Visitor Experience and Accessibility Manager

Summary

The Smithsonian Institution is the world's largest museum, education, and research complex. 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. This Vacancy Announcement will close once 150 applications are received.

Duties

The Visitor Experience and Accessibility Manager has responsibility for overseeing all aspects of the operation and administration of the Visitor Experience, Accessibility, and Volunteer Program. In this position, you will: Oversee and support the day-to-day operations of visitor and accessibility services and learning spaces to ensure effective and consistent service delivery. Implement established policies and procedures governing visitor flow, service protocols, and public engagement activities. Provide guidance, assign work, monitor performance, and support employee development. Participate in hiring, preparing performance plans and evaluations, and recommending awards or corrective actions as appropriate. Plan, coordinate, and implement visitor experience, accessibility, and volunteer programs within established frameworks and priorities set by leadership. Track program performance metrics, analyze visitor feedback and operational data, and recommend improvements Coordinate volunteer program operations, including recruitment, onboarding, training, and communication, using established procedures and practices. Coordinate with internal stakeholders to support program activities and ensure visitor service considerations are addressed. Requirements

Conditions of Employment Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement. For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions on OPM website. Additional Requirements: A Tuesday through Saturday work schedule is required. In addition, this position will require the selectee to work occasional evenings. This position requires standing, walking, and moving throughout museum spaces or outside of the museum for extended periods while supporting program delivery. Some lifting or carrying of educational materials may be required. Physical demands are consistent with those of a museum and office environment. Work is performed primarily in museum spaces, classrooms, and office settings. The environment involves everyday risks typical of public and office environments. Some activities may occur in laboratory or collections areas, requiring adherence to established safety protocols and the use of appropriate protective attire. Qualifications

Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level in the Federal Service. For this position, specialized experience is defined as 1) overseeing visitor experience, accessibility, and volunteer programs, and 2) using customer service practices and visitor engagement strategies to create the highest quality experience within a large museum. 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.

Education

There are no basic education requirements for this position. How You Will Be Evaluated

Applicants for this position may be evaluated in multiple stages. The first stage is an evaluation of your responses to the online multiple-choice questions that assess your experience, education, and/or training for the job related competencies below: Knowledge of museum visitor experience and service delivery practices (including visitor communication, wayfinding, customer service, engagement techniques) sufficient to implement, evaluate, and improve programs in a large museum environment. Ability to supervise and accomplish work through staff, including providing guidance, monitoring performance, supporting employee development, hiring, evaluating, and recommending awards or corrective actions for a diverse staff. Knowledge of accessibility practices, assistive technologies, and applicable standards (e.g., ADA and Smithsonian directives) to support inclusive services. Knowledge of volunteer program operations, including recruitment, training, evaluation, and coordination to support a large volunteer workforce. Ability to communicate verbally effectively at all levels to interact with tact and diplomacy among diverse audiences. Ability to communicate effectively at all levels to interact with tact and diplomacy in preparing clear materials. Applicants who meet or exceed minimum qualifications will be assigned to one of three category groups based on job-related criteria: Best Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and excels in most of the job related competencies above. Better Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and satisfies most of the job related competencies above. Good Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements, but does not satisfy most of the job related competencies above to a substantive degree. This category rating process does not add veterans' preference points or apply the "rule of three", but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category. A selecting official may make selections from the highest quality category (Best Category) provided no preference eligible in that category is passed over to select a non-preference eligible in that category unless the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 3317(b) or 3318(b) are satisfied. Preference eligibles who meet minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-9 grade level or higher. Applicants who have not submitted a resume in the USAjobs system and/or have not answered all of the vacancy questions will not be considered for this position. You may preview questions for this vacancy. Benefits

The Smithsonian offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, vacation and sick leave, holidays, health/life insurance, accident insurance, and excellent retirement program options. Please see Benefits at https://www.si.edu/OHR/benefits for a complete description. Flexible Spending Accounts - https://www.fsafeds.com/ Health Insurance - http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/index.asp Leave - http://www.opm.gov/oca/leave/index.asp Life Insurance - http://www.opm.gov/insure/life/index.asp Long Term Care Insurance - http://www.ltcfeds.com Retirement Program - https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/ Other Information

This position is NOT included in the bargaining unit. Recruitment Incentive: Recruitment incentive(s) may be authorized for this position. However, approval for incentives are contingent upon various availability. If authorized, certain incentives will require the incumbent to sign a service agreement to remain in the Federal government for a certain time period. Note: This statement does not imply nor guarantee an incentive will be offered and paid. Selections may be made for vacancies across the Smithsonian Institution (SI). By applying to this position, you agree to allow your application and other personal information to be shared with one or more SI hiring officials for employment consideration for same/similar positions within the location(s) identified in this announcement.