Supervisory Registrar

Role overview

The Smithsonian Institution is seeking a Supervisory Registrar in Washington, DC to support the museum’s collection inventory control work. This role combines oversight of transaction management, registrarial operations, and collection auditing, with responsibility for helping shape how holdings are documented and tracked across the museum.

What you will do

• Lead a team of staff and direct the day-to-day work of the unit.
• Support the creation, rollout, and review of policies and procedures for transaction management and inventory control across collections-holding areas.
• Act as a key resource on museum practices tied to domestic and international regulations, treaties, and conventions that affect collections.
• Compile institution-wide reporting on collection growth, activity, and donations.
• Participate in Smithsonian professional gatherings and stay actively engaged with relevant professional associations.

Conditions of employment

• Applicants must already have career or career-conditional status, or meet the eligibility requirements for it.
• Male applicants born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.
• An 18-month probationary period may be required for supervisory roles.
• For promotion consideration, all qualification requirements, including one year of time-in-grade at the next lower grade, must be satisfied within 30 days after the closing date of the announcement.
• Selection may be made for openings across the Smithsonian Institution, and applying allows your application details to be shared with hiring officials for similar positions at the listed locations.

Qualifications

To be considered, you need at least one year of specialized experience at the GS-11 level in federal service or an equivalent setting. That experience should include documenting collections, loans, acquisitions, and disposals for national and international transactions involving biological, geological, and cultural disciplines, as well as work arising from exhibitions and research with universities, state and federal agencies, private individuals, non-government organizations, tribal organizations, and schools. You should also have experience leading projects that run for several months.

Your resume must be no longer than two pages and should clearly show how your background matches the role’s responsibilities and specialized experience. Use your own words and do not copy the announcement language. Both paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer service, may be credited, and part-time work will be considered based on the number of hours worked per week.

Education

No formal education requirement is stated for this position.

Additional information

This role is excluded from the bargaining unit. Recruitment incentives may be available, but they are not guaranteed and may depend on availability and approval. If offered, some incentives may require a service agreement with the Federal government. Candidates are expected to support efficiency in government, respect the rule of law, and uphold the United States Constitution.

Benefits

The Smithsonian provides a benefits package that includes vacation and sick leave, holidays, health and life insurance, accident insurance, and retirement options. Additional benefits referenced include flexible spending accounts, health insurance, leave, life insurance, long-term care insurance, and retirement program options.