Visitor Services Manager.

Smithsonian Institution; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

Retirement Program

Leave

Job summary

The Smithsonian Institution seeks a Visitor Services Manager to lead daily operations in public spaces, recruit and train volunteers, and coordinate with events teams to ensure a positive on-site visitor experience.

You will disseminate information to staff and visitors, oversee internship and fellowship programs, and develop training to raise staff and volunteer effectiveness across the museum. This role emphasizes accessibility and engagement.

Qualifications

• One year of specialized experience at GS-11 level in museum or similar organization.
• Experience planning, coordinating, and implementing audience-centered visitor services.
• Experience leading community engagement and volunteer programs.
• Ability to interpret guidelines and work within federal hiring requirements.

Responsibilities

• Plan, coordinate, and implement all elements of visitor services.
• Manage internships and fellowships support.
• Develop and deliver training for staff and volunteers.

Skills

Visitor services

Program management

Volunteer management

Staff training

Public engagement

Education

No formal education requirement

Job description

Duties

The Visitor Services Manager is responsible for planning, coordinating, and overseeing daily operations in the museum's public spaces, including volunteer recruitment, training, evaluation, and management; disseminating information to staff and visitors; supporting events and programming teams to create a positive onsite visitor experience; and performing related financial and administrative duties.

In This Position, You Will

• Plan, coordinate, and implement all elements of visitor services, consisting of operations policies, procedures and protocols, accessibility, audience evaluations, and other activities to provide services and assistance to the visiting public.
• Manage front and back-end requirements supporting internships and/or fellowships at the museum.
• Develop and deliver training programs to enhance the skill and effectiveness of staff and volunteers who interact with museum visitors.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

• Requires career/career-conditional status or eligibility.
• Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.

Conditions of Employment

Qualification requirements, including one year time-in-grade at the next lower grade level for promotion candidates, must be met within 30 days of the job announcement closing date. See the 'Required Documents' section for additional information.

For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions viewable on

Experience

You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level in the Federal Service. For this position, specialized experience is defined as planning, coordinating, and implementing audience-centered visitor services and engagement strategies for public programs within a museum, cultural institution, or similar organization; managing academic appointment programs; and leading community engagement activities and volunteer docent programs in a public-facing organization.

Your resume must be no more than two (2) pages and should clearly demonstrate how your experience aligns with the responsibilities and specialized experience required for this position. Do not copy language directly from the vacancy announcement, as you will be deemed ineligible for consideration. Instead, provide detailed, descriptive information about your actual experience.

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.

Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience. Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week.

In an effort to streamline our hiring process, SI employees whose current position of record is in the same job series 1001 and who are in a (Federal competitive or excepted service appointment) as this advertised position, are not required to submit a transcript with your application package. However, if selected, you will be required to provide a copy of your transcript before your start date in the position.

Time-in-Grade Requirements: Under competitive merit promotion procedures, any individual who is currently holding, or who has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under a non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet "time-in-grade" requirements (have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade of the grade for which you are applying).

Education

No basic education requirement for this position.

Additional information

This position is included in the bargaining unit.

Recruitment Incentive

Recruitment incentive(s) may be authorized for this position. However, approval for incentives are contingent upon various availability. If authorized, certain incentives will require the incumbent to sign a service agreement to remain in the Federal government for a certain time period.

Note: This statement does not imply nor guarantee an incentive will be offered and paid.

Selections may be made for vacancies across the Smithsonian Institution (SI)

By applying to this position, you agree to allow your application and other personal information to be shared with one or more SI hiring officials for employment consideration for same/similar positions within the location(s) identified in 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.

Benefits

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

• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Health Insurance
• Leave
• Life Insurance
• Long Term Care Insurance
• Retirement Program