Supervisory Exhibits Specialist

Summary

The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo. The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) is a major bureau of the Smithsonian Institution that is responsible for the acquisition, curation, and preservation of collections of exhibits, objects, and specimens of natural history, which tells the history of the planet and a record of human interaction with the environment and one another.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

Merit Promotion position is open to Current Federal Employees and Former Federal Employees with permanent status or reinstatement eligibility. Individuals who are eligible for aspecial 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). More than one selection may be made from this announcement.

Duties

The Supervisory Exhibits Specialist (Fabrication) position manages the construction of exhibits produced to communicate diverse and complex subject matter (e.g., geology, paleontology, zoology, botany, and anthropology).

In this position, you will:

Plan and implement all phases of exhibit fabrication, preparation, installation, maintenance, finishing and dismantling of exhibits. And to produce scale drawings and sketches of fabrication techniques and applications, case structures and furniture showing all necessary views, and dimensions with materials indicated.

Using approved design and construction documents to fabricate and install complicated cases, panels, diorama housing, specimen supports, foreground accessories; and other exhibit items.

Repair and maintain current exhibits, including reproducing original exhibit parts.

Develop high quality exhibits and related components using Computer Aided Design (CAD) and other automated software programs.

Serve as area supervisor to include assigning and monitoring workloads, overseeing shop safety, developing maintenance plans, providing budget and schedule input and oversight, evaluating performance; and advising higher level officials on personnel problems involving subordinates.

Requirements

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.

May be required to serve an 18 month probationary period for supervisors.

Conditions of Employment

Qualification requirements, including one year time-in-grade at the next lower grade level for promotion candidates, must be met by the closing date of the announcement. See the 'Required Documents' section for additional information.

For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions on .

Qualifications

Experience in the actual type of work for which application is made. Unpaid experience is creditable, provided the work done was of a quality level and demonstrated the ability required for the position. This includes work in the appropriate field, e.g., design, modelmaking, art, taxidermy, or restoration.

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 experience as an Exhibit Specialist performing exhibit development in a museum, scientific, educational or research organization by producing scaled drawings and sketches of case structures and furniture, design and fabrication of mechanical interactives, case furniture, exhibit cases and finished exhibit components using a variety of materials and appropriate safety procedures.

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

Not applicable for this grade level.

Additional information

This position is not included in the bargaining unit.

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:

Position title;

Type of appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES, or Presidential Appointee);

Agency; and,

Beginning and ending dates of 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.

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.

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 all phases of exhibit fabrication, preparation, installation, maintenance, finishing and dismantling in accordance with the complex customer requirements in a museum and research environment, gained through work experience.

Ability to use exhibit fabrication design principles, gained through work experience.

Knowledge of all facets of woodworking (cabinetry) tools, materials and techniques used in a museum environment, gained through work experience.

Ability to use computers and appropriate software associated with exhibit fabrication.

Ability to supervise a team in fabrication of exhibits.

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.

You may for this vacancy.

Required Documents

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 .

Current and former employees MUST submit a copy of their Standard Form (SF)-50, “Notice of Personnel Action,” that indicates proof of status and time-in-grade eligibility. The SF-50 must include your position title, series, grade, step, salary, type of service (competitive or excepted in block 34), and tenure (1 or 2 in block 24). Please provide a SF-50 that shows the length of time you have been in your current/highest grade level. Examples of appropriate SF50s include: Appointments, Reassignments, Within-grade/range increases or Promotion actions. NOTE: Pay adjustments and award SF-50s do not include the length of time in your current position, therefore, they are NOT acceptable SF-50’s on their own. You may need to provide more than one SF-50.

Time-in-Grade Requirements: Under competitive merit promotion procedures, any individual who is currently holding, or who has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under a non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet "time-in-grade" requirements (have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade of the grade for which you are applying).

Unofficial school transcripts, if the position has an education requirement or if you are using education to qualify. If selected for the position, you must provide an official transcript before appointment. Proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study, if applicable. It is your responsibility to provide transcripts and proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study. You must submit proof within your application package 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. You may use the following websites and to obtain these evaluations.

Federal performance appraisal, desirable.

Proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study, if applicable.

Proof of Veteran's Preference - DD214 (Member 4 Copy) if you are requesting a special appointment authority, such as VRA or VEOA

Proof of severe disability if you are requesting special placement consideration.

Proof of eligibility for a military spouse appointment, such as a permanent change station military order.

Proof of eligibility for any other special appointing authority not specifically mentioned here.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

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 .

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.