Supervisory Museum Curator (Assistant Director)

Justice Management Division; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Justice Management Division seeks a Supervisory Museum Curator (Assistant Director) to lead museum management, collections, preservation, exhibits and education programs for the DOJ Museum. You will direct staff, manage budgets, and implement agency-wide policies.

Qualified candidates have a degree in museum work or related field, plus 4+ years of specialized experience in museum leadership, artifacts, and digital exhibitions. U.S. citizenship and security checks apply.

Qualifications

• Degree in museum work or an applicable subject-matter field.
• Specialized experience directing artifacts for museum exhibits, history education, and preservation.
• Experience implementing policies governing museum operations and access to information.

Responsibilities

• Serve as Assistant Director for Museum Management; oversee operations, collections, exhibits, preservation, and history programs.
• Direct museum administration, artifact and historical collections, preservation, exhibits, interpretation, education, and documentation.
• Manage program budgets, contracts, facilities, and technology investments; implement Department-wide policies.

Skills

Museum management

Policy development

Digital exhibitions

Historical research

Supervisory experience

Education

Degree in museum work or applicable subject

Job description

Summary
Serves as the Supervisory Museum Curator of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), manages professional, technical, and operational activities of the DOJ Museum. Directs museum administration, artifact and historical collections, preservation and conservation, exhibits, interpretation, education, historical research, and documentation.

Duties

Responsibilities
The duties and responsibilities for a Supervisory Museum Curator (Assistant Director), GS-1015-15 generally include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Serve as the Assistant Director for Museum Management for U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), manages museum operations, collections, exhibitions, preservation activities, and history programs.
• Perform the administrative and human resource management functions relative to the staff supervised.
• Direct museum administration, artifact and historical collections, preservation and conservation, exhibits, interpretation, education, historical research, and documentation.
• Implement Department-wide policies governing museum operations, historical collections, preservation, research, interpretation, and information access.
• Manage museum program budgets, collections care resources, contracts, facilities, technology investments, and internal controls.

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a United States Citizen or National.
• You will be required to complete a pre-employment security investigation and background check which includes a drug screening.
• You may be required to complete a probationary or trial period. See "Additional Information" section for specific details.
• Selective Service registration is required for males born on, or after, December 31, 1959. Those not registered should have an approved exemption on file.
• You must meet all eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement and continue to meet these requirements throughout the hiring process. Offers can be rescinded if requirements are not met.
• Financial Disclosure: If selected, you may be required to disclose financial information in accordance with DOJ and Federal ethics guidelines.
• You may be required to complete a one-year supervisory probationary period.

Qualifications
To qualify for the position of Supervisory Museum Curator (Assistant Director), at GS-1015-15 you must meet the basic qualification requirements listed below.

Basic Requirements

• Degree: museum work; or in an applicable subject-matter field.

OR

• Combination of education and experience-courses equivalent to a major, shown A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

OR
Four years of experience that provided knowledge comparable to the normally acquired through the successful completion of the 4-year course study as shown in A above.

Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-14 grade level or equivalent band in the Federal service, which includes: Directing the management of artifacts for museum exhibits, displays, interpretation, and/or history and heritage education and training; Developing policies governing museum operations, historical collections, preservation, research, interpretation, and/or information access; AND Implementing emerging technologies for digital exhibitions, online collections, public history platforms, and/or preservation systems.

You MUST meet all qualification requirements, including time-in-grade, by the 11/25/2026 of this announcement.

Your resume must support your responses to the application questionnaire and the qualification requirements. Failure to do so may result in an ineligible rating.

See the Required Documents section for important notes about what must be included in your resume.

Education

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements, please see the statements below.

Education must be reviewed and certified by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, in order for it to be creditable towards your qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from accredited institution.

FOREIGN EDUCATION:

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. You must show proof the education credentials have been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. education program. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see All documentation must be in English or include an English translation.

If you are using education to qualify for this position, or education is required:

• You must submit a transcript, which may be unofficial, as long as it contains a full listing of courses, credit earned, grade and grade-point-average, subject area, degree(s) earned, and dates of award.
• Your
• Please do not submit electronic transcripts with documentation security protection. These may prevent our application system from accepting and processing the document.

Additional information

Additional selections may be made from this announcement.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution. Candidates will not be hired based on their race, sex, color, religion, or national origin.

Probationary or Trial Period (as applicable): As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

EEO Statement/Policy: The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. More information can be found here: DOJ Reasonable Accommodation Policy: Federal agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate.

Selective Service: If you were born male, on or after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. Additional information is found at: Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs: The Fair Chance Act prohibits Federal agencies from requesting an applicant's criminal history information before the agency makes a conditional offer of employment. If you believe a DOJ employee or Federal contractor acting on its behalf has violated your rights under this Act, you may submit a written complaint within 30 days of the date of the alleged non‑compliance directly to the hiring office using the contact information listed in the announcement.

Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs: The Fair Chance Act prohibits Federal agencies from requesting an applicant's criminal history information before the agency makes a conditional offer of employment. If you believe a DOJ employee or Federal contractor acting on its behalf has violated your rights under this Act, you may submit a written complaint within 30 days of the date of the alleged non‑compliance directly to the hiring office.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding.

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full‑time, part‑time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

Required Documents

It is your responsibility to carefully review the list of required documents below and submit the necessary documentation based on your eligibility.

Resume - All Applicants:

• Official position title,
• Employer name and contact information,
• Start and end dates (including month and year),
• Indicate full‑time or number of hours worked per week if part‑time,
• A list of duties performed and accomplishments.

All Applicants: Submit your most recent performance evaluation or appraisal, signed, showing your final rating. If a performance appraisal is not available submit a statement explaining why one is not available.

Due Weight for Performance:

• You must submit a copy of your most recent performance appraisal, and
• A list of any awards (e.g. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increase, etc.) you received in the last 5 years. Any performance appraisal/evaluation and award documentation you provide will be forwarded to the selecting official. The selecting official will review this documentation and give it due weight consideration during the overall selection process. Due weight for performance applies to federal and non‑federal work. If you do not have your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation, please submit a statement as to why it is not available.

If you are a qualifying parent or spouse:

• When claiming a Veteran's Preference, you must submit your last DD‑214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) form, specifically the Member #4 Copy, indicating dates and character of service and discharge type.

If you are a person with a disability, claiming eligibility under Schedule A: You must submit "proof of a disability" documentation ("Proof of a disability" is a letter stating that you have an intellectual disability, severe physical disability or psychiatric disability). You must get this letter from your doctor, a licensed medical professional, a licensed vocational rehabilitation specialist, or any Federal, state, or local agency that issues or provides disability benefits.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

Your complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 11/25/2026 to receive consideration.

Career Transition Assistance Program: This program applies to DOJ employees who meet the definition of surplus or displaced from a position in the competitive service. To receive selection priority for this position, you must:

• Meet
• Be rated well‑qualified for the position with a score of 85 or above based on the competencies listed above; and
• Submit the appropriate documentation to support your

If you are a displaced Federal employee claiming eligibility under: You must submit your separation notice or agency RIF letter from your agency OR if you have not yet been separated, you can provide the letter of intent to separate you from the agency because of reduction‑in‑force. Submit a copy of your most recent performance appraisal and SF‑50 showing current/former position, grade, promotion potential, and duty location OR Certification of Expected Separation, Reduction‑In‑Force Separation Notice, or Notice of Proposed Removal; SF‑50 that documents the RIF separation action; and most recent performance appraisal.

Agency contact information

Tamara Shelton

Phone Email Address Justice Management Division, Library Staff

2 Constitution Square

145 N Street NE

Room 9W.300

Washington, DC 20530

US

Next steps: You will receive e‑mail notifications as your application status is updated by DOJ. However, you can also see your application status any time by logging in to your USAJOBS account and looking on the "Applications" page. Click the position title to expand the display for each application in the list. We strive to extend a final offer of employment within 90 days from the close of this announcement. Additional selections may be made from this announcement within 90 days.