Museum Curator

3 months ago


Mesa Verde, United States U.S. Department of the Interior Full time

Clarification from the agency

U.S. Citizens; Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP).

Duties

This is a term position (more than 1 year) with an initial appointment expecting to last at least 13 months but may be extended up to a total of four years, or more based on any changes to regulations governing the number of years term appointments may last, without further competition. Term positions do not convey permanent status in the Federal service.

The National Park Service retains the right to extend the duration of this appointment after selection and/or appointment, based on changes to the regulation governing the number of years term appointments may last. This change, which may be made at the agency's sole discretion and without further competition, shall not be construed or interpreted as the granting of a right to a selectee or employee to such an extension. No extension to a term appointment shall be granted to a selectee/employee to an amount of time that exceeds the maximum number of years authorized under any present or current regulation, unless such regulation expressly allows such action.

Located in Southwest Colorado, was established in 1906 to preserve and interpret the archaeological heritage of the Ancestral Pueblo people. For over 700 years, the Ancestral Pueblo people built thriving communities on the mesas and in the cliffs of Mesa Verde. Today, the park protects the rich cultural heritage of 27 Pueblos and Tribes and offers visitors a spectacular window into the past while also highlighting contemporary connections. This World Heritage Site and International Dark Sky Park is home to over a thousand species, including several that live nowhere else on earth. Nearby Yucca House National Monument is managed under Mesa Verde. It protects a large unexcavated valley pueblo site.

On average Mesa Verde hosts 500,000 visitors per year. Area residents and visitors enjoy world-class outdoor recreational opportunities including skiing, mountain biking, hiking, rafting, camping, hunting, and fishing in the nearby San Juan Mountains. The local towns of Cortez, Mancos, Dolores, and Durango provide a range of housing (note that housing costs are high here), dining, and shopping opportunities, and both Durango and Cortez have regional airports. Mesa Verde and the nearby communities are great places to work and live.

Major duties may include, but are not limited to the following:

Manage diverse archeological, ethnographic, natural and historical collections through accessioning, cataloging and precise record-keeping. Maintain automated collections management data using a system such as the Interior Collection Management System (ICMS) or similar. Conducts research related to existing and potential collections, including to determine legal requirements of collections (e.g. copyright, land status and incoming loan ownership), and to evaluate authenticity of items. Catalog archeological, ethnographic, history and natural history items from diverse projects.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

U.S. Citizenship required. Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication. Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males. Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program. You may be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties. Prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year thereafter (or more frequently if management determines such need exists), you will be required to sign an affidavit certifying to your possession of a valid State issued driver's license that is current and has not been revoked, suspended, canceled, or otherwise disqualified in any way to prohibit your operation of a motor vehicle. You will also submit a photocopy of your valid State issued driver's license prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year, or more frequently if management determines such need exists. Lastly, you may be required to submit (within a State sealed envelope or submitted directly by the State authorities), and at your own expense, all certified driving records from all States that discloses all valid driver's licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you. Please indicate in your application whether you possess a valid State driver's license. You will be required to complete a one-year trial period. You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 1 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes. You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority. Applicants must be at least (1)18 years old or (2) at least 16 years old and: (a) Have graduated from high school or been awarded a certificate equivalent to graduating from high school; or (b) Have completed a formal vocational training program; or (c) Have received a statement from school authorities agreeing with their preference for employment rather than continuing their education; or (d) Be currently enrolled in a secondary school and either work only during school vacation periods or work part-time during the school year under a formal student employment program.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-08/19/2024-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year), and the resume must reflect full and/or part-time or total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount of qualified specialized experience.

1015 Series - Individual Occupational Requirements
Basic Requirements:

Degree: museum work; or in an applicable subject-matter field.
or
Combination of education and experience -- courses equivalent to a major, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
or
Four years of experience that provided knowledge comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of the 4-year course of study as shown in above.

To qualify for this position at the GS-09 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: applying comprehensive knowledge of professional museum management policy in collection management; developing short and long range financial and/or strategic plans; assisting conservators with performing condition assessments of objects; interpreting and taking corrective actions to data collected from environmental monitoring devices and an Integrated Pest Managment (IPM) program; performing preventive conservation on objects for exhibit or storage; accounting for and tracking objects and performing quality assurance checks on data in a collections management information system; preparing documents for museum loans; shipping and receiving objects for exhibition; preparing and submitting annual accountability reports; leading teams through strategic thinking and innovative practices in management of museum exhibits, programs and key partnerships. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least a master's degree or 2 academic years of progressively higher level graduate education in a directly related field of study that has provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. To combine education and experience, first calculate your percentage of qualifying graduate education by dividing your number of semester hours in excess of 18 semester hours by 18 or the number your school uses to represent one year of full time graduate academic study. Then take the number of months of full-time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include transcripts.

Volunteer 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.

Education

To qualify based on education, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking. Transcripts do not need to be official, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.

If you are using to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.