Visual Information Specialist at The Smithsonian Institution

Job Title: Visual Information Specialist

Job Status: Full-time

Location: Washington, D.C.

Salary: $78,592 – $145,617

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Duties

The purpose of this Visual Information Specialist position is to provide in-house design services for exhibitions, programs, public spaces, and graphics, as well as to manage the design process for major exhibitions, programming spaces, and public space renovations. 

In this position, you will:

• Lead project teams through the design and fabrication processes transforming intellectual content into three-dimensional built environments, printed graphics and assets, virtual environments, and multi-media delivery systems within the built environment; be responsible for conceptualizing, ideating, planning, visualizing, developing, documenting, detailing, and coordinating the design of all aspects of assigned projects, including interpretation of and compliance with criteria, regulations, policies, procedures, standards, and best practices.
• Create assets including comprehensive phase-end deliverables, detail packages for in-house or contracted exhibit/graphic fabrication, interim design presentations for teams, museum leadership and other stakeholders, as well as renderings, visualizations, or other products for the purposes of fundraising, publicity, and other external communications.
• Coordinate communication between project teams and technical experts in exhibition fabrication and maintenance, exhibit lighting, audio/visual technology, media and software development, accessibility, facility maintenance, and operations.
• Work with curators, collection managers, conservation specialists, mount makers and other specialists to balance a project’s interpretive and experience goals with artifact conservation, preservation, and security requirements.
• Coordinate between Project Directors, curators, exhibit developers, educators, other team members or museum staff contributing to script writing/review, editors, and translators on the creation and implementation of a project’s interpretive strategy and graphics including final typesetting, creation of graphic production files and proof review.
• Approve and execute recommendations for the solicitation, selection, and award of basic contracts in support of specific programs and may serve as the contracting officer’s technical representative (COTR), developing appropriate and comprehensive scopes of work, assembling procurement documents, monitoring progress of contracts, certifying deliverables and approving payment.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Pass Pre-employment Background Investigation
• May need to complete a Probationary Period
• Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer
• Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.

 

Conditions of Employment:

• Incumbent must be able to obtain and maintain a Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR) Level II certification.

More than one selection may be made from this announcement.

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.

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.