Work schedule: Full-Time, Permanent
Appointment type: Federal
Agency: Other Agencies and Independent Organizations
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 the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), NMAI's Cultural Resources Center (CRC) in Suitland, MD. More than one selection may be made from this announcement.
Major duties
- The Archives Technician is responsible for assisting with the arrangement, description, preservation, cataloging and access to NMAI's moderately large archival collections. In this position, you will: Assist the Head Archivist and Archive Center staff in the physical collections management of a wide range of archival materials including but not limited to papers, photographs, film, video, and sound recordings. Be responsible for tracking, rehousing and storing of archival collections; monitoring temperature, relative humidity and storage condition; conducting archival collection inventories, surveys, reorganizing and refiling collections materials among other duties related to the care, preservation and management of archival collections. Process new and legacy archival collections, apply basic preservation methods including removing damaging residue or attachments; rehousing documents in acid free folders and containers; and identifying and maintaining a running list of fragile materials that require preservation treatment and digitization. Describe archival materials for both new acquisitions and unprocessed legacy collections. The description includes well-written and concise finding aids and collection level records entered in Archivists' Toolkit system in accordance with archival descriptive standards including DACS. Prepare small purchase orders to secure supplies and services from outside vendors. Work on administrative and program support tasks including arranging travel for staff and contracted consultants, including scheduling transportation, making hotel reservations, supporting staff en route and preparing travel authorizations and vouchers. Assist the Reference Archivist in providing reference and research services both onsite and remotely, to the public, Native American communities and constituents, researchers, and Smithsonian staff. Assists on-site researchers in the Archive Center reading room by identifying appropriate collections, pulling items, assisting in their use, and refiling them. Answers staff and public inquiries by performing necessary research about archival holdings and responding in a detailed manner via email, phone or letter.
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.
Education
See above under qualifications..
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 methods of archival storage and preservation for paper, photographic, media, and digital materials. Knowledge of basic archival principles, methods, and techniques, automated information systems, and their applications to routine archival situations. Ability to use electronic archival and museum collection information management systems for describing, organizing, and managing archival holdings. Knowledge of purchasing procedures, rules, and regulations. Knowledge of Federal travel procedures, rules and regulations. Ability to perform onsite and remote reference service with a wide variety of archival researchers, including museum professionals, scholars, tribal representatives, artists, non-traditional researchers, and the general public. BASIS OF RATING: Once the announcement closes, your application will be automatically evaluated and rated by the system and a Human Resources Specialist. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your application and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the occupational questionnaire. The numeric rating you receive is based on your responses to the questionnaire. The score is a measure of the degree to which your background matches the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of this position. If, after the Human Resources Specialist reviews your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that the score you have received is not a true reflection of your qualifications and/or experience, your score can and will be adjusted to more accurately reflect the information you provided that support your abilities. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Your resume should provide detailed information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed. Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA): If you are applying for a VEOA appointment, you must be a veteran and must be honorably separated and either a preference eligible or have substantially completed 3 or more years of active service. ("Active Service" under this law means active duty in a uniformed service and includes full-time training duty, annual training duty, full-time National Guard duty, and attendance, while in the active service, at a school designated as a service school by law or by the Secretary concerned.) A veteran who is released under honorable conditions shortly before completing a 3-year tour is also eligible. Noncompetitive Appointment Authorities: The following links contain information on the eligibility requirements to be considered under a noncompetitive appointing authority: Primary Appointing Authorities for Career and Career-Conditional Appointments Hiring Authorities for Veterans People with Disabilities You may preview questions for this vacancy.
How to apply
Click on the "Apply Online" button on the upper right side of the page. Please Note: You must apply for this position online through the 'Apply Online' button and submit required supplemental documents (if they are relevant to you). You may submit required documents by uploading them online during the application process. The complete application package, including any required documents, is due in the Smithsonian Office of Human Resources on the closing date of the announcement by 11:59 PM Eastern Time. If you are unable to apply online, paper applications may be accepted with prior approval of the Contact Person listed below.
What to expect next
At the end of the application process you will be able to create and save a PDF file that contains your responses to the assessment questions. You may save this file as initial receipt of your application. After the job announcement closes, you will receive an email from the Smithsonian with confirmation of receipt. The Smithsonian receives many applications for each job. Each application is reviewed carefully which may take a few weeks. We will send you an e-mail to update you as we go through phases of the application review process. You may also check your application status by logging into www.usajobs.gov and selecting the tab "My USAJOBS;" e-mailing vacancy.info@si.edu; or by contacting the Office of Human Resources Representative listed. Additional Information: Tips on applying for Smithsonian jobs are available at https://www.si.edu/OHR/howtoapply. The Smithsonian does not pay relocation expenses but recruitment incentives may be authorized. The Smithsonian embraces diversity and equal employment opportunity (www.si.edu/oeema).
Source: USAJOBS (U.S. Office of Personnel Management) — https://www.usajobs.gov:443/job/887878100
Cite this job as: JOBnaru™ — https://jobnaru.com/en/jobs/archives-technician-smithsonian-institution-suitland-maryland · Posted 2026-10-07 · Original posting: www.usajobs.gov:443