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 National Portrait Gallery (NPG). The mission of the National Portrait Gallery is to tell the story of America by portraying the people who shape the nation’s history, development and culture.
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 National Portrait Gallery (NPG). The mission of the National Portrait Gallery is to tell the story of America by portraying the people who shape the nation’s history, development and culture.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS POSITION IS OPEN TO ALL CANDIDATES ELIGIBLE TO WORK IN THE UNITED STATES.
The Conservator (Time Based Media) is responsible for preventing or treating damage and deterioration of time-based media artwork to ensure its’ long-term preservation for future generations.
In this position, you will:
Conditions of Employment
Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.
Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the grade 09 level in the Federal Service. For this position, specialized experience is defined as 1) working in a museum or archival setting assessing the condition of time-based media (film, video, born-digital/computer-generated, light-or sound-based); 2) determining format of media; 3) creating archival formats of files; 4) examining and treating digital and physical components according to American Institute for Conservation (AIC) conservation standards; and 5) documenting conservation treatments through written reports, data, and photographs.
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: 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. Education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.
Or a Combination: Education and experience may be combined to meet the basic qualifications; for example, a half year of experience and a half year of education in the field may be qualifying.
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.
There are no basic education requirements for this position.
The Smithsonian offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, vacation and sick leave, holidays, commuter benefits, health/life insurance, and accidental insurance.
Please see Benefits at www.sihr.si.edu for a complete description.
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:
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, commuter benefits, health/life insurance, and accidental insurance.
Please see Benefits at www.sihr.si.edu for a complete description.
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.
Click on the "Apply Online" button on the upper right side of the page.
Please Note:
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:
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
