Publications Officer, IS-1001-13

Smithsonian Institution•Washington, DC

1d•$121,785 - $138,024•Onsite

About The Position

The Smithsonian Institution, Undersecretary for Science & Research, National Air and Space Museum (NASM), Research, Collections, and Curatorial Affairs Directorate is responsible for properly protecting the National collections of Aeronautics and Space Artifacts in perpetuity, guaranteeing intellectual as well as physical control over those collections. The incumbent serves as a Publications Officer, IS-1001-13, responsible for overall planning, development, and management of the NASM publications program of scholarly and popular books, articles, booklets, and book series. Subject matter covers the broad spectrum of aviation and space at many audience levels and must be placed by the incumbent with the appropriate publishers to reach the desired audience.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree (B.A.) from an accredited four-year college or university and/or 3-5 years of related experience.
Knowledge of established techniques to steward Museum academic and commercial works through the publishing process.
Knowledge of managing a catalog of publishable works.
Skill in reviewing technical documents and ensuring Museum products meet stated requirements.
Ability to research and identify suitable publishers that possess the capabilities and relationships to partner and support the Museum’s publishing goals.
Ability to interface with internal and external individuals and organizations and build partnerships.
Education completed outside the United States must be deemed equivalent to higher education programs of U.S. Institutions by an organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials.
Must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

Responsibilities

Works with museum curators and other content creators to develop publishable works.
Draws up detailed contracts with publishers for final review by the Smithsonian Office of General Counsel and approval by the Office of Contracting and Personal Property Management.
Works with academic and commercial outside publishers and the Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press and Smithsonian Books.
Monitors compliance with contracts, including terms of agreement and royalty payments.
Applies broad knowledge of publishing field in collaboration with NASM authors.
Manages overall planning, development, and coordination of publications, ensuring that all individuals or groups supporting content development adhere to timelines and schedules for production.
Acts as NASM's main point of contact in the development of book publications and projects relating to NASM's publications program.
Acts as a liaison with the retail arm of Smithsonian Enterprises and with SI Product Development and Licensing.
Coordinates long-range planning of catalogs, books series, and other publications with authors.
Interfaces with author and publisher to exchange material, coordinate agreements, and other matters necessary to finalize publications project.
Works with other SI publications offices to develop SI-wide publishing policies.
Represents NASM and the SI at professional conferences and meetings dealing with programs under incumbent's responsibility; provides information concerning those programs.