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.

The Staff Assistant position assists in the executive management of the SITES | Affiliations office, serving as a confidential assistant to unit leadership, providing programmatic and operational support, overseeing key administrative processes and reporting, and supporting external engagement. 

In this position, you will:

• Serve as the senior staff assistant and liaison to other SI units, other directors, and office heads.
• Assist in the management of the office by ensuring timely, accurate communication and serving as a personal liaison between the Director, unit leadership, and key staff members.
• Arrange and manage meetings, maintain budgets and schedules, and assemble records, reports, and data.
• Coordinate travel arrangements by developing detailed itineraries and scheduling and booking all necessary travel reservations.
• Respond to requests from stakeholders, donors, and high‑level government and private‑sector officials for meetings, tours, and other accommodations.

Conditions of employment

• Requires career/career-conditional status or eligibility.
• Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.

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

Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 level in the Federal Service.  For this position, specialized experience is defined as experience performing a wide range of administrative functions, including preparing reports and correspondence, coordinating and serving as a liaison across multiple departments, and responding to inquiries by providing accurate information.

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 Education: 

Master's or equivalent graduate degree

or

2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree

or

LL.B. or J.D., 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.

In an effort to streamline our hiring process, SI employees whose current position of record is in the same job series (0301) and who are in a (Federal competitive, excepted service, or Trust appointment) as this advertised position, are not required to submit a transcript with your application package. However, if selected, you will be required to provide a copy of your transcript before your start date in the position.

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).

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:

• Knowledge of a museum, cultural or historical organization's mission, laws, policies, regulations, structure, and priorities to perform procedural duties and responsibilities related to confidential assistance, program assistance, and engagement. 
• Knowledge of management principles, practices, methods, techniques and skill in integrating administrative services, requirements, operations, and procedures to plan and coordinate functions of the office, to enhance accomplishment of the organization’s work, and to provide technical guidance.
• Knowledge of current technology and ability to learn emerging technology to search and retrieve data and information for meetings, briefings, and presentations; to prepare reports and correspondence; to prepare and submit training requests, awards, and time sheets; and to effect collaborative efforts with organization staff and external departments and units.   
• Knowledge of and skill in analytical and evaluative techniques to analyze and evaluate program effectiveness, plans, schedules, and coordination of work operations and recommend improvements in effectiveness and efficiency of work.
• Strong oral and written communication skills to clearly write, edit, and present organized, audience‑appropriate recommendations, reports, and correspondence using correct grammar and style.

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.