Photography Conservator

**Description**:
**OPEN DATE: May 20, 2024**

**CLOSING DATE: June 20, 2024**

**POSITION TYPE: Trust Fund**

**APPOINTMENT TYPE: Temporary Not-To-Exceed Four (4) Years**

**SCHEDULE: Full Time**

**DUTY LOCATION: Washington, DC**
**Position sensitivity and risk**:Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

**Open to all qualified applicants**

**What are Trust Fund Positions?**

Trust Fund positions are unique to the Smithsonian. They are paid for from a variety of sources, including the Smithsonian endowment, revenue from our business activities, donations, grants and contracts. Trust employees are not part of the civil service, nor does trust fund employment lead to Federal status. The salary ranges for trust positions are generally the same as for federal positions and in many cases trust and federal employees work side by side. Trust employees have their own benefit program and may include Health, Dental & Vision Insurance, Life Insurance, Transit/Commuter Benefits, Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance, Annual and Sick Leave, Family Friendly Leave, 403b Retirement Plan, Discounts for Smithsonian Memberships, Museum Stores and Restaurants, Credit Union, Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center (Child Care), Flexible Spending Account (Health & Dependent Care).

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**Conditions of Employment**
- Pass Pre-employment Background Check and Subsequent Background Investigation for position designated as low risk.
- Complete a Probationary Period
- Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer.
- Applicants must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

**OVERVIEW**:
This position is located within the Lunder Conservation Center (LCC), Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM), Under Secretary for Museums and Culture, Smithsonian Institution (SI). SAAM is dedicated to collecting, understanding, and enjoying American art. The Museum celebrates the extraordinary creativity of artists whose works reflect the American experience and global connections. The Lunder Conservation Center is a fully visible lab showing how the SAAM conservators preserve cultural artifacts.

The primary purpose of the position is to provide conservation treatment, preservation, and collection care, on a wide variety of photographs, photographic processes, and photographic materials within the collection. The position advises on preservation measures for exhibition, loan, and acquisition, conducts scientific and scholarly research, and collaborates on projects with SAAM staff.

**DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES**:

- Designs, proposes, documents, and completes complex, advanced conservation treatments, scientific research including identifying fabrication materials on a wide variety of photographic materials within the collection.
- Provides expertise on the conservation, collection care, preservation, handling, and condition issues of photographic collections for accession, loans, exhibit, transport, and storage.
- Provides conservation guidelines and consultation to an exhibition team and exhibition fabrication teams to recommend specific climate parameters, display, and presentation protocols for the materials and display equipment used in exhibitions.
- Provides conservation expertise and guidance on photographic and photomechanical processes within the collection, including scientific analysis and material research when necessary to understand the material construction, artistic process, and preservation needs of the photographic works.
- Participates in active acquisition, loan, and rotation schedules through conservation assessments, examinations, condition reports, and conservation treatments.
- Conducts technical material science research for all photographic materials within the museum’s collections including publishing findings in books and peer-reviewed journals.
- Provides guidance and expertise in preservation and conservation to staff and interns.
- Provides conservation guidelines for the proper handling, storage, and transportation of photographic artworks.

**QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS**:
**Education (if positive education is required) and Experience**:Example: To qualify for this position, applicants must possess a bachelor’s degree (B.A.) from an accredited four-year college or university and/or 3-5 years of related experience (described below); or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Experience required for this position is as follows:

- Ability to create and manage a preservation plan for modern inkjet and pigment prints, digital-born photographic prints, including creating and updating collections handling standard operating procedures for collection and cold storage of prints and negatives.
- Ability to schedule, coordinate, and manage projects and resources, and to recommend contracting out work that would better serve the project timeline.
- Ability to inspect individual collections or surveys groups of collections, requests