Exhibits Specialist (Cost Estimate)

Summary

The Smithsonian Institution is the world's largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo. This position is located in Smithsonian Institution Exhibits (SIE), Office of the Under Secretary for Museums & Culture, Smithsonian Institution (SI). SIE is the SI-wide resource for exhibit planning, design and production. SIE provides expertise and support to all public-facing exhibit functions within SI museums, research centers and offices.

Duties

The Exhibits Specialist (Cost Estimate) provides comprehensive and objectively based information for making decisions on the administrative and programmatic aspects of unit operations. In this position, you will: Develop cost estimates for projects by performing cost/benefit and economic evaluations of current and projected projects by monitoring and analyzing overall capacity commitment and impact on project production and budget. Independently develop descriptive, diagnostic and predictive analytic products that provide valid and accurate information that informs decision making by the SIE Exhibits Production Management Team. Prepare and draft summary reports for diverse audiences and at all levels of institutional and unit leadership to support implementation of management, operational and production functions, communicating findings, conclusions and recommendations to SI Management and other decision makers in non-technical, accessible language. Conduct complex research and provide analysis to support the SIE management team, project managers and staff in the development, implementation, and optimization of project production performance measurement efforts while interfacing with institutional staff at all levels to ensure efficient and effective execution of project deliverables. Provide expertise in data collection and analysis techniques to best support the business and organizational goals of The Smithsonian and the execution of SIE projects by applying extensive knowledge of software systems for data collection and analysis. Requirements

Conditions of Employment Qualification requirements, including one year time-in-grade at the next lower grade level for promotion candidates, must be met within 30 days of the job announcement closing date. See the 'Required Documents' section for additional information. For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions viewable on OPM Website. Qualifications

Basic Qualifications Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- illustrative design, commercial art, fine arts, industrial design, architecture, drafting, interior design, or other fields related to the position. Advanced training in a vocational school, technical institute, or art institute above the high school level in one of the fields listed above is creditable as general experience on a month-for-month basis. OR Specialized Experience (for positions above GS-5): Experience in the actual type of work for which application is made. Unpaid experience is creditable, provided the work done was of a quality level and demonstrated the ability required for the position. This includes work in the appropriate field, e.g., design, modelmaking, art, taxidermy, or restoration. In addition to the basic qualification requirement above: 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 performing cost management and estimating, leading a cross-function team to develop project scope, schedules, and costs using forecasting, scheduling techniques and risk analysis; and using concepts and principles of Museum Exhibit Production and Installation industry and procurement strategies. 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. In an effort to streamline our hiring process, SI employees whose current position of record is in the same job series (1010) and who are in a (Federal competitive or excepted service appointment) as this advertised position, are not required to submit a transcript with your application package. However, if selected, you will be required to provide a copy of your transcript before your start date in the position. Time-in-Grade Requirements: Under competitive merit promotion procedures, any individual who is currently holding, or who has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under a non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet "time-in-grade" requirements (have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade of the grade for which you are applying).

Education

Please see above in qualification. How You Will Be Evaluated

Your application will be evaluated first for the basic qualifications described above. The applications that meet the basic qualifications will be evaluated further against the following criteria: Ability to serve as a resource for supervisors and production staff on production solutions and impact on cost estimates during all phases of project development, design and production while monitoring and analyzing overall capacity commitment and impact on project production and budget. Ability to complete reports and provide recommendations that influence decisions by management, stakeholders and project manager by studying, analyzing, and developing recommendations concerning the cost, efficiency and productivity of administration, operation and performance of strategic initiatives and projects. Ability to develop and deploy dashboards to communicate unit resource utilization toward organizational and audience goals and metrics, proactively researching project costs for materials and contracted services. Ability to conduct independent research, supporting and facilitating the analysis of data, measuring costs, integrity and accuracy for defined variables; providing guidance into data analysis and survey methodology and perform work to create finished products that contribute to data-driven decision making. Ability to assess data collected to existing systems for accuracy and reliability, identifying issues, and suggesting improvements based on the development of monitory and evaluation procedures to obtain data upon which decision for changing strategies can be made. Important Note: Your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses to the occupational questionnaire or other assessment tool for consistency. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience. Your resume should provide detailed information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed. 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 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.