The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo. This position is located in the Design Studio, Office of Building Renovation & Exhibition Service, National Museum of American History (NMAH), Under Secretary for Museums & Culture, Smithsonian Institution (SI). The Design Studio performs various design services within NMAH, relating to such things as exhibitions, programs, public spaces, and graphics.
Summary
The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo. This position is located in the Design Studio, Office of Building Renovation & Exhibition Service, National Museum of American History (NMAH), Under Secretary for Museums & Culture, Smithsonian Institution (SI). The Design Studio performs various design services within NMAH, relating to such things as exhibitions, programs, public spaces, and graphics.
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).
The purpose of this Visual Information Specialist position is to provide in-house design services for exhibitions, programs, public spaces, and graphics, as well as to manage the design process for major exhibitions, programming spaces, and public space renovations.
In this position, you will:
Lead project teams through the design and fabrication processes transforming intellectual content into three-dimensional built environments, printed graphics and assets, virtual environments, and multi-media delivery systems within the built environment; be responsible for conceptualizing, ideating, planning, visualizing, developing, documenting, detailing, and coordinating the design of all aspects of assigned projects, including interpretation of and compliance with criteria, regulations, policies, procedures, standards, and best practices.
Create assets including comprehensive phase-end deliverables, detail packages for in-house or contracted exhibit/graphic fabrication, interim design presentations for teams, museum leadership and other stakeholders, as well as renderings, visualizations, or other products for the purposes of fundraising, publicity, and other external communications.
Coordinate communication between project teams and technical experts in exhibition fabrication and maintenance, exhibit lighting, audio/visual technology, media and software development, accessibility, facility maintenance, and operations.
Work with curators, collection managers, conservation specialists, mount makers and other specialists to balance a project’s interpretive and experience goals with artifact conservation, preservation, and security requirements.
Coordinate between Project Directors, curators, exhibit developers, educators, other team members or museum staff contributing to script writing/review, editors, and translators on the creation and implementation of a project’s interpretive strategy and graphics including final typesetting, creation of graphic production files and proof review.
Approve and execute recommendations for the solicitation, selection, and award of basic contracts in support of specific programs and may serve as the contracting officer’s technical representative (COTR), developing appropriate and comprehensive scopes of work, assembling procurement documents, monitoring progress of contracts, certifying deliverables and approving payment.
NOTE: The duties described are at the full performance level of the GS-13; the duties at the GS-11 & GS-12 are developmental leading to the GS-13.
Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer
Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.
Conditions of Employment:
Incumbent must be able to obtain and maintain a Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) Level II certification.
More than one selection may be made from this announcement.
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.
BASIS OF RATING: Once the announcement closes, your application will be automatically evaluated and rated by the system and a Human Resources Specialist. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your application and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the occupational questionnaire. The numeric rating you receive is based on your responses to the questionnaire. The score is a measure of the degree to which your background matches the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of this position. If, after the Human Resources Specialist reviews your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that the score you have received is not a true reflection of your qualifications and/or experience, your score can and will be adjusted to more accurately reflect the information you provided that support your abilities. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Your resume should provide detailed information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.
Qualifications
To qualify at the GS-11:
Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the Federal Service. For this position, specialized experience is defined as 1) Assisting in the transformation of content into designs that are relevant, accessible, and engaging; 2) Contributing design skills and technical knowledge to conceptualize, communicate, and document designs for museum exhibition or similar projects; 3) Participating in the collaboration within a creative studio environment and on multiple project teams; and 4) Assisting with multiple projects in various phases of design simultaneously.
Or Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.M., if related.
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.
Note: Only graduate education in excess of two years is qualifying for combination.
To qualify at the GS-12:
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. For this position, specialized experience is defined as 1) Transforming content into museum exhibitions that are relevant, accessible, and engaging; 2) Applying design skills and technical knowledge to conceptualize, communicate, and document designs for museum exhibition or similar projects; 3) Collaborating in a creative studio environment and on multiple project teams; and 4) Working on multiple projects in various phases of design simultaneously.
To qualify at the GS-13:
Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal Service. For this position, specialized experience is defined as 1) Overseeing the transformation of content into museum exhibitions that are relevant, accessible, and engaging; 2) Using expert design skills and technical knowledge to conceptualize, communicate, and document designs for museum exhibition or similar projects; 3) Leading the collaboration in a creative studio environment and on multiple project teams; and 4) Leading multiple projects in various phases of design simultaneously.
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.
IF AN APPLICANT IS FOUND TO BE BEST-QUALIFIED, THEY WILL BE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT A WORK SAMPLE (PORTFOLIO). DETAILS WILL BE FORWARDED TO THOSE BEST-QUALIFIED CANDIDATES.
Education
Refer to the above for education requirement. Education cannot be substituted for experience at the GS-12 & GS-13 grade levels.
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.
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:
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.
Additional Note: Non-federal or status employees may also apply to 23R-RS-309593-DEU-NMAH.
Selections may be made for vacancies across the Smithsonian Institution (SI). By applying to this position, you agree to allow your application and other personal information to be shared with one or more SI hiring officials for employment consideration for same/similar positions within the location(s) identified in this announcement.
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:
All grade levels:
Comprehensive, Expert, or Mastery Knowledge (depending on the grade level) in the design and development of museum exhibitions and programming spaces from concept through installation and maintenance sufficient to analyze risk, monitor progress, troubleshoot problems, and craft appropriate solutions to achieve project goals -- including schedule, scope, and budget.
Comprehensive, Expert, or Mastery Knowledge (depending on the grade level) of exhibition design concepts, tools, and processes (both two- and three- dimensional drawing) including the use of software such as VectorWorks, Adobe Creative Design Suite, and similar to ideate, visualize, document and detail-built environments and exhibitions as well as environmental and interpretive graphics.
Comprehensive, Expert, or Mastery Knowledge (depending on the grade level) of exhibition and graphic fabrication materials and techniques and architectural materials and techniques related to the design and construction of museums, exhibitions, and programming spaces.
GS-11 only:
Knowledge of graphic design best practices including typography, typesetting, branding and graphic identity creation and management, bilingual graphic design, image manipulation and environmental graphic design.
GS-11 & GS-12:
Knowledge of the use of color and light, exhibit lighting design and the materials and methods used to display/protect museum artifacts.
Experience working with/for contract design firms and reading architectural drawings, shop drawings, and other contracted design deliverables.
GS-12 & GS-13:
Comprehensive knowledge of graphic design best practices including typography, typesetting, branding and graphic identity creation and management, bilingual graphic design, image manipulation and environmental graphic design.
GS-13 only:
Skill in the use of color and light, exhibit lighting design and the materials and methods used to display/protect museum artifacts.
Extensive experience working with/for contract design firms and reading architectural drawings, shop drawings, and other contracted design deliverables.
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.
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).
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.
All current federal employees must submit a copy of their most recent performance appraisal.
Proof of Veteran's Preference - DD214 (Member 4 Copy) if you are requesting a special appointment authority, such as VRA or VEOA
Proof of severe disability if you are requesting special placement consideration.
Proof of eligibility for a military spouse appointment, such as a permanent change station military order.
Proof of eligibility for any other special appointing authority not specifically mentioned here.
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
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.
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).
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.
All current federal employees must submit a copy of their most recent performance appraisal.
Proof of Veteran's Preference - DD214 (Member 4 Copy) if you are requesting a special appointment authority, such as VRA or VEOA
Proof of severe disability if you are requesting special placement consideration.
Proof of eligibility for a military spouse appointment, such as a permanent change station military order.
Proof of eligibility for any other special appointing authority not specifically mentioned here.
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
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.
