Curator [Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum]

KEY REQUIREMENTS

• 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.

• Conducts scholarly and technical research in the area of the history of Space Exploration and Planetary Science.
• Follows established museum procedures for administering and preserving the artifact collection and consults with experts in various areas of conservation to insure that these procedures are followed.
• Assumes curatorial responsibility for selected exhibits and plays a responsible role in researching, conceptualizing, and scripting minor exhibits; or major exhibits as part of a team, on the history of space exploration for the museum.
• Prepares scholarly and technical reports in writing as well as oral presentations to the staff and public on the museum’s collection, exhibits, and subject matter under his/her jurisdiction.
• Responds independently to requests from the public and from museum staff for information on these areas by telephone, personal contact, correspondence, web or other forms of inquiry
  .

You must meet these Basic Education
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.

In addition to Basic Requirements above,
you must have following:

Experience: You qualify for this position if you possess one year of full-time experience at the GS-09 grade level in the Federal Service or comparable pay band system that is close or similar to the operation or management of a museum or similar collection of valuable objects. For this position specialized experience is defined as conducting scholarly and technical research in the history of space science, solar system exploration, or history of science and technology as evidenced by authorship of professional papers or other scholarly publications; exhibit development; coordinating public service efforts; developing a collection of scientific/historical artifacts; and performing the curatorial aspects of preservation and restoration of these artifacts.

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.

Or Education: Three full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree related to the position may be substituted to meet the experience requirements.

Or a Combination: Education and experience may be combined to meet the basic qualifications. For a full explanation of this option please see the Qualification Standards.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are qualifying by education and/or you have education completed in a foreign college/university described above, it is your responsibility to provide transcripts and proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study. For instructions on where to fax these documents, see the “Required Documents” section of this announcement.
Qualification requirements must be met within 30 days of the job announcement closing date.

SPECIAL NOTE:

• Unofficial school transcripts (undergraduate and graduate) must be submitted with your application package by the closing date of the vacancy announcement.
• If you have foreign education, you must show proof by the closing date of the vacancy announcement that education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials. Transcripts and proof of the evaluations must be submitted within your application package as indicated under “Required Documents”. Applicants may use the following websites http://www.naces.org/, http://www.fceatlanta.com/, or www.ies.aacrao.org to obtain these evaluations.

HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED:

Your resume will be used to evaluate your experience, education, and/or training that address the competencies below:

• Ability to perform scholarly research as evidenced by authorship of professional papers or other scholarly publications and presentations.
• Knowledge of the development of collections, publications, exhibitions, or public or scholarly programs related to the history of space science and solar system exploration.
• Ability to communicate orally in a variety of settings (e.g. community and scholarly forums).
• Ability to communicate effectively in writing in order to prepare e-mail, correspondence, reports, papers, and publications, to include writing in succinct informational style, synthesizing and interpreting ideas clearly.
• Knowledge of museum standards related to collections management practices applied to an artifact collection and exhibits creation.

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: The review of your resume will determine your final rating and should provide sufficient information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.

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REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:

AGENCY CONTACT INFO: