Clarification from the agency

This Merit Promotion position is open to Current Federal Employees and Former Federal Employees with permanent status or reinstatement eligibility. Individuals who are eligible for a special appointing authority may also apply such as Individuals with Disabilities (Schedule A), former Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, and Vista volunteers; certain Military Spouses, or individuals eligible under various programs for Veterans (VRA, VEOA, 30% disabled).

The Supervisory Registrar is responsible for accountability of the Museum's permanent collections which include objects, paper archives, photographic archives and media archives through the establishment and maintenance of accession records and inventory processes.

In this position, you will:

• Oversee the inventory and movements of the collections. Coordinate an annual cyclical inventory of randomly selected items to verify the location and documentation of an appropriate subset of NMAI’s collections and reports results to the NMAI senior and executive management and the Smithsonian’s National Collections Office.
  
  
• Manage the acquisition of gifts and donations to the collection, de-accessions, and disposals and serve as funds manager for federal and trust resources used for acquisitions. Oversee receipt of all incoming offers and collection items to NMAI for consideration as acquisitions and is 
  responsible for their subsequent disposition.
  
  
• Ensure accurate and appropriate documentation for the cataloguing of collections lots and as needed, individual items, within NMAI’s collections information system.
  
  
• Oversee an extremely active incoming and outgoing loan program in accordance with SI and NMAI approval processes, requirements, and policies. Responsible for NMAI’s loan policies, compiles and presents loan documentation, findings, and recommendations for loans and loan renewals to NMAI’s Curatorial Council.
  
  
• Provide overall direction and management to registration staff to include the establishment of work priorities, goals, assignments and schedules to meet NMAI goals.

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, 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-12 level in the Federal Service.  For this position, specialized experience is defined as bearing responsibility for the accountability of the collections, managing collections acquisitions and cataloguing, arranging for incoming and outgoing collections loans, and managing staff in the Office of the Registrar in
a medium-to-large museum (i.e., setting priorities, assigning work, holding team meetings, and delegating authority to subordinate staff and monitoring performance).

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.

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:

1. Knowledge of effective strategies and processes for implementing collections inventories and collections moves to facilitate museum operations, recover misplaced items, or identify the history of unexpected items found in the collections.
   
   
2. Knowledge of the legal and ethical requirements of establishing ownership or title to gifts and donations and knowledge of museum practices for acquisition, accession, de-acquisition, and deaccession procedures and the information, documents, and protective environments for these 
   resources.
   
   
3. Knowledge of museum information resources, skill in documenting museum collections to professional 
   practices, and the ability to apply computer technologies to museum information to gather, input, 
   analyze information, and produce reports—such as an object condition report drawing upon knowledge 
   of collections conservation concerns.
   
   
4. Ability to implement established museum practices to negotiate appropriate terms and conditions for 
   loans, insurance requirements, local, national and international shipping methods and bills of 
   lading, standards for crates and crate storage, applicable regulations and conventions, and packing 
   and display methods to ensure the security and physical safety of collections items. 
   
   
5. Ability to supervise and manage staff, set work expectations and schedules, ensure a culture of a safe work environment and safe work practices, assess and improve workflows and processes and evaluate and report on results in the federal government environment.

BASIS OF RATING:  Once the announcement closes, your application will be automatically evaluated and rated by the system and a Human Resources Specialist. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your application and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the occupational questionnaire. The numeric rating you receive is based on your responses to the questionnaire. The score is a measure of the degree to which your background matches the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of this position. If, after the Human Resources Specialist reviews your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that the score you have received is not a true reflection of your qualifications and/or experience, your score can and will be adjusted to more accurately reflect the information you provided that support your abilities. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Your resume should provide detailed information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.