/x History and Culture will perform collections care preservation and digitization work to increase the digital accessibility of U.S. Latina/o/x, AfroLatina/o/x, and Mestiza/o/x archival documentation.
In this position you will:
1. Translate and review translations of archival documentation between English and Spanish and vice versa as found in papers, photos, audiovisual media, and electronic records.
2. Contribute advisory services to identify, strategize, and write proposals and requests for allocations, in consultation with archives and curatorial staff. Work as part of a team to develop grant requests that result in receipt of funds conducted in collaboration with internal and external partners. Manages grant-funded projects and allocations that support archival work foregrounding collections that document U.S. Latina/o/x, Afro-Latina/o/x, and Mestiza/o/x cultures
3. Process these collections to increase digital accessibility of U.S. Latina/o/x, Afro-Latina/o/x, and Mestiza/o/x archival documentation. This involves applying knowledge of current archival principles, concepts, methodology, and procedures for activities that comprise collections processing, including organization, arrangement, rehousing, description in finding aids, inventories, and cataloging, conservation interventions, and digitization, bringing logical order to the material and making it usable and accessible to source communities, scholars, researchers, CFCH staff, and the public.
4. Apply fluency in written and spoken Spanish, along with specialized subject and cultural knowledge of the U.S. Latina/o/x, Afro-Latina/o/x, and Mestiza/o/x experience, to correct or enhance existing archival descriptions, find solutions to legacy issues such as missing or incorrect diacritics in databases, earlier versions of finding aids, and inventories, and review and revise subject headings and other descriptive language to more accurately, respectfully, and accessibly reflect the people and traditions represented in CFCH collections.
5. Support the preservation of CFCH curatorial, departmental, and administrative records by applying CFCH’s institutionally mandated records disposition schedule covering papers, photos, audiovisual media, and electronic records in order to locate, store, transfer, and process records of enduring value.
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.
Qualifications
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.
You must meet these Basic Education Requirements:
Basic Requirements:
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 in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
In addition to the Basic Requirements above you must have the following:
Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level in the Federal Service or comparable pay band system. For this position Specialized experience is defined as experience serving as an Archivist role in a museum-related, cultural, educational, or historical organization; and providing archival processing services, making collections accessible to others through archival reference services.
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.
There is no education substitution.
Education
All candidates must possess the Basic Requirements in A or B below:
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,
B. Combination of education and experience - at least 30 semester hours that included courses as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
Additional information
This position is included in the bargaining unit.
Current or Former Political Appointees: Beginning January 1, 2010, agencies must seek prior approval from OPM before they can appoint a current or recent political appointee to a competitive or non-political excepted service position at any level under the provisions of title 5, United States Code. If you are currently or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-career SES employee in the executive branch, you MUST disclose that to the Office of Human Resources. Submit a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment:
Position title;
Type of appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES, or Presidential Appointee);
Agency; and,
Beginning and ending dates of appointment.
Recruitment Incentive: Recruitment incentive(s) may be authorized for this position. However, approval for incentives are contingent upon various availability. If authorized, certain incentives will require the incumbent to sign a service agreement to remain in the Federal government for a certain time period.
Note: This statement does not imply nor guarantee an incentive will be offered and paid.
The Smithsonian offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, vacation and sick leave, holidays, health/life insurance, accident insurance, and excellent retirement program options.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Your resume will be used to evaluate your experience, education, and/or training that address the competencies below:
Knowledge to manage projects to translate or review translations of archival documentation in a variety of formats between English and Spanish and vice versa, gained through experience
Ability to manage grant-funded projects and allocations that support archival work foregrounding collections that document U.S. Latina/o/x, Afro-Latina/o/x, or Mestiza/o/x cultures, gained through experience
Ability to process collections to increase digital accessibility of U.S. Latina/o/x, Afro-Latina/o/x, or Mestiza/o/x archival documentation, gained through experience.
Ability to apply fluency in Spanish and English and subject knowledge of the U.S. Latina/o/x, Afro-Latina/o/x, or Mestiza/o/x experience, to correct archival descriptive issues, gained through experience.
Ability to manage the disposition of archival records for an organization’s records disposition schedule, gained through experience.
Ability to create archival finding aids, gained through experience.
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:
The review of your resume will determine your final rating and should provide sufficient information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.
The Smithsonian offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, vacation and sick leave, holidays, health/life insurance, accident insurance, and excellent retirement program options.
Your application package should include the following documents:
Resume - Your resume can be uploaded and attached to your application or created using the USA Jobs on-line resume builder. Ensure your resume contains the job title (including the occupational series and grade if it is Federal), job-related qualifications, starting and ending dates (month and year), hours worked per week, and salary for each employment period. It is your responsibility to ensure all information is submitted. Failure to include this information may result in disqualification for the position.
For assistance with creating a resume, please click here.
Proof of Veteran's Preference - DD214 (Member 4 Copy), if you are a veteran. Additionally, applicants claiming 10-point preference must complete Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, as well as additional documentation required by the SF-15, such as a VA letter.
Unofficial school transcripts, if the position has an education requirement or if you are using education to qualify. If selected for the position, you must provide an official transcript before appointment.
Proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study, if applicable.
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.
Click on the "Apply Online" button on the upper right side of the page. Please Note:
You must apply for this position online through the 'Apply Online' button and submit required supplemental documents (if they are relevant to you).
You may submit required documents by uploading them online during the application process; OR You may manually fax required documents. Faxes are received by an automated system, not a physical fax machine. Documents that are faxed as part of the application process must be sent with the system generated cover sheet by the closing date. Documents faxed without the system generated coversheet are not retrievable and cannot be considered as part of the application package.
The complete application package, including any required documents, is due in the Smithsonian Office of Human Resources on the closing date of the announcement by 11:59 PM Eastern Time.
If you are unable to apply online, paper applications may be accepted with prior approval of the Contact Person listed below.
SMITHSONIAN
Office of Human Resources
POB 37012, 600 Maryland Avenue, MRC 517
Suite 5060
Washington, District of Columbia 20013-7012
United States
Next steps
At the end of the application process you will be able to create and save a PDF file that contains your responses to the assessment questions. You may save this file as initial receipt of your application. After the job announcement closes, you will receive an email from the Smithsonian with confirmation of receipt. The Smithsonian receives many applications for each job. Each application is reviewed carefully which may take a few weeks. We will send you an e-mail to update you as we go through phases of the application review process. You may also check your application status by logging into www.usajobs.gov and selecting the tab "My USAJOBS;" e-mailing vacancy.info@si.edu; or by contacting the Office of Human Resources Representative listed. Additional Information:
Your application package should include the following documents:
Resume - Your resume can be uploaded and attached to your application or created using the USA Jobs on-line resume builder. Ensure your resume contains the job title (including the occupational series and grade if it is Federal), job-related qualifications, starting and ending dates (month and year), hours worked per week, and salary for each employment period. It is your responsibility to ensure all information is submitted. Failure to include this information may result in disqualification for the position.
For assistance with creating a resume, please click here.
Proof of Veteran's Preference - DD214 (Member 4 Copy), if you are a veteran. Additionally, applicants claiming 10-point preference must complete Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, as well as additional documentation required by the SF-15, such as a VA letter.
Unofficial school transcripts, if the position has an education requirement or if you are using education to qualify. If selected for the position, you must provide an official transcript before appointment.
Proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study, if applicable.
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.
Click on the "Apply Online" button on the upper right side of the page. Please Note:
You must apply for this position online through the 'Apply Online' button and submit required supplemental documents (if they are relevant to you).
You may submit required documents by uploading them online during the application process; OR You may manually fax required documents. Faxes are received by an automated system, not a physical fax machine. Documents that are faxed as part of the application process must be sent with the system generated cover sheet by the closing date. Documents faxed without the system generated coversheet are not retrievable and cannot be considered as part of the application package.
The complete application package, including any required documents, is due in the Smithsonian Office of Human Resources on the closing date of the announcement by 11:59 PM Eastern Time.
If you are unable to apply online, paper applications may be accepted with prior approval of the Contact Person listed below.
SMITHSONIAN
Office of Human Resources
POB 37012, 600 Maryland Avenue, MRC 517
Suite 5060
Washington, District of Columbia 20013-7012
United States
Next steps
At the end of the application process you will be able to create and save a PDF file that contains your responses to the assessment questions. You may save this file as initial receipt of your application. After the job announcement closes, you will receive an email from the Smithsonian with confirmation of receipt. The Smithsonian receives many applications for each job. Each application is reviewed carefully which may take a few weeks. We will send you an e-mail to update you as we go through phases of the application review process. You may also check your application status by logging into www.usajobs.gov and selecting the tab "My USAJOBS;" e-mailing vacancy.info@si.edu; or by contacting the Office of Human Resources Representative listed. Additional Information:
