Operations Coordinator
What you'd do
The National Gallery of Art welcomes all people to explore art, creativity, and our shared humanity. Millions of people come through our doors each year, with even more online, making us one of the most visited art museums in the world. Our renowned collection includes over 160,000 works of art, from the ancient world to today. Admission to the West and East Buildings, Sculpture Garden, special exhibitions, and public programs is always free.
Major duties
The library (PL) is a major national art research center serving the National Gallery's staff, fellows and professors at the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, visiting art historians, the scholarly community at large and members of the public. The library contains a wide-ranging collection of more than 525,000 books and periodicals on the history, theory and criticism of art and architecture, millions of images and a broad range of electronic resources. Duties for this position include: Coordinates and monitors Library-wide administrative operations: Coordinates and monitors administrative and operational processes that cut across the Library's departments. Maintains visibility into the status of key actions, deadlines and requirements related to travel, records, timekeeping, personnel-related documentation and other cross-department administrative workflows. Reviews the status of ongoing actions, identifies delays, inconsistencies or incomplete documentation and follows up with supervisors, staff and other Gallery offices to keep processes moving accurately and on time. Coordinates budget, procurement, contracts, and related financial operations: Coordinates Library-wide budget, procurement, contracts, and related financial processes involving federal, trust and grant funds. Tracks expenditures, commitments, purchase card activity, requisitions and supporting documentation. Maintains and updates operational trackers, reports and related tools that support budget monitoring, purchasing and planning. Reviews transactions and documentation for completeness, correct coding, timeliness and alignment with established requirements. Identifies issues that require correction, clarification or further review. Coordinates with procurement, budget, accounting, travel, contracting and related offices to support timely processing of Library business. Researches and develops practical approaches, models, and tools to support budget formulation, multi-year budget planning, and operational decision-making. Analyzes workflows and recommends operational improvements: Reviews administrative workflows and recurring business processes to identify opportunities to improve efficiency, clarity, compliance and coordination across departments. Develops and maintains shared procedures, checklists, templates, timelines and tracking tools that improve continuity and reduce confusion or duplication. Uses judgment in applying established guidance to specific situations. Resolves routine process issues independently and recommends practical improvements or corrective actions when problems recur or existing procedures are not working effectively. Leads or coordinates Library-wide operational planning efforts, including space planning, to assess near-term needs. Develops preliminary recommendations for implementation. Coordinates personnel-related processes, workforce support activities, records management and operational planning: Coordinates and tracks administrative processes and documentation related to personnel actions, onboarding, awards, performance-related processes, training, professional development and other workforce support activities. Helps identify recurring operational issues that affect staff effectiveness. Reviews and improves the onboarding process for new staff, using existing onboarding documentation as a starting point and doing further research to strengthen it. Coordinates records management activities for administrative records, including file structures, retention practices and disposition processes. Works with Archives and Library staff to identify paper and electronic records that fall under the records schedule and helps sort and organize them appropriately. Designs and carries out processes for digitizing administrative files. Creates and maintains tracking systems and documents procedures to improve consistency, access, and records control. Gathers, organizes and maintains information needed for internal reporting, operational planning and management decision-making. Serves as a key operational point of contact: Serves as a regular point of contact for Library staff and for colleagues in administrative offices across the Gallery on matters related to Library operations and administrative processes. Explains established procedures and requirements related to procurement, travel, records, timekeeping, budget tracking and related operational matters. Communicates clearly, professionally and with discretion, especially when handling sensitive or confidential information.
What you need to qualify
Specialized Experience Statement: Candidates must possess at least one year of specialized experience, equivalent in responsibility to the GS-07 level in the Federal service or private sector: Coordinating and monitoring administrative operations for an organization. This experience must include: tracking business processes involving areas such as budget, procurement, travel, personnel actions, records, or other administrative functions; reviewing transactions, documentation, or requests for accuracy, completeness, and compliance with established procedures; maintaining reports, trackers, records, or other tools used to monitor deadlines, expenditures, commitments, or pending actions; identifying delayed, incomplete, or inconsistent actions and coordinating with staff or other offices to resolve them; and applying established guidance to resolve routine operational problems or recommend improvements to administrative processes. A Combination of Education and Experience (NOTE: please see OPM Group Standard for Administrative and Management positions, combining education and experience section.) OPM Qualifications Standard: Associated Group standard: Group Coverage Qualification Standard for Clerical and Administrative Support Positions Other Relevant Eligibility Criteria: Must be able to lift and carry 25 lbs. You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement. 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.
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.
Don't miss the next one.
Get an email the moment a similar federal job opens — postings can close in as little as 5 days.