Summary The incumbent plays a vital leadership role at the National Gallery and is one of four senior curators reporting to the Chief Curatorial and Conservation Officer (CCCO). The new curator will galvanize and direct the activities of the European and American art department to conceive and implement innovative and forward-thinking and audience-centered curatorial strategies, scholarship, and public service. Responsibilities The curatorial division of European and American Art is responsible for the Gallery's care, study, display, and expansion of a world-class collection of paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts from Europe, America, and other parts of the world, from the medieval, Renaissance Baroque, 18th-century, and 19th-century periods. The Senior Curator of European and American Art is one of four senior curators reporting to the Chief Curatorial and Conservation Officer. Shape the museum's pre-1900 European and American paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts program in ways that expand the contours of historical European and American art and its relevance to contemporary audiences. Plan future growth and contributes to the division's goals and strategies in areas of collection management and expansion, donor development, research, exhibitions, installations, loans, and interpretive programs. Work collaboratively with curators across the Gallery to conceive and implement plans for new installations and displays of the permanent collection. Embrace innovative approaches to the fields of European and American art as they impact scholarship, collections development, staff management, and audience engagement. Propose, organize, and review proposals by others for major and minor exhibitions of pre-1900 European and American art both from the Gallery's holdings and from other institutions and private collections. Share or delegate collection management responsibilities for the department that aligns with own expertise. Expand and deepen the Gallery's collections through the acquisition of works of art of the highest quality and relevance to the Gallery's mission and collecting policies. Perform and oversee advanced scholarly research on European and American art in the collection, on prospective acquisitions, in areas of special expertise, and for inclusion or examination in exhibitions, scholarly journals, Gallery publications, lectures, and symposia. Collaborate with colleagues across the gallery to develop effective means of sharing scholarly information with diverse Gallery audiences; writes or reviews texts for the website, brochures, leaflets, and other Gallery publications or scholarly studies. Manage personnel and resources; responsible for developing and managing budgets and the allocation of space, time, staff, and equipment. Perform the full range of supervisory responsibilities for subordinates directly supervised and serves as second-level supervisor for employees who report to the division's department heads Participate in Gallery-wide activities and meetings related to curatorial or administrative matters of concern to the curatorial and conservation divisions or to the Gallery at large. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a United States Citizen. This employer participates in the e-Verify program. Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service See "Other Information" section regarding Selective Service requirements. Suitable for Federal employment, determined by a background investigation May be required to successfully complete a probationary period Resumes must be no longer than two-pages in length. The resume must address minimum qualifications and other requirements listed in the job announcement. Beginning on September 27, 2025, job seekers can modify existing resumes stored in their USAJOBS profile or upload or build a new resume in their USAJOBS profile to meet the two-page requirement and mark a resume as searchable in the Agency Talent Portal (ATP). Job seekers must choose a resume that is two pages or less to make it searchable and apply for jobs. Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable) as it relates to this job opportunity. 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). Your resume must include the dates of all qualifying experience (from month/year to month/year) and the number of hours worked/volunteered per week. Qualifications Specialized Experience Statement: To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, candidates must possess a minimum of one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to grade level GS-15 in the public, private sectors. Specialized experience is defined as: Serving as a senior curator, responsible for the overall management, safekeeping, and integrity of Western art before 1900, with a record of achievement in art museum management, art acquisitions, collection care and development, research, publications, exhibitions, interpretation, and programs, together with the breadth of curatorial experience to create dialogues with other media and the curiosity to forge connections across collections areas who specializes in one or more of the disciplines represented by the five curatorial departments that make up the division of European and American Art (American and British, Northern European, French, Italian and Spanish paintings, and Sculpture and Decorative Arts, before 1900), for a major organization or institution. OPM Qualifications Standard: Individual Occupational Requirements: Museum Curator Series 1015 Associated Group standard: Group Coverage Qualification Standard for Professional and Scientific Positions Basic Qualification Requirements for 1015 (Museum Curator series): A) Degree: museum work; or in an applicable subject-matter field; or B) Combination of education and experience -- courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education; or C) Four years of experience that provided knowledge comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of the 4-year course of study as shown in A above. MANDATORY QUALIFICATIONS: Applicants must address the following mandatory qualifications separate from their resumes. Statements must provide specific examples that address relevant experience, accomplishments and evidence that you possess demonstrated superior technical qualifications. You will not be considered for this position if you fail to submit qualification statements specifically addressing each mandatory technical qualification requirement. Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQ): Maximum of two pages per MTQ. Demonstrated knowledge and experience with the curation of art, experience in budget and staff management, strategic planning, and project management of collaborative and complex curatorial projects and initiatives. In addition to a resume, each applicant is required to submit a comprehensive narrative statement addressing each MTQ individually. The narrative must demonstrate the necessary level of skills, characteristics, qualities, specialized knowledge, and technical competence that would indicate successful performance in this Senior Level position. This evidence must include clear and concise examples that emphasize the applicant's level of responsibilities, scope, and complexity of assignments, program accomplishments, policy initiatives, and level of contacts. Applicants who fail to provide this narrative statement in the format requested will not be considered. EACH MANDATORY TECHNICAL QUALIFICATION (MTQ) MUST BE ADDRESSED AND TITLED SEPARATELY AND MUST NOT EXCEED TWO PAGES PER STATEMENT Do not enter "Refer to Resume" to explain your answer. Applications directing the reader to search within the application or to "See Resume" are considered incomplete and WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. Other Relevant Eligibility Criteria: Must maintain availability for executive incident response and occasional work outside normal business hours Requires availability for domestic and international travel up to 10%. May be required to carry a Gallery-issued phone during non-work hours. Your responses to the MTQs will be evaluated based on how clearly and concisely you emphasize your level of responsibilities, particularly, the scope and complexity of the programs, activities, or services managed; program accomplishments; policy initiatives undertaken; level of contacts; the sensitivity and criticality of the issues addressed; and the results of actions taken. You are required to submit separate narrative statements for each MTQ to receive consideration for this position. Please see the REQUIRED DOCUMENTS section for complete details regarding the page limitation and formatting requirement. Applicants must carefully review the information in the "How You Will Be Evaluated" section for important information and instructions pertaining to the multi-hurdle assessment process for this position. While not required by regulation, agencies may require that at least 1 year of the specialized experience must be at least equivalent to experience at GS-15 (5 CFR 319.301(c)(2)). Only experience and education obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered. 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. Education Basic Qualification Requirements for 1015 (Museum Curator series): A) Degree: museum work; or in an applicable subject-matter field; or B) Combination of education and experience -- courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education; or C) Four years of experience that provided knowledge comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of the 4-year course of study as shown in A above. You must provide documentation supporting your education claims. Education must be obtained from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Foreign education must be reviewed by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website. Additional Information The National Gallery of Art fosters a diverse and inclusive workplace and is an Equal Opportunity Employer. More than one selection may be made from this vacancy announcement. Must maintain availability for executive incident response and occasional work outside normal business hours May be required to carry a Gallery-issued phone during non-work hours. Relocation expenses will not be paid. Some positions may require completion of a probationary period of up to 1 (one) year. Your responses to the MTQs will be evaluated based on how clearly and concisely you emphasize your level of responsibilities, particularly, the scope and complexity of the programs, activities, or services managed; program accomplishments; policy initiatives undertaken; level of contacts; the sensitivity and criticality of the issues addressed; and the results of actions taken. AN EXTERNAL SELECTED CANDIDATE MUST BE FINGERPRINTED AND RECEIVE A BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION, RESULTING IN A SATISFACTORY SUITABILITY DETERMINATION BEFORE BEING HIRED FOR THIS POSITION. All males born after December 31st 1959 must abide by laws regarding Selective Service registration. To learn more about this law, visit the Selective Service web page, Who Must Register. If you are not registered and don't have an approved exemption, you will not be eligible for employment with the Federal government. EEO Policy: https://help.usajobs.gov/equal-employment-opportunity Reasonable Accommodation Policy: https://help.usajobs.gov/reasonable-accommodation Veterans Information: https://help.usajobs.gov/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/veterans Selective Service Registration: http://www.sss.gov/ Reasonable Accommodation Requests: To learn more, please consult the following resources: Disability Employment - Reasonable Accommodations (OPM) How to contact an agency
