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 the Collections & Exhibitions Department, National Portrait Gallery (NPG) at the Smithsonian Institution (SI).
Duties
The Associate Director for Collections and Exhibitions provides strategic leadership and oversight of professional and technical teams responsible for registration, art handling, exhibition design and production, museum lighting and technology, and exhibition planning and touring. In this position, you will: Collaborate with the Director and senior leadership to establish strategic priorities for collection care and exhibition development. Manage the short- and long-term planning of NPG's exhibition program, including multi-year schedules, collection rotations, touring exhibitions, and loan agreements. Provide leadership to subordinate supervisors, overseeing resource allocation, timelines, and exhibition activities to ensure projects remain on schedule and within budget. Work closely with curators, educators, designers, and other stakeholders to ensure exhibitions meet interpretive, aesthetic, and accessibility objectives.
Requirements
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.
How you will be evaluated
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: Knowledge of museum standards, practices, and methodologies for exhibition planning, development, and evaluation to advise senior leadership, align program priorities, and support institutional goals. Knowledge of multi-year exhibition scheduling, collection rotation strategies, touring exhibition logistics, and loan management requirements to evaluate exhibition proposals, anticipate operational needs, and ensure alignment with institutional priorities and audience expectations. Knowledge of management principles, team leadership, workload distribution, and performance management to direct staff, set priorities, communicate program changes, and ensure effective execution of collections and exhibition activities. Skill in communication, collaborative planning, and cross-functional coordination to partner with curators, educators, designers, conservators, and external stakeholders on exhibition development and collections-related initiatives. 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 detailed information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed. You may preview questions for this vacancy.