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) More than one selection may be made from this announcement.
Duties
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
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.
Education
Education cannot be substituted at this grade level.
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 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. BASIS OF RATING: Once the announcement closes, your application will be automatically evaluated and rated by the system and a Human Resources Specialist. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your application and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the occupational questionnaire. The numeric rating you receive is based on your responses to the questionnaire. The score is a measure of the degree to which your background matches the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of this position. If, after the Human Resources Specialist reviews your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that the score you have received is not a true reflection of your qualifications and/or experience, your score can and will be adjusted to more accurately reflect the information you provided that support your abilities. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. 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.