Museum Curator

National Institutes of Health • Montgomery County, MD

11h

About The Position

This position is located in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of the Director, Office of Intramural Research. The Museum Curator serves as a senior member of the Office of NIH History and Stetten Museum (ONHM) exhibit development team, helping develop exhibits from initial concept through construction and launch. The position is responsible for developing and maintaining the museum collection, including collection expansion, locating and selecting sources, and selectively disposing of collection material. The curator also contributes to the museum’s social media and metrics tracking, and works with ONHM staff and NIH Institute and Center representatives to mark anniversaries and commemorative occasions. The role includes mentoring interns and volunteers, conducting collection tours, and creating lectures and educational materials for museum education and outreach projects. The curator oversees the development and maintenance of a balanced collection.

Requirements

• Meet one of the basic education requirements: a bachelor’s degree in museum work or an applicable subject-matter field; a combination of equivalent coursework and appropriate experience or additional education; or four years of experience providing knowledge comparable to a relevant four-year course of study.
• Demonstrate at least one year of qualifying experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in Federal service, in the private or public sector, involving maintaining and managing a museum collection, including one related to scientific or medical research history.
• Demonstrate experience contributing to physical and/or online museum exhibits by selecting objects and drafting or editing exhibit labels, object descriptions, and other interpretive text.
• Demonstrate experience managing long-term museum collection care, including collection development, documentation, transportation of objects, and selective disposal of collection material.
• Demonstrate experience communicating the significance and value of a museum collection to diverse audiences through social media, professional networks, presentations, publications, or popular press.
• Meet the U.S. citizenship or U.S. national requirement by the announcement’s closing date.
• Successfully complete required background investigation, qualification verification, onboarding, document submission, and other job-related requirements.
• Meet all qualification requirements within 30 calendar days of the announcement closing date, including time-in-grade requirements.
• Males born after December 31, 1959, must be registered with the Selective Service.
• Be able to perform the position’s essential duties, with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Submit official transcripts if selected, before receiving an official offer; unofficial transcripts are accepted with the application.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a senior member of ONHM’s exhibit development team, developing exhibits from concept through construction and launch.
• Develop and maintain the museum collection, including collection expansion, locating and selecting sources, and selective disposal of collection material.
• Contribute to ONHM social-media posts and track standard metrics, coordinating with ONHM staff and Institute and Center representatives on anniversaries, observances, and commemorative occasions.
• Guide and mentor interns and volunteers.
• Arrange and conduct tours of the collection.
• Develop lectures and educational materials about the Museum, its collections, and its history for education and outreach projects.
• Oversee the development and maintenance of a balanced collection.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior