Clarification from the agency

This position is open to all U.S. Citizens or U.S. Nationals. More than one selection may be made from this announcement.

The Museum Curator performs scholarly research, defines and implements plans for development of a pre-eminent collection in the Center for the Study of Global Slavery (CSGS) and crossover work across Centers for the African American Religious Life (CSAARL), Community Curation and African American Media Arts (CAAMA) and work with the Office of Curatorial Affairs (OCA) divisions of history, art and culture.

In this position, you will:

• initiate, develop, and personally participate in research programs.
• prepare for publication, scholarly reports of a descriptive and theoretical nature based on field of work, on study of collections in this and other institutions, and on the existing scholarly publications.
• define and implement plan for development of a pre-eminent collection in any specialty field of African American history and culture (e.g., Global Slavery, Religious Life, Community Curation and Media Arts).
• collect, curate and interpret work around the subject of Community life.
• participate in conferences, symposia, programs for professional audiences and the public to share research, collections, and projects related to slavery and the slave trade.

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 Education Requirement:

1.  Degree: museum work; or in an applicable subject-matter field.

or

2.  Combination of education and experience -- courses equivalent to a major, as shown in 1 above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

or

3.  Four years of experience that provided knowledge comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of the 4-year course of study as shown in 1 above.

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-11 level in the Federal Service.  For this position, specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience initiating, developing and conducting research projects; producing scholarly publications and/or exhibitions related to the field of the slave trade and/or community life; participating in public service efforts; responding to public inquiries and media requests.

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.

For a full explanation of this option please see the Qualification Standards. 

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:

1. Skill in conducting research for and about the history of slavery; the slave trade and African and diasporan movements for freedom.
2. Ability to communicate in writing.
3. Ability to organize, manage, develop and refine archival and material culture collections illustrating and documenting the history of slavery; the slave trade and African and diasporan movements for freedom.
4. Ability to organize, manage, develop and refine archival and material culture collection documenting community life in African American and Afro Diasporan experience.
5. Ability to communicate orally.

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.