Clarification from the agency

Please be advised that federal retired annuitant candidates may only be considered as a temporary employee if the role can be filled in that capacity.

The Gift Shops Operation Manager works under the general supervision of the Director of Retail and exercises significant authority over retail operations, financial performance, staff supervision, program development, and stakeholder engagement.

Major Duties:

• Oversees daily operations of the CVC Gift Shops to ensure consistent service standards, operational readiness, visitor flow, and safety in a high traffic retail environment.
• Independently resolves fiscal, personnel, and operational challenges associated with a specialty retail operation with diverse merchandise and high visitor volume.
• Oversees customer service delivery, Point of Sale (POS) systems, store and warehouse operations, e-commerce physical inventory, and all cash handling functions.
• Develops, monitors, and executes operating budgets; tracks revenue, labor, earnings, and profitability goals.
• Plans and manages inventory levels, auto-replenishment processes, cycle counts, and physical inventories.
• Ensures compliance with established merchandising, visual presentation, layout, and product placement standards.
• Provides administrative, technical, and professional supervision to retail staff.
• Plans organizational structure and staffing requirements; assigns duties and sets priorities.
• Reviews and approves position descriptions, personnel justifications, and selection decisions.
• Resolves employee complaints and grievances within delegated authority.
• Ensures compliance with Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) principles and nondiscriminatory workplace practices.
• Plans, develops, executes, and evaluates retail programs and promotional initiatives.
• Manages full-cycle projects involving cross-divisional teams and contractors.
• Serves as Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR), overseeing contractor performance, inspections, quality, timeliness, and budget compliance.
• Assists the Contracting Officer with contract modifications and acceptance determinations.
• Oversees projects related to Point of Sale systems, inventory systems, and other retail technologies.
• Analyzes program effectiveness and recommends improvements to policies, systems, and operations.
• Establishes and maintains collaborative relationships with internal AOC partners, including Accounting, IT, Ecommerce, Merchandise Management, Finance, Exhibits, and Education.
• Serves as a liaison with Members of Congress, Congressional staff, Capitol Historical Society, and House and Senate Gift Shops leadership.
• Represents the Gift Shops program in interagency and stakeholder engagements in accordance with established policies.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen.
• You must be able to pass a drug test.
• You must meet the definition of specialized experience.
• Your resume and question responses must demonstrate the job-related KSAs.

To be employed by the Architect of the Capitol in a paid position, an individual must meet one of the categories below:

A citizen of the United States;

A person who is lawfully admitted for permanent residence and is seeking citizenship as outlined in 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)(B);

A person who is admitted as a refugee under 8 U.S.C. 1157 or is granted asylum under 8 U.S.C. 1158 and has filed a declaration of intention to become a lawful permanent resident and then a citizen when eligible;

A person who owes allegiance to the United States (nationals of American Samoa, Swains Island, and the Northern Mariana Islands, and nationals who meet other requirements described in 8 U.S.C. 1408); or

A person who is currently an officer or employee of the Government of the United States

Qualifications

You must meet the United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements (including specialized experience and/or educational requirements) for the advertised position. You must meet all eligibility and qualifications requirements by the closing date of the job announcement. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on the OPM web site at OPM qualification standards
 
Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level.

To qualify, applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level in the Federal service (or equivalent experience) that includes:

• Managing retail operations in a high-volume environment;
• Budget development, revenue forecasting, and financial performance monitoring;
• Inventory management, merchandising, and Point of Sale systems;
• Program or project management, including contractor oversight; and
• Supervising staff and leading teams.

How you will be evaluated

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

Review your resume and responses carefully. Your eligibility for consideration and qualifications for the position will be determined based upon a review of your detailed resume and your responses to job specific self-assessment questions. 

Your resume will be evaluated based on evidence of your ability to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) for this position, possession of any specialized experience, and how well your background and experience relates to the self-assessment questions in the job announcement. The self-assessment questions relate to the following knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies:

• Retail Operations Management
• Financial & Budget Management
• Supervision & Leadership
• Program & Project Management
• Stakeholder Engagement & Communication

Your responses to the self-assessment questions serve as the basis for your initial rating. You will receive a numerical score based on your responses to these questions.  Next, your responses will be evaluated by a Human Resources Specialist and/or a subject matter expert against the information provided in your resume and optional cover letter. Your resume must support your answers to the self-assessment questions. Falsifying your background, education and/or experience is cause for non-selection or disqualification from further consideration.

Please note that a complete application is required for consideration. (Please review the “Required Documents” section of this job announcement to see what must be included in a complete application).