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Summary

The National Gallery of Art welcomes all people to explore art, creativity, and our shared humanity. Millions of people come through our doors each year, with even more online, making us one of the most visited art museums in the world. Our renowned collection includes over 160,000 works of art, from the ancient world to today. Admission to the West and East Buildings, Sculpture Garden, special exhibitions, and public programs is always free. 

Overview

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Accepting applications
Posted today · Apply by 07/27/26
Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on July 27, 2026
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—-Ad Hoc
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$169,279 - $197,200 per year

The salary range listed is an approximation and subject to locality adjustment.

Pay scale & grade
GS 15
Promotion potential
15
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
Occasional travel - 10% domestic and international travel is required
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
Yes
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
No
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Other
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
NGA-26-200-MP
Control number
876270000

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open to current federal employees and special hiring authorities under merit procedures. More than one selection may be made from this vacancy announcement.

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Duties

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The National Gallery of Art serves the United States in a national role by preserving, collecting, exhibiting, and fostering the understanding of works of art at the highest possible museum and scholarly standards. The Division of Paintings and Sculpture is responsible for the Gallery’s acquisition, care, study, and display of a world-class collection of European and American paintings and sculpture. The incumbent is an established scholar and recognized connoisseur and serves as Museum Curator (Head of Northern European Paintings) reporting to the Head of European and American Art.

Duties for this position include.

  • Proposing, organizing, and coordinating or overseeing the development of major and minor exhibitions of Northern European Renaissance and Baroque paintings both from the Gallery's holdings and from other institutions and private collections. 
  • Managing over 370 Old Master paintings in the permanent collection. 
  • Performing and/or delegating scholarly and technical work to ensure thorough, up-to-date cataloguing, safe and orderly storage, and documentation of Northern European paintings belonging to the Gallery or proposed as gifts, purchases and loans. 
  • Ensuring timely and accurate maintenance of The Museum System (TMS) database entries for permanent collections and exhibition objects. 
  •  Evaluating loan requests from other institutions to borrow paintings for special exhibitions; making recommendations for loan decisions and special loan conditions.
  • Performing and overseeing advanced scholarly research on Northern European Renaissance and Baroque paintings in the collection and on prospective acquisitions, or in the areas of special expertise, and for inclusion or examination in exhibitions, scholarly journals, Gallery publications, lectures, and symposia.                                       

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a United States Citizen.
  • This employer participates in the e-Verify program.
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service
  • See "Other Information" section regarding Selective Service requirements.
  • Suitable for Federal employment, determined by a background investigation
  • May be required to successfully complete a supervisory probationary period

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 viewable on OPM Website. It is your responsibility to ensure that you submit appropriate documentation prior to the closing date. Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must highlight your most relevant and significant experience as it relates to this job announcement. Be clear and specific when describing your work history since human resources cannot make assumptions regarding your 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). Your resume must include the dates of all qualifying experience (from month/year to month/year) and the number of hours worked/volunteered per week.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

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

OR

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

OR

C. 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 A above.

Specialized Experience StatementCandidates must possess at least one year of specialized experience, equivalent in responsibility to the GS-14 level in the Federal service or private sector preforming and overseeing advanced scholarly research on Northern European Renaissance and Baroque paintings for a art museum. 

OPM Qualifications Standard:

Individual Occupational Requirements: Museum Curator Series 1015 Associated Group standard:  Group Coverage Qualification Standard for Professional and Scientific Positions

Other Relevant Eligibility Criteria: None

You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

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.

Merit promotion applicants must meet the time-in-grade requirement as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F. One year at the GS-14 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-15 level. 

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.

Note: Applicants who are referred to the hiring office for selection consideration may be required to submit writing and/or work samples as part of the interview/selection process. If the hiring office decides to request a writing and/or work sample as part of its selection process, the vacancy contact will reach out to you by email to: (1) inform you of this requirement; and (2) provide further instructions.

Education

This position has an education requirement. 

Education must be obtained from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Foreign education must be reviewed by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website.

Additional information

The National Gallery of Art fosters a diverse and inclusive workplace and is an Equal Opportunity Employer. EEO Policy: http://help.usajobs.gov/equal-employment-opportunity

More than one selection may be made from this vacancy announcement.

This position is not included in the bargaining unit.

Relocation expenses will not be paid.

Some positions may require completion of a probationary period of up to 1 (one) year.

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.

EEO Policy: https://help.usajobs.gov/equal-employment-opportunity
Reasonable Accommodation Policy: https://help.usajobs.gov/reasonable-accommodation
Veterans Information: https://help.usajobs.gov/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/veterans
Selective Service Registration: http://www.sss.gov/

Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA): To be eligible for a VEOA appointment under Merit Promotion procedures, the veteran must be a preference eligible or a veteran separated after 3 years or more of continuous active service performed under honorable conditions.
Noncompetitive Appointment Authorities: For more information on noncompetitive appointment authority eligibility requirements visit the following websites:

Reasonable Accommodation Requests:

To learn more, please consult the following resources:

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.

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses to the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): 

  • Administration and Management
  •  Technical Competence
  • Manages Resources
  •  Research
  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service

A Subject Matter Expert (SME) will conduct a quality review of your application and supporting documentation to determine if your qualifications meet the criteria for referral to the selecting official. 

All qualified non-competitive applicants and all qualified Merit applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

The National Gallery of Art uses an application tracking system to evaluate the responses you provide in the applicant assessment questionnaire to determine if you meet the minimum qualification requirements of this position. Then, the HR Office and/or Subject Matter Expert (SME) will conduct a quality review of your application and supporting documentation to determine if your qualifications meet the criteria for referral to the selecting official.


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National Gallery of Art

The National Gallery of Art welcomes all people to explore art, creativity, and our shared humanity. Millions of people come through our doors each year—with even more online—making us one of the most visited art museums in the world. Our renowned collection includes over 160,000 works of art, from the ancient world to today. Admission to the West and East Buildings, Sculpture Garden, special exhibitions, and public programs is always free. Every day, hundreds of employees—from electricians to data analysts, educators to carpenters—bring the nation’s art museum to life for all to enjoy.

Agency contact information

Staffing
Phone
202-842-6814
Fax
000-000-0000
Email
staffing@nga.gov
Address
National Gallery of Art
4th and Constitution Avenue NW,
Washington, District of Columbia 20565
United States

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