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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 National Air and Space Museum's (NASM) Archives Division. The NASM Archives Division is responsible for properly protecting its archival collections and guaranteeing control over them. 

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
11/27/2024 to 12/04/2024
Salary
$99,200 to - $128,956 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Location
Washington, DC
FEW vacancies
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - May be Required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent - Federal
Work schedule
Full-time - Full-Time, Permanent
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
12
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
25R-ID-311823-MPA-NASM
Control number
821107900

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Current Smithsonian Institution Internal Employees/Agency Employees Only 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.

Duties

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The Archivist works with other National Air and Space staff, Smithsonian's Digital Program Office, and external partners to design, expand and maintain born-digital and digitized content.

In this position, you will:

  • Conduct research to identify and document the digital files acquired, performed thorough risk assessment and selection of appropriate preservation strategies.
  • Develop and deliver digital preservation educational programming for NASM Archives staff to advance the awareness of digital preservation issues and best practices, and to advance the skills of NASM Archives staff to take appropriate digital preservation measures in their own collection context.
  • Provide day-to-day management of the born digital and digital surrogate assets and activities.
  • Provide research and reference service promptly and effectively to NASM staff, scholars and members of the public.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Requires career/career-conditional status or eligibility.
  • Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.
  • Requires periods of standing, walking, bending, stretching and reaching.
  • Must be able to lift, carry and transport containers of up to 40 pounds.
  • Must be able to safely climb a ladder.

Conditions of Employment

Qualification requirements, including one year time-in-grade at the next lower grade level for promotion candidates, must be met within 30 days of the job announcement closing date. 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

All applicants must meet these Basic Requirements: (You must submit unofficial academic transcripts): 

Education: 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 above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

In addition to the basic qualification requirement above, applicants must also meet the following minimum qualifications:

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 experience processing and digitizing archival collections; cataloguing and formatting collections in computerized databases or digital asset management systems; conducting archival research to validate, update and correct existing collections data; and utilizing archival processing tools and cataloging standards

OR

Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree if directly related to the work of the position. Related degrees may include library and information science, archival studies, and archival science.  

OR

A combination of related Ph.D. level education and specialized experience as described above.

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.

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.

Education

Refer to the Qualifications section above for the Education requirements. 

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);
  • 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.

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.

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 identify and apply professional standards and technologies to the appraisal, management, preservation, and access of digital historical and technological collections.
  2. Knowledge of current digital preservation, web archiving and electronic records management technologies and best practices to collect and preserve records.
  3. Skilled in turning born digital and digitized collections into a single functional and accessible archive that adheres to professional, legal and ethical standards.
  4. Ability to communicate in writing to coordinate outreach activities and respond to a diverse clientele in person, by telephone, online, and in formal correspondence.

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.


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