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The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo. This position is located within the Office of Curatorial Affairs, Division of Medicine & Science, National Museum of American History (NMAH), Under Secretary for Museums and Culture, Smithsonian Institution (SI).
Learn more about this agency10/23/2023 to 11/27/2023
$94,199 - $122,459 per year
GS 12
No
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
25% or less - May be required.
No
Permanent - Federal
Full-time - Full-Time, Permanent
Competitive
15
No
No
24A-SA-309463-DEU-NMAH
756291400
This position is open to all U.S. Citizens or U.S. Nationals. More than one selection may be made from this announcement.
In this position the curator uses his/her knowledge in the history of science to integrate varied subdisciplines into her/his broader field, furthering the knowledge of the collection’s holdings, and fostering its stewardship. The curator deploys historical understanding, collections expertise, and an imaginative commitment to collaboration within and beyond the museum’s walls to creatively engage public audiences and stakeholders with the power of the past and engage our contemporary moment. Also perform the following duties:
Conditions of Employment
COVID-19 VACCINATION REQUIREMENTS:
For the latest information on the COVID-19 vaccination requirements and its impact on your application, click on Smithsonian Institution’s Frequently Asked Questions.
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.
All applicants must meet these Basic Requirements: (You must submit academic transcripts):
1. Four-year Degree: museum work; or in an applicable subject-matter field related to the history of science; or
2. Combination of education and experience -- courses equivalent to a major, as shown 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 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 researching, collecting, and exhibiting American culture related to history of science. Experience is demonstrated through a range of research products such as scholarly articles, teaching, lectures, oral histories, archival holding, museum or cultural institutions collections, exhibitions, and/or public programming.
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.
All applicants who meet or exceed minimum qualifications will receive a final rating within one of three category groups based on one or more stages of evaluation which measure 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, but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-veterans within each quality category. The Hiring Manager may make selections from the highest quality category (Best Category) provided no veteran in that category is passed over to select a non-veteran in that category unless the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 3317(b) or 3318(b) are satisfied. Veterans 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.
Refer to the above for Basic education requirement.
Current or Former Political Appointees: Beginning January 1, 2010, agencies must seek prior approval from OPM before they can appoint a current or recent political appointee to a competitive or non-political excepted service position at any level under the provisions of title 5, United States Code. If you are currently or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-career SES employee in the executive branch, you MUST disclose that to the Office of Human Resources. Submit a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment:
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.
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 resume that will be used to evaluate your experience, education, and/or training for the job-related competencies below:
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.
Your application package should include the following documents:
Resume - Your resume can be uploaded and attached to your application or created using the USA Jobs on-line resume builder. Ensure your resume contains the job title (including the occupational series and grade if it is Federal), job-related qualifications, starting and ending dates (month and year), hours worked per week, and salary for each employment period. It is your responsibility to ensure all information is submitted. Failure to include this information may result in disqualification for the position.
For assistance with creating a resume, please click here.Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
Click on the "Apply Online" button on the upper right side of the page. Please Note:
At the end of the application process you will be able to create and save a PDF file that contains your responses to the assessment questions. You may save this file as initial receipt of your application. After the job announcement closes, you will receive an email from the Smithsonian with confirmation of receipt. The Smithsonian receives many applications for each job. Each application is reviewed carefully which may take a few weeks. We will send you an e-mail to update you as we go through phases of the application review process. You may also check your application status by logging into www.usajobs.gov and selecting the tab "My USAJOBS;" e-mailing vacancy.info@si.edu; or by contacting the Office of Human Resources Representative listed. Additional Information:
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/756291400. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
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The Smithsonian Institution values and seeks a diverse workforce. Join us in "Inspiring Generations through Knowledge and Discovery."
