Head of Northern European Paintings

Description Apply by 11:59 p.m. ET on July 27, 2026. The National Gallery of Art welcomes all people to explore art, creativity, and our shared humanity. Millions of people come through our doors each year, with even more online, making us one of the most visited art museums in the world. Our renowned collection includes over 160,000 works of art, from the ancient world to today. Admission to the West and East Buildings, Sculpture Garden, special exhibitions, and public programs is always free. The National Gallery of Art serves the United States in a national role by preserving, collecting, exhibiting, and fostering the understanding of works of art at the highest possible museum and scholarly standards. The Division of Paintings and Sculpture is responsible for the Gallery’s acquisition, care, study, and display of a world-class collection of European and American paintings and sculpture. The incumbent is an established scholar and recognized connoisseur and serves as Museum Curator (Head of Northern European Paintings) reporting to the Head of European and American Art. Duties Proposing, organizing, and coordinating or overseeing the development of major and minor exhibitions of Northern European Renaissance and Baroque paintings both from the Gallery's holdings and from other institutions and private collections. Managing over 370 Old Master paintings in the permanent collection. Performing and/or delegating scholarly and technical work to ensure thorough, up-to-date cataloguing, safe and orderly storage, and documentation of Northern European paintings belonging to the Gallery or proposed as gifts, purchases and loans. Ensuring timely and accurate maintenance of The Museum System (TMS) database entries for permanent collections and exhibit objects. Evaluating loan requests from other institutions to borrow paintings for special exhibitions; making recommendations for loan decisions and special loan conditions. Performing and overseeing advanced scholarly research on Northern European Renaissance and Baroque paintings in the collection and on prospective acquisitions, or in the areas of special expertise, and for inclusion or examination in exhibitions, scholarly journals, Gallery publications, lectures, and symposia. 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. Pass Pre‑employment Background Investigation. Suitable for Federal employment, determined by a background investigation. May be required to successfully complete a supervisory probationary period. 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 viewable on OPM Website. It is your responsibility to ensure that you submit appropriate documentation prior to the closing date. Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must highlight your most relevant and significant experience as it relates to this job announcement. Be clear and specific when describing your work history since human resources cannot make assumptions regarding your 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). 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. Basic Requirements: A. Degree: museum work; or in an applicable subject‑matter field. B. Combination of education and experience -- courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. 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. Specialized Experience Statement: Candidates must possess at least one year of specialized experience, equivalent in responsibility to the GS‑14 level in the Federal service or private sector performing and overseeing advanced scholarly research on Northern European Renaissance and Baroque paintings for an art museum. OPM Qualifications Standard: Individual Occupational Requirements: Museum Curator Series 1015. Associated Group standard: Group Coverage Qualification Standard for Professional and Scientific Positions. Other Relevant Eligibility Criteria: None. You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement. How you will be evaluated You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications above. Your resume will be used to evaluate your experience, education, and/or training that address the competencies below: Administration and Management Technical Competence Manages Resources Research Attention to Detail Customer Service Required Documents Your resume should include relevant work experience, applicable education and your contact information. For current or previous federal employees, include the pay plan, series and grade. To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes: Your Resume (no more than 2 pages) showing the applicant's name, email address, work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment, and duties performed to include pay plan, series, and grade level for relevant federal experience. Your resume must show complete information for each job entry to support minimum qualifications. Other supporting documents: Cover Letter, optional. Most recent Performance Appraisal, optional. Veterans' Preference documentation, if applicable (e.g. DD‑214 Member Copy 4 showing type of discharge/character of service; Current Active Duty members must submit a certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions dated within 120 days; SF‑15 Form and related documentation; VA letter). If you are a veteran and you are claiming 5‑point veterans' preference, you must submit a copy of your DD‑214 or other proof of eligibility. If you are a veteran and you are claiming 10‑point veterans' preference, you must also submit an SF‑15, “Application for 10‑Point Veterans' Preference” plus the proof required by that form. For more information on veterans' preference click here. Unofficial school transcripts, if the position has an education requirement or if you are using education to qualify. If selected for the position, you must provide an official transcript before appointment. Proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study, if applicable. Failure to submit any of the above‑mentioned required documents may result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. #J-18808-Ljbffr National Gallery of Art