Director of Collection

Smithsonian Institution; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 122,000 - 158,000; Full time

Job summary

Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, seeks a Director of Collections for the National Postal Museum to oversee staff, strategy, and digitization initiatives while ensuring access to collections and proper governance.

The role includes leading on accessioning, deaccessioning, conservation, and security measures, reporting to the Director, and coordinating with donors and stakeholders. Telework is eligible; this is a full-time, permanent federal appointment.

Qualifications

• NO Basic Education is Required for this position.

Responsibilities

• Supervise the staff of the Collections Department.
• Develop and circulate annual goals and benchmarks for Collections Department in the areas of preservation, collections management, accessioning, exhibiting, lending, collecting, digitizing, and providing increased access to the collection.
• Develop new protocols and processing for capture, storing, and providing accessibility to digital collections, as well as creating new protocols and procedures for digitizing NPM's collections.
• Serve as the principal advisor to the Director on all complex collections management issues including accessioning (gifts bequests transfers purchases exchanges etc.), deaccessioning, conservation, preservation, security, environmental protections etc., and communicates with museum stakeholders or potential donors on collections management activities.

Job description

• Department: Other Agencies and Independent Organizations
• Location: Washington, District of Columbia

This position is located in the National Postal Museum (NPM) of the Smithsonian Initiation (SI). The National Postal Museum is dedicated to the preservation, study and presentation of postal history and philately. The museum uses exhibits, public programs and research to make this rich history available to scholars, philatelists, collectors and visitors from around the world.

Key Responsibilities

The Director of Collections Assigns projects, provides technical direction, and ensures staff are informed of and follow established operating plans, procedures, and instructions. In this position, you will: Supervise the staff of the Collections Department.

Develop and circulate annual goals and benchmarks for Collections Department in the areas of preservation, collections management, accessioning, exhibiting, lending, collecting, digitizing, and providing increased access to the collection. Develop new protocols and processing for capture, storing, and providing accessibility to digital collections, as well as creating new protocols and procedures for digitizing NPM's collections.

This includes analyzing, developing, and implementing best practices for digitizing NPM's collection. Serve as the principal advisor to the Director on all complex collections management issues including accessioning (gifts bequests transfers purchases exchanges etc.), deaccessioning, conservation, preservation, security, environmental protections etc., and communicates with museum stakeholders or potential donors on collections management activities.

Requirements & Education

NO Basic Education is Required for this position.

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/

Which agency is hiring for this position?

This position is with Smithsonian Institution , Other Agencies and Independent Organizations.

What is the salary for this position?

The posted pay range is $121785 – $158322/yr.

Is this position remote or telework eligible?

This position is eligible for telework.

What security clearance is required?

This position requires a Confidential security clearance.

What is the application deadline?

Applications close on 2026-10-20.

What is the work schedule?

This is a Full-Time, Permanent position.

Who is eligible to apply?

This position is open under the 'Fed Internal Search' hiring path.

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Source: USAJOBS.gov — U.S. Federal Government