The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo. The position is located within the Department of Vertebrate Zoology, NMNH. The purpose of this position is to supervise the work of the Division as a first level supervisor in accordance with the established collections management policies and procedures of the zoology departments in NMNH.
Summary
The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo. The position is located within the Department of Vertebrate Zoology, NMNH. The purpose of this position is to supervise the work of the Division as a first level supervisor in accordance with the established collections management policies and procedures of the zoology departments in NMNH.
Smithsonian Institution employees with the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), may apply including current Smithsonian Institution employees with Federal career/career-conditional status or eligibility.
More than one selection may be made from this announcement.
The Supervisory Museum Specialist (Zoology), involved in precise technical and analytical aspects of collections, curation, and research support, including the transportation, preparation, registration, preservation, storage, information management, and utilization of specimens in the National Collections within the zoology specialization of the incumbent's department.
In this position, you will:
Performs independent and technically complex assignments and collections management duties including the preparation and curation of all types of fish specimens.
Oversees and/or trains on processing and distribution of scientific ichthyology specimens and collection items entering the Department.
Plans and manages significant movement of collections to include shipping manifests, usage and rights agreements, import/export permits, and other permits necessary for the movement of regulated wildlife.
Performs a full range of supervisory duties to accomplish work of the organizational unit.
Serves as primary transaction database administrator for the collection.
Requires career/career-conditional status or eligibility.
Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.
May be required to serve an 18-month
probationary period for supervisors.
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, including one year time-in-grade at the next lower grade level for promotion candidates, must be met by the closing date of the announcement. See the 'Required Documents' section for additional information.
For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions viewable on OPM Website.
Qualifications
Experience: You must have one year of full-time experience at the GS-11 grade level in the Federal Service or comparable pay band system that is close or similar to the operation or management of a museum or similar collection of valuable objects. For this position specialized experience is defined as experience organizing and managing an ichthyological collection for a museum, scientific or educational organization; experience in either a field or laboratory setting collecting and making specimen preparations of two of the following three types: fluid-preserved, skeleton or tissue; and handling the accessioning, cataloging, registration and collection documentation of ichthyology collection items for an 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.
Additional information
This position is not 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);
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 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:
Knowledge of the concepts, principles, standards, methodology, and practices in the area of ichthyology (study of fishes) to carry out difficult and complex collections management work assignments for a scientific collection of fishes.
Knowledge of collection management procedures and policies for a large scientific collection of vertebrates, including cataloging and accessioning specimens, entering and retrieving data from computer catalogs, and facilitating research, specifically for ichthyology collection items, gained through work experience.
Knowledge of relevant technical literature, complex regulations and related documents and collecting techniques that govern scientific collecting and transportation including importing, exporting, packing, and national/international shipment of fishes.
Ability to supervise staff and contractors in a Museum, gained through work experience as a supervisor, work leader or Senior Specialist in handling ichthyology collections in a museum, educational organization, science center or scientific organization.
Ability to use a variety of computer software applications and sophisticated database software for natural history collections to develop, enter, modify, query data, and produce reports associated with specimens of fishes, gained through work experience.
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.
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.
Current and former employees MUST submit a copy of their Standard Form (SF)-50, “Notice of Personnel Action,” that indicates proof of status and time-in-grade eligibility. The SF-50 must include your position title, series, grade, step, salary, type of service (competitive or excepted in block 34), and tenure (1 or 2 in block 24). Please provide a SF-50 that shows the length of time you have been in your current/highest grade level. Examples of appropriate SF50s include: Appointments, Reassignments, Within-grade/range increases or Promotion actions. NOTE: Pay adjustments and award SF-50s do not include the length of time in your current position, therefore, they are NOT acceptable SF-50’s on their own. You may need to provide more than one SF-50.
Time-in-Grade Requirements: Under competitive merit promotion procedures, any individual who is currently holding, or who has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under a non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet "time-in-grade" requirements (have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade of the grade for which you are applying).
All current federal employees must submit a copy of their most recent performance appraisal.
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.
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.
Current and former employees MUST submit a copy of their Standard Form (SF)-50, “Notice of Personnel Action,” that indicates proof of status and time-in-grade eligibility. The SF-50 must include your position title, series, grade, step, salary, type of service (competitive or excepted in block 34), and tenure (1 or 2 in block 24). Please provide a SF-50 that shows the length of time you have been in your current/highest grade level. Examples of appropriate SF50s include: Appointments, Reassignments, Within-grade/range increases or Promotion actions. NOTE: Pay adjustments and award SF-50s do not include the length of time in your current position, therefore, they are NOT acceptable SF-50’s on their own. You may need to provide more than one SF-50.
Time-in-Grade Requirements: Under competitive merit promotion procedures, any individual who is currently holding, or who has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under a non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet "time-in-grade" requirements (have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade of the grade for which you are applying).
All current federal employees must submit a copy of their most recent performance appraisal.
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.
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:
