Museum Specialist

Museum Specialist (IS-1016-09)

Final date to receive applications: 18 September 2026

Department: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Washington, DC

Compensation: $70,623 - $91,815 / year

OPEN DATE: September 8th, 2026

CLOSING DATE: September 18th, 2026 (This job will close once 100 applications are received which may be sooner than the closing date)

POSITION TYPE: Trust Fund

APPOINTMENT TYPE: Trust Indefinite - Promotion Potential to IS-1016-12

SCHEDULE: Full Time

DUTY

LOCATION:

Washington, DC

Position sensitivity and risk: Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

Open to all qualified applicants

What are Trust Fund Positions?

Trust Fund positions are unique to the Smithsonian. They are paid for from a variety of sources, including the Smithsonian endowment, revenue from our business activities, donations, grants and contracts. Trust employees are not part of the civil service, nor does trust fund employment lead to Federal status. The salary ranges for trust positions are generally the same as for federal positions and in many cases trust and federal employees work side by side.

Trust employees have their own benefit program, which may include Health, Dental & Vision Insurance, Life Insurance, Transit/Commuter Benefits, Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance, Annual and Sick Leave, Family Friendly Leave, 403b Retirement Plan, Discounts for Smithsonian Memberships, Museum Stores and Restaurants, Credit Union, Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center (Child Care), Flexible Spending Account (Health & Dependent Care).

The Smithsonian Institution is the world's largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo. This position is in the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). The National Museum of African American History and Culture is a national museum for the study and exhibition of African American history and culture.

This position is located in the Office of Curatorial Culture, Museum of African American History and Culture.

The Museum Specialist will provide research and programmatic support for the Culture Division's curatorial activities and the development and interpretation of the museum's collection. In this position, you will:

• Assist curatorial staff with the research, documentation, development, and interpretation of the museum's cultural collections.
• Support acquisitions and loans by researching objects and potential acquisitions, compiling supporting documentation, and assisting with related curatorial workflows.
• Conduct research in support of exhibitions, publications, collections documentation, and other curatorial projects and initiatives.
• Assist with the review and documentation of objects being considered for acquisition, including gathering information about their history, provenance, cultural context, and significance.
• Respond to collections-related inquiries from the public, researchers, potential donors, dealers, and other stakeholders, and prepare correspondence, reports, and other materials as needed.
• Coordinate with collections management, conservation, and other museum staff on projects involving the care, documentation, access, and interpretation of collection objects.

Basic

Qualification:

Experience assisting with research related to museum collections, exhibitions, publications, or other scholarly projects. Examples of qualifying experience include conducting library, archival, database, or object-based research; compiling bibliographic and biographic information; maintaining research files; assisting with object documentation and cataloging; fact-checking scholarly or interpretive materials; and…