Museum Specialist

Summary This position serves as a Museum Specialist for the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. The position functions as a collections manager for a park collection which consists of almost 54,409 objects, housed in park buildings and covering a number of disciplines including archeology, ethnology, history, natural resources, and archives. The employee also has responsibilities in the areas of research, exhibits, and education/interpretation. Responsibilities Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following: Assist in the preservation and care of museum collections and the historic structures of the park. Performs research to identify museum objects, responds to related research requests, identifies needs for restoration and preservation of objects, and writes related project proposals to obtain funding for identified long-term conservation needs. Maintains museum protection standards including environmental, fire, and security monitoring systems, and integrated pest management, applied in museum settings. Knowledge of methods used in museum cataloging, record keeping and data management for collections accountability and documentation. Maintains liaison and effective working relations with related groups and individuals, agencies and the public. Physical Demands: The work requires mental alertness, better than average manual dexterity, and mobility. Although primarily sedentary, inspections and operations evaluation involve activities demanding a certain amount of exertion such as walking, climbing, crawling, lifting of heavy objects, bending, stooping, and reaching. Working with collections can involve prolonged exposure to hazardous materials and equipment. Work Environment: Most of the work is performed in an office and storage or laboratory facility. Frequent visits are made to the library, visitor centers and other museum areas in the park, some of which are housed in historic structures that are not ADA accessible. Some travel to other facilities and museums, as well as, to training and professional meetings is required. Area Information: Ozark National Scenic Riverways is located in the heart of the Ozark Highlands of Missouri, in the southeastern portion of the state on the Current and Jack's Fork Rivers. The park features 134 miles of crystal clear, spring-fed rivers that are flanked by scenic bluffs, low mountains, and numerous springs and caves. Recreational opportunities abound and include kayaking, "tubing", fishing, hunting, and swimming. Hiking and mountain biking trails are plentiful in the area. The duty station for this position is at Park Headquarters in Van Buren, Missouri. Limited shopping, medical, and dental is available. For more shopping, medical, dental, and entertainment Popular Bluff and West Plains, Missouri are approximately 40 miles from Van Buren. Summers are warm and humid and winters are normally mild. Major attractions are located in St. Louis, Springfield, and Memphis two and half to three hours away. Additional information can be found at: Requirements Conditions of Employment Must be a U.S. Citizen or National. Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication. Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service. Direct Deposit participation required. Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment. You are required to wear a uniform and comply with uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided. You are required to complete training, obtain and maintain a government credit card with travel and purchase authority. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest. This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will 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. Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 09/14/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F. Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must possess at least of the following minimum qualifications. Specialized Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience that includes collections management, registration, cataloging, research, preservation, restoration, or conservation of collections of museum material, etc. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- Education: Successful completion at leave two (2) full academic years of progressively higher-level graduate education or master's or equivalent graduate degree related to the position. Related fields include history, art, museum studies, scientific subjects. You must include transcripts. -OR- Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. NOTE: Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. Two full academic years of study, or 60 semester hours, beyond the second year is equivalent to l year of specialized experience. For example, I have 6 months of the specialized experience described above (50% of the experience requirement), and 3 years of college study from an accredited institution (50% of the qualifying education) which included at least 12 semester hours of related coursework as specified above (50% of the related coursework required). You must include transcripts. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Volunteer 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. Education You must submit a copy of your transcript(s) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include your name, school name, grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, and date the degree was conferred, if applicable. A typed list of courses, grades, semester/quarter hours, GPA, etc. will not be accepted. Non-submission may result in being rated not qualified for the position. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work. Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: Additional Information Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. ( All DOI employees, their spouses, and minor children may not acquire or retain any claim, permit, lease, small tract entry, or other rights granted by the Department in Federal lands, with limited exceptions. Additional ethics prohibitions can be found here, DOI Ethics Prohibitions | U.S. Department of the Interior.