Management Support Specialist
What you'd do
The Smithsonian Institution is the world's largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo. The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) is a major bureau of the Smithsonian Institution that is responsible for the acquisition, curation, and preservation of collections of objects and specimens of natural history, which tells the history of the planet and a record of human interaction with the environment and one another.
Major duties
The Management Support Specialist will serve in a developmental role providing administrative management support to Departments, Programs, or Offices within the museum. In this position, you will: Provide administrative and operational support to the Unit on research program activities. Provide administrative and program support to the Unit Head by preparing reports and compiling data. Arrange travel for staff, including preparing authorizations, itineraries, and vouchers using the Smithsonian travel system. Provide support for procurement activities by assisting staff with required documentation and preparing purchase request packages. Assist in the preparation of budgets, spending plans, and projections by compiling and organizing financial data. APPLICATION LIMIT STATEMENT: ATTENTION: Due to the large number of qualified applicants for positions of this type, this job announcement will close at 11:59 pm Eastern Time on either: (A) The closing date listed above or (B) The date that 200 applications are received; whichever occurs first. If the announcement closes on the date that 200 applications are received, all applications submitted by 11:59pm that day will be given consideration, including those in excess of 200. We encourage applicants to apply as soon as possible to ensure their applications are submitted before the announcement closes. We will not consider applications which are late due to the announcement closing once the above number of applications is reached.
What you need to qualify
Experience: You must have 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 level in the Federal Service. For this position, specialized experience is defined as providing programmatic administrative and operational support, including procurement, financial reconciliations and oversight, logistics, property management, travel arrangements, record keeping, and other operational functions related to a unit and/or program. 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. Or Education: Two full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's or equivalent degree related to the position may be substituted to meet the experience requirements. 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. 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.
Before you apply
Federal applications are different: your resume should be 3–5 pages and mirror the language of this announcement. Read our federal resume guide first — it's the #1 reason qualified people get screened out.
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