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Associate Director of Public Engagement and Learning

Smithsonian Institution

Summary

The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex. The Smithsonian American Women's History Museum creates, educates, disseminates & amplifies the historical record of the accomplishments of American women. This position is located organizationally in Public Engagement and Learning (PEL), Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum, Under Secretary for Museums and Culture, Smithsonian Institution (SI).

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
01/26/2026 to 02/10/2026
Salary
$143,913 to - $187,093 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 14
Location
Washington, DC
FEW vacancies
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—Ad hoc Only
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Occasional travel may be required.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent - Federal
Work schedule
Full-time - Full-Time, Permanent
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
14
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
26R-SC-313154-DEU-SAWHM
Control number
855446900

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This position is open to all U.S. Citizens or U.S. Nationals. Note: Federal employees with permanent status or individuals eligible for special appointing authorities may also apply to Job Announcement #26R-SC-313154-MPA-SAWHM More than one selection may be made from this announcement.

Duties

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The Associate Director of Public Engagement and Learning directs and supervises staff and activities, providing leadership on a national level to advance the museum's mission

In this position, you will:

  • Craft a vision, actionable strategy and national program of teaching and learning history, relevant to a wide range of public audiences from across the country.
  • Develop interpretive strategies for galleries, exhibitions and public spaces, which include digital media, docents, youth performers and pop-up programs.
  • Provide project management and project leadership - from concepting to implementation - of digital engagement strategies, leveraging significant subject matter expertise in instructional design, digital learning strategies and highly interactive digital media educational solutions.
  • Participate in national networks of other public engagement and education leaders.
  • Exercise technical and administrative supervisory controls that are in keeping with a first-level supervisory position with one subordinate supervisor overseeing a few positions, craft position descriptions, hire and train staff, set priorities for quarterly and annual goals.
  • Create federal and trust budgets. Parter extensively with Advancement to identify opportunities for funding, donor cultivation and stewardship.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

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

Conditions of Employment

Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.

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

Qualifications

Basic Requirement: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) that included or was supplemented by major study in education or in a subject-matter field appropriate to the position.

In addition to the basic qualification requirement above:

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.  For this position, specialized experience is defined as managing the education and public engagement functions of a cultural institution; overseeing educational content development; creating internal and external partnerships; designing public engagement and learning programs; formulating goals and priorities and ensuring they are achieved; evaluating staff performance; determining interpretive strategies for physical and virtual exhibitions; overseeing educators, partnership specialists, program coordinators, and others in developing programs for K-12 and the general public; and participating in national networks of other public engagement and education leaders. 

Your resume must be no more than two (2) pages and should clearly demonstrate how your experience aligns with the responsibilities and specialized experience required for this position. Do not copy language directly from the vacancy announcement, as you will be deemed ineligible for consideration. Instead, provide detailed, descriptive information about your actual experience.

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 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. 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

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. 

Additional information

  • This position is not included in the bargaining unit.

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.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Applicants for this position may be evaluated in multiple stages. The first stage is an evaluation of your responses to the online multiple-choice questions that assess your experience, education, and/or training for the job related competencies below:

  • Skill leading the education and public engagement department of a museum, setting vision, and aligning programs with the museum's mission.
  • Skill developing multi-year strategies for all dimensions of learning and audience engagement for onsite visitors, program participants and online visitors.
  • Knowledge of disciplines underlying new media and digital products including we applications, streaming videos, online interactive multimedia programs, tools and databases.
  • Ability to collaborate and build relationships with schools, educators, funders, community members, and other stakeholders.
  • Ability to supervise staff and volunteers, motivate teams, and foster collaboration within the organization.
  • Ability to develop and manage departmental budgets, projects, and resources effectively.

Applicants who meet or exceed minimum qualifications will be assigned to one of three category groups based on job-related criteria:

  • Best Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and excels in most of the job related competencies above.
  • Better Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and satisfies most of the job related competencies above.
  • Good Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements, but does not satisfy most of the job related competencies above to a substantive degree.

This category rating process does not add veterans' preference points or apply the "rule of three", but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category. A selecting official may make selections from the highest quality category (Best Category) provided no preference eligible in that category is passed over to select a non-preference eligible in that category unless the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 3317(b) or 3318(b) are satisfied. Preference eligibles who meet minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-9 grade level or higher. Applicants who have not submitted a resume in the USAjobs system and/or have not answered all of the vacancy questions will not be considered for this position.

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.


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