Clarification from the agency

This Merit Promotion position is open to Current Federal Employees and Former Federal Employees with permanent status or reinstatement eligibility. Individuals who are eligible for a special appointing authority may also apply such as Individuals with Disabilities (Schedule A), former Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, and Vista volunteers; certain Military Spouses, or individuals eligible under various programs for Veterans (VRA, VEOA, 30% disabled).

This position provides leadership and technical direction to develop strategies, services, and systems to support the Smithsonian Institution’s large-scale museum collections, archives, libraries, websites, API interfaces, digital assets and data management and preservation, and SI digital initiatives.

In this position, you will perform the following duties: 

• Responsible for managing the operations, development, and maintenance of various software application systems and system development projects for the Collections and Digital Preservation Branch. This includes managing the enterprise Digital Asset Management System (DAMS) and Collection Information Systems (CIS). Ensuring the long-term preservation of digital assets and data responsible for managing the operations, development, and maintenance of various software application systems and system development projects for the Collections and Digital Preservation Branch. This includes managing the enterprise Digital Asset Management System (DAMS) and Collection Information Systems (CIS) and ensuring the long-term preservation of digital assets and data.
• Responsible for defining, developing, and supporting digital asset management functionality; maintaining the collection information systems; integrating DAMS, collection systems and archive systems; developing recommendations, solutions, and functionality for management and preservation of digital assets and metadata; and determining business processes to promote the usage, discovery, access, and delivery of digital assets.
• Serve as an IT Project Manager with a wide range of responsibilities for IT project management. The position is the technical subject matter expert focusing on the full-life cycle of system design and development, while adhering to industry IT standards and methodologies, and conducting project management activities such as developing, tracking, and monitoring project plans, schedules, costs, risk analysis and mitigation.
• Represent the Smithsonian to professional, governmental, and industry organizations in the area of digital asset management systems, collection systems, and digital preservation. Negotiates technical working agreements with other federal agencies or cultural heritage organizations, and other public and non-profit organizations. Provides representation at inter-group coordination meetings, participates in management committees and working groups. Serves as liaison to units supporting a management committee for the DAMS.

Conditions of employment

• Requires career/career-conditional status or eligibility.
• Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.
• Pass Pre-employment Background Investigation
• May need to complete a Probationary Period
• Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer

Qualification requirements, including one year time-in-grade at the next lower grade level for promotion candidates, must be met within the closing date of the job announcement.

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

Qualifications

For GS-14 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 knowledge of metadata standards necessary to provide expert advice in resolving metadata issues associated with preserving, integrating, and sharing collections, research, library, and archives data and developing requirements for large collection of digital assets, providing storage and management of a large volume of multi-media files in multiple user communities with various need.

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.

In addition to meeting the Specialized Experience for all positions individuals must have related experience demonstrating each of the four competencies listed below:

1. Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.
2. Customer Service - Works with clients and customers (that is, any individuals who use or receive the services or products that your work unit produces, including the general public, individuals who work in the agency, other agencies, or organizations outside the Government) to assess their needs, provide information or assistance, resolve their problems, or satisfy their expectations; knows about available products and services; is committed to providing quality products and services.
3. Oral Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.
4. Problem Solving - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations.

The employing agency is responsible for identifying the specific level of proficiency required for each competency at each grade level based on the requirements of the position being filled.

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, lead and supervise technical and functional teams.

2. Knowledge of digital asset management systems and methods, collection information systems, and metadata standards so as to be able to provide expert advice in resolving metadata issues associated with managing, preserving, integrating, and sharing digitized collections media, research, library, and archives data; and developing requirements for large collections of digital assets; and providing storage and management of a large scale repository of multi-media files for diverse, multi-user communities with differing digital collection needs.

3. Ability to perform full-life cycle project management activities such as initiating, planning, monitoring, controlling, executing, and closing out.

4. Ability to communicate orally and in writing. 

Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA):  If you are applying for a VEOA appointment, you must be a veteran and must be honorably separated and either a preference eligible or have substantially completed 3 or more years of active service. ("Active Service" under this law means active duty in a uniformed service and includes full-time training duty, annual training duty, full-time National Guard duty, and attendance, while in the active service, at a school designated as a service school by law or by the Secretary concerned.) A veteran who is released under honorable conditions shortly before completing a 3-year tour is also eligible.

Noncompetitive Appointment Authorities:  The following links contain information on the eligibility requirements to be considered under a noncompetitive appointing authority:

• Primary Appointing Authorities for Career and Career-Conditional Appointments
• Hiring Authorities for Veterans
• People with Disabilities

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.