PROJECT ASSISTANT, LEMELSON CENTER, EDUCATION AND PUBLIC PROGRAMS OFFICE, NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

Opens September 14, 2011; applications must be received by October 5, 2011. Expected start date is the January 2, 2012.

The Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation (Lemelson Center) at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History (NMAH) is recruiting for a Project Assistant to join the team. The Lemelson Center is dedicated to exploring invention in history and encouraging inventive creativity in young people. Working individually and with members of the Lemelson Center team, under the supervision of the Center’s Exhibition Program Manager, the Project Assistant will conduct research about historic and contemporary inventors, innovators, and “places of invention,” assist with exhibition development, coordination, and related program planning, assist with the Center’s podcast series “Inventive Voices,” and provide administrative and programmatic support for the in-development Places of Invention exhibition project and for general Lemelson Center activities. Places of Invention, scheduled to open in 2014, will be a new, interactive, family-friendly exhibition for the Lemelson Hall of Invention at NMAH that tells the stories of historic and modern communities where people, resources, and spaces have come together to spark inventiveness.

Applicants must demonstrate experience in conducting historical research, writing, and giving presentations, and have strong organizational skills. The best qualified applicants will also have experience developing museum exhibitions and related programs. A master’s degree or equivalent experience in history, public history, American studies, museum studies, or relevant field is preferred.

This is a full-time, 2-year Trust (non-Federal) position at IS-9, Step 1. The salary is $51,630 with excellent benefits.  To apply, please submit a cover letter, a resume documenting the above criteria, two (2) writing samples, and contact information for three (3) work and/or academic references by October 5, 2011 to:

Monica M. Smith
Exhibition Program Manager
Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation
National Museum of American History, Smithsonian
14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW
MRC 604, PO Box 37012
Washington, DC 20013-7012
[log in to unmask] - Email

The Smithsonian is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.  Women and minorities, and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

 
THE GENERAL DUTIES OF THE POSITION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

Project Assistant IS-9 #102108

Introduction
										
This position exists in any of the offices and/or projects within the National Museum of American History (NMAH) for the purpose of assisting in a variety of programmatic tasks related to specific projects, most usually exhibition and public program projects.  The incumbent may be involved in all or part of the duties listed below; the proportion of time spent on each varies with the project at hand.

Major Duties

Research and Writing: Under the general direction of the project curator or project director, conducts research on topics, themes, objects, consultants, speakers that will be addressed or used in the exhibition/public program.  The research sources include, but are not limited to, in-house, Library of Congress, National Archives, telephone and/or correspondence with other institutions, universities, churches, local historical societies, libraries, personal interviews and the World-Wide Web (WWW).  Results of research take the form of research files/notebooks, written reports, data base entries, graphics and web sites.  Produces draft label text, publicity materials, graphics captions, program notes, web site text, and other limited parts of exhibit or program script.

Identifies graphics (photographs, illustrations, paintings, engravings, maps, news articles) to support and illustrate the theme, topic, or program issues and highlights.  Secures rights and permissions from authors, publishers, photographers, universities and/or repositories; arranges payments as necessary.

Collections Management: Manages collection used for exhibition/program.  This includes organizing and maintaining staging area; coordinating with curatorial divisions and preservation services in object care, housing, and conservation needs; object handling (including moving and re-housing); scheduling, moving, and processing new acquisitions and loans; maintaining computerized data base of objects.

General programmatic and administrative support: Gathers and maintains a variety of information (scripts, notes, notebooks, graphics, archival materials) for project files and/or specific components in project development, updating as necessary under general direction of project manager.  

Provides general administrative support for projects, exhibitions, and programs: makes general arrangements for space, times, travel, hotel rooms for symposia, conferences, meetings, and consultants.  May make the specific administrative arrangements or oversee such.

Knowledge Required

The incumbent uses knowledge of research methods to search archives, libraries, photo files, WWW, and other primary and secondary sources of information to produce research reports, notes, graphics, data bases for the project at hand.  Incumbent uses knowledge of American History to contextualize, determine relevance and usefulness of materials.  Knowledge of collections management practices, methods sufficient to document, track, handle, organize objects and object files to support the project.  Knowledge of administrative procedures in an automated office environment sufficient to process forms and support project activities.  Skill in verbal and written communication (including use of computer for communication) sufficient to conduct research and produce written and oral reports.  

Supervisory Controls

Incumbent works under the general supervision of project curator, project director, and/or project manager.  Assignments are outlined to incumbent and each phase requires consultation with supervisor, but incumbent plans work and carries it out independently.

Guidelines

Standard research methodologies guide the incumbent’s information searches.  All research is conducted within that framework of accepted scholarly practices.  Professional and museum standards for collections management guide the care, documentation and handling of objects.  SI and museum policies and procedures guide any administrative functions.  

Complexity

Incumbent must often balance diverse tasks within the areas of research, collections management, and administration.  This balance requires constant assessment of priorities, often among conflicting demands, and careful sequencing and integration of the tasks.

Scope and Effect

Purpose of the work is to assist the project curators and manager as assigned in any and all aspects of planning, researching, developing, implementing and evaluating projects.  The work directly supports the scholarly and intellectual objectives of the project, as well as the functioning of the collections management and administrative processes of the project.

Personal Contacts and Purpose

The incumbent has contact with scholars and other staff at museums, research repositories and other information sources for the purpose of conducting research and gathering information.  Incumbent deals with a variety of SI, museum staff and outside lenders in managing the project objects.  Incumbent deals with SI, museum, contractors, and vendors in obtaining administrative services.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

Research work is performed in a variety of research sites, including national and local libraries, archives, historical societies, small and large repositories of public records in the local area or elsewhere in the country.  Travel may be required locally or nationally, depending upon the scope of the project.  The work environment ranges from a typical office setting with adequate light, heat, and ventilation to staging areas, exhibition construction areas, and research sites which may have dust, temperature variations, and other less than ideal working conditions.  

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).