Museum Technician (Natural Science)
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 Musuem Technician will serve in the natural science department performing duties to include all collections management tasks associated with research collections. In this position, you will: Participate in general collections management activities and maintenance. Process fresh, frozen or preserved specimens by pinning, spreading, skinning, skeletonizing, using fluid preservatives or other methods. Process all categories of specimen transactions (loans, borrows, exchanges, gifts, etc.) following established procedures. Provide general and technical information and assistance to researchers and the public through correspondence, verbal communication and tours. 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
Basic Qualifications Experience related to the operation or management of a museum or similar collection of valuable objects. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include collections management, registration, cataloging, research, preservation, restoration, or conservation of collections of museum material, or other experience related to the position to be filled. Most positions require a particular subject-matter specialization, e.g., aeronautics, anthropology, art, geology, history, natural science, technology, biology, or zoology. In addition to the basic qualification requirement above: Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of full-time experience at the GS-05 grade level that is close or similar to the operation or management of a museum or similar collection of valuable objects. For this position specialized experience is defined as providing assistance with museum collections management tasks including registration, inventory, collections care and conservation, object curation, storage improvement, data capture, cataloguing, digitization, maintenance of datasets containing collections information and researcher assistance. 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: One full year of graduate level education or superior academic achievement in a field related to this position may be substituted to meet the experience requirement. Superior Academic Achievement 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
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