Archivist

Full Job Description

The Smithsonian Institution (SI) is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo.

This position is within the Archives and Information Management (AIM) Team in the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives (SLA).

The Smithsonian Libraries and Archives captures, preserves, and shares with the public the history of this extrraordinary Institution.

Basic Qualifications - All applicants must meet these Basic Requirements (You must submit unofficial academic transcripts): Bachelor's degree in archival science or bachelor's degree with a major that includes 18 semester hours in archival science, history and/or in political science or government, and 12 semester hours in one or any combination of the following: archival science, history, American civilization, economics, political science, public administration, or government.

or Combination of education and experience - at least 30 semester hours that included courses as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

In addition to the basic qualification requirement above, applicants must also meet the following minimum qualifications: GS-12 Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level in the Federal Service.

For this position, specialized experience is defined as performing appraisal of Smithsonian records and related materials for permanent retention in the Archives; transferring temporary records to the Records Center; processing, describing, preserving, and managing collections; developing records management guidance; and leading a team of four (4) or more staff members.

OR Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree if directly related to the work of the position. Related degrees may include library and information science, archival studies, and archival science.

OR A combination of related Ph.D. level education and specialized experience as described above.

Your resume must be no more than two (2) pages and should clearly demonstrate how your experience aligns with the responsibilities and specialized experience required for this position.

Do not copy language directly from the vacancy announcement, as you will be deemed ineligible for consideration. Instead, provide detailed, descriptive information about your actual experience.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social).

Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment.

You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience.

Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are qualifying by education and/or you have education completed in a foreign college/university described above, it is your responsibility to provide transcripts and proof of U.S.

accreditation for foreign study. For instructions on where to fax these documents, see the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

Or a Combination: Education and experience may be combined to meet the basic qualifications; For a full explanation of this option please see the Qualification Standards.

In an effort to streamline our hiring process, SI employees whose current position of record is in the same job series 1420 and who are in a Federal competitive appointment as this advertised position, are not required to submit a transcript with your application package.

However, if selected, you will be required to provide a copy of your transcript before your start date in the position.

Time-in-Grade Requirements: Under competitive merit promotion procedures, any individual who is currently holding, or who has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under a non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet "time-in-grade" requirements (have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade of the grade for which you are applying).

Major Duties:

The Archivist is responsible for the appraisal of Smithsonian records and related materials for permanent retention in the Archive, transfers of temporary records to its Record Center, processing, description, preservation, and collection management.

In this position, you will: Plan and carry out the full range of supervisory authorities related to the assignment archival and records management work, including coordinating and integrating work schedules and processes with work of others.

Perform archival and collections management functions, including appraisal, accessioning, arrangement, description, and data entry into the Collections Management System (CMS).

Implements Smithsonian and SLA archival standards, conducts basic preservation interventions, ensures proper housing, and performs preservation assessments.

Coordinate, create guidelines and lead SIA efforts to accession SI websites, blogs, and social media accounts for crawling; and is a leader with collaborating teams and projects.

Serve as liaison between SLA and other SI units, responds to policies and questions related to Privacy Impact Assessments, and delivers presentations and/or best practices guidelines concerning archives and records management.