Exhibits Specialist (Cost Estimate)

About the role

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 Smithsonian Institution Exhibits (SIE), Office of the Under Secretary for Museums & Culture, Smithsonian Institution (SI). SIE is the SI-wide resource for exhibit planning, design and production.

SIE provides expertise and support to all public-facing exhibit functions within SI museums, research centers and offices.

What you will do

• The Exhibits Specialist (Cost Estimate) provides comprehensive and objectively based information for making decisions on the administrative and programmatic aspects of unit operations.
• In this position, you will: Develop cost estimates for projects by performing cost/benefit and economic evaluations of current and projected projects by monitoring and analyzing overall capacity commitment and impact on project production and budget.
• Independently develop descriptive, diagnostic and predictive analytic products that provide valid and accurate information that informs decision making by the SIE Exhibits Production Management Team.
• Prepare and draft summary reports for diverse audiences and at all levels of institutional and unit leadership to support implementation of management, operational and production functions, communicating findings, conclusions and recommendations to SI Management and other decision makers in non-technical, accessible language.
• Conduct complex research and provide analysis to support the SIE management team, project managers and staff in the development, implementation, and optimization of project production performance measurement efforts while interfacing with institutional staff at all levels to ensure efficient and effective execution of project deliverables.
• Provide expertise in data collection and analysis techniques to best support the business and organizational goals of The Smithsonian and the execution of SIE projects by applying extensive knowledge of software systems for data collection and analysis.

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

Please see above in qualification.

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: Ability to serve as a resource for supervisors and production staff on production solutions and impact on cost estimates during all phases of project development, design and production while monitoring and analyzing overall capacity commitment and impact on project production and budget.

Ability to complete reports and provide recommendations that influence decisions by management, stakeholders and project manager by studying, analyzing, and developing recommendations concerning the cost, efficiency and productivity of administration, operation and performance of strategic initiatives and projects.

Ability to develop and deploy dashboards to communicate unit resource utilization toward organizational and audience goals and metrics, proactively researching project costs for materials and contracted services.

Ability to conduct independent research, supporting and facilitating the analysis of data, measuring costs, integrity and accuracy for defined variables; providing guidance into data analysis and survey methodology and perform work to create finished products that contribute to data-driven decision making.

Ability to assess data collected to existing systems for accuracy and reliability, identifying issues, and suggesting improvements based on the development of monitory and evaluation procedures to obtain data upon which decision for changing strategies can be made.

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.

Documents you must provide

• 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), and hours worked per week, 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 USAJOBS Help Center - How do I write a resume for a federal job?
• 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.
• SI Trust employees are ineligible for Merit Promotion consideration unless you submit a Standard Form (SF) - 50, "Notice of Personnel Action", that indicates proof you previously held a 'status' position and proof of time-in-grade.
• 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.
• Failure to provide the appropriate SF-50(s) may prevent you from receiving consideration for this position.
• 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.

Benefits

The Smithsonian offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, vacation and sick leave, holidays, health/life insurance, accident insurance, and excellent retirement program options. Please see Benefits at *** for a complete description.

Flexible Spending Accounts - *** Health Insurance - *** Leave - *** Life Insurance - *** Long Term Care Insurance - *** Retirement Program - ***

What to expect next

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 *** and selecting the tab "My USAJOBS;" e-mailing ***; or by contacting the Office of Human Resources Representative listed. Additional Information: Tips on applying for Smithsonian jobs are available at *** The Smithsonian does not pay relocation expenses.

The Smithsonian Institution is an equal opportunity employer. Additional information can be found on our website at (***).

Additional information

This position is included in the bargaining unit. 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.