Exhibition Specialist (IS-1001-11)

Application Deadline: 12 December 2024

Department: National Portrait Gallery

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Washington, DC

Reporting To: Head of Exhibitions

Compensation: $82,764 - $107,590 / year

Description

OPEN DATE: December 5, 2024

CLOSING DATE: December 12, 2024

POSITION TYPE: Trust Fund

APPOINTMENT TYPE: Temporary Not to Exceed Two (2) Years

SCHEDULE: Full Time

DUTY LOCATION: Washington, DC

Position sensitivity and risk: Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

Open to all qualified applicants

What are Trust Fund Positions?

Trust Fund positions are unique to the Smithsonian. They are paid for from a variety of sources, including the Smithsonian endowment, revenue from our business activities, donations, grants and contracts. Trust employees are not part of the civil service, nor does trust fund employment lead to Federal status. The salary ranges for trust positions are generally the same as for federal positions and in many cases trust and federal employees work side by side. Trust employees have their own benefit program, which may include Health, Dental & Vision Insurance, Life Insurance, Transit/Commuter Benefits, Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance, Annual and Sick Leave, Family Friendly Leave, 403b Retirement Plan, Discounts for Smithsonian Memberships, Museum Stores and Restaurants, Credit Union, Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center (Child Care), Flexible Spending Account (Health & Dependent Care).

Conditions of Employment

• Pass Pre-employment Background Check and Subsequent Background Investigation for position designated.
• Complete a Probationary Period.
• Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer.
• The position is open to all candidates eligible to work in the United States. Proof of eligibility to work in U.S. is not required to apply.
• Applicants must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.
  
  

Overview

Come join a dedicated and creative team at an exceptional time for the Smithsonian, an institution with a bold vision for the future: to build a better tomorrow for all. Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III and the institution’s leadership are launching a campaign to support this vision. The Smithsonian Campaign for Our Shared Future will secure funds for all Smithsonian museums and centers as the institution reimagines its mission to find solutions for collective challenges in a rapidly changing world. The campaign will provide a foundation for critical research to ensure people and nature thrive together, build unparalleled education programs with families and partners, collect the world’s most precious objects, document the present while reflecting on the past, and reimagine the visitor experience both in-person and online. We are bringing the Smithsonian off the National Mall and across the country through dynamic programming and affiliate partnerships, creating access for all. The Smithsonian is also developing two new museums—the National Museum of the American Latino and the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum. These museums will share the experiences and perspectives of Latinos and women across history and deepen our shared understanding of what it means to be American.

The National Portrait Gallery was authorized and founded by Congress in 1962 with the mission to acquire and display portraits of "men and women who have made significant contributions to the history, development, and culture of the people of the United States." Today, the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery attracts over 2 million visitors onsite and 4 million online and continues to narrate the multi-faceted and ever-changing story of America through the individuals who have shaped its culture. Through the visual arts, performing arts, and new media, the Portrait Gallery presents poets and presidents, visionaries and villains, actors and activists whose lives form our national identity.

Duties And Responsibilities

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery (NPG) seeks an enthusiastic and detailed-focused Exhibition Specialist to provide support to the Exhibition Department team. The position provides project management tasks for the NPG including:

• Reviews upcoming exhibition schedules and permanent collections to determine projects best suited for travel.
• Develops traveling exhibition proposal materials, venue participation fee, research potential venues and culling venue information.
• Drafts traveling exhibition venue agreements; works with appropriate staff to create handling and installation requirements; ensures receipt of venue fees; acts as liaison with venues and coordinates approvals of venue-created materials.
• Research upcoming exhibitions organized by other institutions to evaluate their fit with NPG mission and NPG’s capability to act as a venue.
• Supports NPG in-house temporary exhibition program through project management planning including production schedules, monitoring scheduled work for completion, and overseeing department-related responsibilities to ensure projects remains on schedule.
• Manages special exhibition records; disseminates exhibition information to appropriate staff and NPG shared sites; and creates loan request documents. Negotiates loan terms with lenders on behalf of NPG and monitors expenses to ensure budgets are not exceeded.
  
  

Qualification Requirements

• Knowledge of museum organizations and structures, and operating knowledge of a department of exhibitions within a museum setting to gather and interpret information provided by other museum departments, including curatorial, registrarial, conservation and design.
• Ability to manage projects over multiple years and affecting multiple departments to effectively schedule, track and coordinate complex preparation work for in-house and traveling exhibitions and related object preparation.
• Basic understanding of registrarial standards, policies and practices, and loan procedures to communicate lender requirements with staff and with exhibition venues.
• Ability to communicate in writing to a wide range of internal and external professional contacts, at all organizational levels, to ensure an accurate and timely exchange of detailed information about loans and exhibition projects.
• Ability to work as a member of cross-functional, cross-organizational teams to sustain progress on multiple, simultaneous projects and committees.
  
  

Education completed outside the United States must be deemed equivalent to higher education programs of U.S. Institutions by an organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials. This documentation is the responsibility of the applicant and should be included as part of your application package.

Any false statement in your application may result in rejection of your application and may also result in termination after employment begins.

The Smithsonian Institution values and seeks a diverse workforce. Join us in "Inspiring Generations through Knowledge and Discovery."

Resumes should include a description of your paid and non-paid work experience that is related to this job; starting and ending dates of job (month and year); and average number of hours worked per week.

What To Expect Next: Once the vacancy announcement closes, a review of your resume will be compared against the qualification and experience requirements related to this job. After review of applicant resumes is complete, qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager.

Relocation expenses are not paid.

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The Smithsonian Institution provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation should contact [email protected]. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. To learn more, please review the Smithsonian’s Accommodation Procedures.

The Smithsonian Institution is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe that a workforce comprising a variety of educational, cultural, and experiential backgrounds support and enhance our daily work life and contribute to the richness of our exhibitions and programs. See Smithsonian EEO program information: https://www.si.edu/oeesd.