Museum Specialist (Art) IS-1016-9/11

Application Deadline: 22 June 2026

Department: National Museum of Asian Art

Location: Washington, DC

Compensation: $70,623 - $85,447 / year

Description

OPEN DATE: May 29, 2026
CLOSING DATE: June 22, 2026
POSITION TYPE: Trust Fund
APPOINTMENT TYPE: Indefinite
SCHEDULE: Full Time
DUTY LOCATION: Washington, DC


Position sensitivity and risk:
Non-Sensitive / Low Risk

Open to all qualified applicants

This is a career ladder opportunity with promotion potential to grade 11. Promotion to the next higher grade, up to IS-11, may occur at management’s discretion upon the supervisor’s recommendation, subject to the availability of funds, classification requirements, satisfactory performance, and the employee's qualifications.

What are Trust Fund Positions?
Trust Fund positions are unique to the Smithsonian. They are paid for from a variety of sources, including the Smithsonian endowment, revenue from our business activities, donations, grants and contracts. Trust employees are not part of the civil service, nor does trust fund employment lead to Federal status. The salary ranges for trust positions are generally the same as for federal positions and in many cases trust and federal employees work side by side. Trust employees have their own benefit program, which may include Health, Dental & Vision Insurance, Life Insurance, Transit/Commuter Benefits, Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance, Annual and Sick Leave, Family Friendly Leave, 403b Retirement Plan, Discounts for Smithsonian Memberships, Museum Stores and Restaurants, Credit Union, Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center (Child Care), Flexible Spending Account (Health & Dependent Care).

Conditions of Employment

• Pass Pre-employment Background Check and Subsequent Background Investigation for position designated.
• Complete a Probationary Period.
• Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer.
• The position is open to all candidates eligible to work in the United States. Proof of eligibility to work in U.S. is not required to apply.
• Applicants must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.
  
  

OVERVIEW

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art opened in 1923 as America’s first national art museum and the first Asian art museum in the United States. It now stewards on of the world’s most important collections of Asian art, with works dating from antiquity to the present. The museum also hosts an unparalleled collection of 19th- and early 20th-century American art.

Through an ambitious program of collecting, conservation, exhibitions, programming and research, both onsite and online, the museum serves as a global and national resource for understanding the arts and cultures of Asia and their interaction with America, past and present. By presenting the arts and cultures of Asia in their extraordinary richness, the museum furthers cross-cultural understanding and aims to exemplify foundational ideals of curiosity, creativity and respect.

Located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the museum is free and open 364 days a year (closed Dec. 25). The Smithsonian is the world’s largest museum, education and research complex and welcomes millions of visitors yearly. For more information about the National Museum of Asian Art, visit asia.si.edu.

The Opportunity
This position serves as a museum specialist in NMAA’s Collections Management department. The department is responsible for the logistics and documentation of acquisitions, deaccessions, loans as well as access to and physical care of object collections.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The incumbent, under the supervision of the Head of Collections Management, is responsible for supporting a variety of registration and collections management duties, including:

• Coordinating the packing and shipping logistics related to proposed acquisition intake and movement
• Managing acquisition milestone tracking and documentation; working with donors and collectors to coordinate completion of acquisition paperwork; liaises with the Office of Contracting to complete artwork purchase agreements
• Maintaining acquisition files across all object collections, physically and digitally
• Creating and maintaining the collection database records in The Museum System;
• Assisting collections managers in collection care duties including annual cyclical inventory, object numbering and rehousing, and supporting researcher access to collections
• Supporting emergency management and incident reporting documentation and training
• Supporting deaccession documentation and logistics
• As assigned, acting as project registrar for assigned loans and/or exhibitions and supports NMAA loan and exhibition program; supports overall temporary exhibition loan management, including coordinating logistics, insurance, loan agreements, packing and crating, installation, and deinstallation, as well as file management
• Supporting researcher object file requests, scanning and redacting files for dissemination
• Participating in collections management-related policy and procedure revisions

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

To qualify for this position, you must meet one of the following:

A. Specialized Experience
To qualify for IS-09, you must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the IS/GS-07 level. Specialized experience includes experience such as:
- Knowledge of and skill utilizing collections management systems
- Supporting acquisitions documentation (tracking milestones, preparing and maintaining acquisition files, coordinating donor/collector paperwork)
- Object handling and object storage experience
- Supporting collections care activities and inventory support
- Assisting with loan/exhibition registrar support (documentation packages, file management, routine logistics tracking)

B. Education
You may substitute education for experience at the IS-09 level: two (2) full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education or a master’s (or equivalent graduate) degree in a field related to the work (e.g., museum studies, art history, library/information science, fine arts, public history, archives/records management, or a related field).

C. Combination
A combination of graduate education and specialized experience may be used to meet the qualification requirements.

To qualify for IS-11 level, you must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the IS/GS-09 level. Specialized experience includes experience such as:
- Experience processing acquisitions in a museum setting, managing the entire process from proposal to accessioning
- Strong object handling and object storage experience
- Experience with exhibition installation and deinstallation
- Ability to work on various projects simultaneously with minimal supervision.
- Knowledge of and skill utilizing collections management systems
- Experience directing the work of others in a coordinative role (e.g. contractor oversight, assigning/monitoring other team members’ tasks and or/deadlines, etc.).
- Strong communication and presentation skills with the ability to present timelines and processes to internal and external stakeholders

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. This documentation is the responsibility of the applicant and should be included as part of your application package.

Any false statement in your application may result in rejection of your application and may also result in termination after employment begins.

Join us in "Inspiring Generations through Knowledge and Discovery."

Resumes should include a description of your paid and non-paid work experience that is related to this job; starting and ending dates of job (month and year); and average number of hours worked per week.

What To Expect Next: Once the vacancy announcement closes, a review of your resume will be compared against the qualification and experience requirements related to this job. After review of applicant resumes is complete, qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager.

Relocation expenses are not paid.

The Smithsonian Institution provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation should contact nmaa-hr@si.edu. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. To learn more, please review the Smithsonian’s Accommodation Procedures.

The Smithsonian Institution is an Equal Opportunity Employer. To review The Smithsonian's EEO program information, please click the following: https://www.si.edu/oeo