Hybrid Administrative Assistant (IS-0341-07) presso Smithsonian Institution

Position sensitivity and risk: Non-Sensitive/Low Risk

Open to all qualified applicants

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’s National Museum of Asian Art (NMAA) is committed to preserving, exhibiting, researching, and interpreting art in ways that deepen the public and scholarly understandings of Asia and the world. NMAA opened in 1923 as America’s first national art museum and the first Asian art museum in the United States. The museum now stewards one of the world’s most important collections of Asian art, with works dating from antiquity to the present, from China, Japan, Korea, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the pre-Islamic Near East, and the Islamic world (inclusive of Central Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa). The museum also stewards an important collection of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century American art. 

Today, NMAA is emerging as a leading national and global resource for understanding the arts, cultures, and societies of Asia, especially at their intersection with the United States. Guided by the belief that the future of art museums lies in collaboration, increased access, and transparency, NMAA is fostering new ways to engage with its audiences while maintaining its commitment to excellence.

NMAA celebrated its centennial in 2023 and is determined to make the museum’s second century as accomplished as its first. The museum is building on its core strengths—the quality and depth of our collections, scholarship, and conservation—while embracing experimentation and new approaches to its work. The museum is transforming digitally, physically, and programmatically to draw in new audiences to celebrate, learn, and connect with Asian and American art and cultures, past and present. 

Located on the National Mall in Washington, DC, the museum is free and open 364 days a year. The Smithsonian, which is the world’s largest museum complex, welcomes twenty to thirty million visitors yearly. For more information about the National Museum of Asian Art, please visit asia.si.edu.

 The Opportunity 

The Curatorial assistant (CA) plays a pivotal role in ensuring the museum's operational excellence by providing management, strategic direction, and research for the curatorial department and the museum’s overall practices. The CA will work with 3-5 curators on budgeting, arranging visits for scholars, fellows, and interns, research and project management, and selected scheduling. They are key members of the curatorial department, helping to organize and run departmental meetings, events, and to track departmental expenses. This role works closely with colleagues in finance and throughout the museum as well as with a range of contacts beyond the institution and internationally. 

• Collaborate on and coordinate projects (such as collections, exhibitions, digital and print publications, research projects, and public programs). Duties include scheduling meetings, taking notes and disseminating them, and tracking milestones
• Assist outside visitors, researchers, fellows, interns and contractors to research the collections at the National Museum of Asian Art 
• Monitor and respond to public inquiries
• Provide logistical support for curatorial projects, both in person and digital programs 
• Assist with the development of annual budgets and maintain financial records in accordance with Smithsonian policy
• Conduct research and writing related to selected curatorial projects.
• Assist in securing image rights
• Review and reconcile financial reports as necessary. Coordinate with members of the Finance Team to troubleshoot and resolve financial discrepancies. Prepare purchase orders and draft contracts and invitations 
• Assist with data entry into the Museum System (TMS)
• Assist with curators’ travel logistics
• Represents the Curatorial department on museum committees
• Help onboard new curators, interns, and fellows
• Serve as liaison between the curatorial department, other departments, and outside entities
• Prepare purchase orders and draft contracts
• Serve as timekeeper to ensure that timesheet entries are accurate, complete, and submitted on time

Experience: To qualify for this position, applicants must possess one year of related experience that demonstrates possession of the following knowledge, skills, and abilities required for this position:

• Bachelor’s degree
• Knowledge of art history or related fields is desirable 
• Ability to work well with others and manage and execute with skill, efficiency, and accuracy
• Ability to communicate effectively in oral and written form
• Ability to multi-task
• Ability to project manage
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams)
• Knowledge of basic financial principles

Education completed outside the United States must be deemed equivalent to higher education programs of U.S. Institutions by an organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials. This documentation is the responsibility of the applicant and should be included as part of your application package.

 

Any false statement in your application may result in rejection of your application and may also result in termination after employment begins.

  

Join us in "Inspiring Generations through Knowledge and Discovery."

 
Resumes should include a description of your paid and non-paid work experience that is related to this job; starting and ending dates of job (month and year); and average number of hours worked per week.  

What To Expect Next: Once the vacancy announcement closes, a review of your resume will be compared against the qualification and experience requirements related to this job. After review of applicant resumes is complete, qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager.

 

Relocation expenses are not paid.

The Smithsonian Institution provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation should contact [email protected]
Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.  To learn more, please review the Smithsonian’s Accommodation Procedures (https://www.si.edu/OEO/IndividualswithDisabilities). 

 

The Smithsonian Institution is an Equal Opportunity Employer. To review The Smithsonian's EEO program information, please click the following: https://www.si.edu/oeo