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Summary

The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo.  This position is located in Registration, Collections Management Services, Museum Collections and Operations, National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), Under Secretary for Museums and Culture (USMC), Smithsonian Institution. (SI)

Overview

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Accepting applications
Location
Few vacancies in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—Ad Hoc only
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$121,785 - $158,322 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Promotion potential
13
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time - Full-Time, Permanent
Appointment type
Permanent - Federal
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
Yes
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
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
Announcement number
26R-BY-314593-DEU-NMAI
Control number
886301700

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This position is open to all U.S. Citizens or U.S. Nationals. Note: Federal employees with permanent status or individuals eligible for special appointing authorities may also apply to Job Announcement # More than one selection may be made from this announcement.

Duties

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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.

Requirements

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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

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.

Education

Education cannot be substituted at this grade level.

Additional information

  • This position is not included in the bargaining unit.

Recruitment Incentive: Recruitment incentive(s) may be authorized for this position.  However, approval for incentives are contingent upon various availability. If authorized, certain incentives will require the incumbent to sign a service agreement to remain in the Federal government for a certain time period.

Note: This statement does not imply nor guarantee an incentive will be offered and paid.

Selections may be made for vacancies across the Smithsonian Institution (SI). By applying to this position, you agree to allow your application and other personal information to be shared with one or more SI hiring officials for employment consideration for same/similar positions within the location(s) identified in this announcement.

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.

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:

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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. 

  • 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.

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.


You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Smithsonian Institution

Join the Smithsonian Institution, the world's largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums, 14 education and research centers, and the National Zoo, in "Inspiring Generations through Knowledge and Discovery."

Agency contact information

HR Specialist
Phone
202-633-0000
Fax
202-633-6401
Email
personal.email.address@si.edu
Address
SMITHSONIAN
Office of Human Resources
POB 37012, 600 Maryland Avenue, MRC 517
Suite 5060
Washington, District of Columbia 20013-7012
United States

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