Supervisory Conservator

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 within the Conservation Department, Office of Collections, Division of Public History, National Museum of American History (NMAH).

NMAH is home to more than 1.8 million objects and more than three shelf-miles of archival collections, preserving and sharing the greatest single collection of American history in the world.

What you will do

• The Supervisory Conservator supervises and manages a professional team of conservators who hold expertise in areas such as paper, objects, costumes, and textiles.
• The Supervisory Conservator is responsible for the comprehensive administration of the conservation laboratories.
• In this position, you will: Perform a full range of technical examinations of objects to identify their structure and components; determine their condition as well as the appropriate conservation treatment procedures to be performed; and recommend appropriate preventative conservation measures.
• Perform management and supervisory responsibilities by developing performance plans, identifying opportunities for employee growth and development, and cultivating skills that support the stabilization, care, and display of museum objects.
• Design and implement the conservation program, recommending policies for collections care based on accepted museum and collection management standards.
• Develop and propose annual budgets for the conservation laboratories and oversee procurement activities and contract administration in support of laboratory operations.

Requirements

• Conditions of Employment Position duties require physical exertion, including prolonged standing, repetitive movement, manual dexterity, and precise, tremor free work under a microscope.
• Work involves hazardous laboratory materials and requires the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and compliance with safety training and protocols.
• 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: Skill in treating a wide variety of objects through scientific and technical material analysis, interpreting analytical data, and applying appropriate methods to characterize object media. Skill in supervising an interdisciplinary team to foster collaboration.

Knowledge of the theories, practices, and techniques of historical object conservation in order to develop and maintain policy and procedures for the operation of a museum laboratory program. Knowledge of administrative and management functions, including budgeting, procurement, contracting, and program oversight.

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.

Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA): If you are applying for a VEOA appointment, you must be a veteran and must be honorably separated and either a preference eligible or have substantially completed 3 or more years of active service.

("Active Service" under this law means active duty in a uniformed service and includes full-time training duty, annual training duty, full-time National Guard duty, and attendance, while in the active service, at a school designated as a service school by law or by the Secretary concerned.) A veteran who is released under honorable conditions shortly before completing a 3-year tour is also eligible.

Noncompetitive Appointment Authorities: The following links contain information on the eligibility requirements to be considered under a noncompetitive appointing authority: Primary Appointing Authorities for Career and Career-Conditional Appointments Hiring Authorities for Veterans People with Disabilities 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 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.
• 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.

Benefits

The Federal Government offers a comprehensive benefits package. 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 not 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.