Associate Director for Planning and Project Management (GS-14)
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, DC · $144k–$187k a year · Posted October 22, 2026
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About the job
Summary
The Smithsonian American Women's History Museum expands the story of America through the often-untold accounts and accomplishments of women—individually and collectively—to better understand our past and inspire our future. The museum's goal is to create space for women's history on the National Mall in Washington, DC, deepen our nation's stories, and inspire conversation, connection, and change. The museum's ultimate vision is a more representative history, a more collective future.
Duties
The Associate Director for Planning and Project Management will be responsible for providing advice to leadership on the feasibility of projects and the resources required. In this position, you will: Provide strategic direction and oversight to, and coordination of, exhibition planning and implementation, capital projects, facilities management and organization planning initiatives. Collaborate with project managers, architects, engineers and contractors to establish project scope, schedules, budgets and performance expectations. Direct planning and implementation of permanent, temporary, traveling and special exhibitions. Establish project management frameworks, govern processes and performance metrics for major initiatives. Supervise staff and contractor personnel possessing technical expertise in varied disciplines and who are engaged in multiple facilities projects. Oversee facilities operations, maintenance planning and facility improvement initiatives.
Qualifications
Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-13 level in the Federal Service. For this position, specialized experience is defined as experience leading complex capital, facilities, and exhibition projects in a museum, cultural, educational, or similarly complex institution environment, including managing project scopes, schedules, budgets, contracts, and controls; directing multidisciplinary staff and contractors; overseeing facility and exhibition planning and implementation; and resolving complex technical issues and competing priorities. Your resume must be no more than two (2) pages and should clearly demonstrate how your experience aligns with the responsibilities and specialized experience required for this position. Do not copy language directly from the vacancy announcement, as you will be deemed ineligible for consideration. Instead, provide detailed, descriptive information about your actual 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. Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience. Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment Qualification requirements, including one year time-in-grade at the next lower grade level for promotion candidates, must be met within 30 days of the job announcement closing date. See the 'Required Documents' section for additional information. For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions viewable on OPM Website.
Key requirements
Pass Pre-employment Background Investigation May need to complete a Probationary Period Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.
How you will be evaluated
Your application will be evaluated first for the basic qualifications described above. The applications that meet the basic qualifications will be evaluated further against the following criteria: Skill in strategic planning and capital project oversight Ability to manage multiple, concurrent exhibition design and installation projects Knowledge of best practices for managing multiple programs and projects for a public institution Ability to supervise, manage, and motivate a diverse range of personnel Knowledge of preventative maintenance, deferred maintenance reduction and infrastructure modernization to ensure safe, reliable, and efficient building operations. BASIS OF RATING: Once the announcement closes, your application will be automatically evaluated and rated by the system and a Human Resources Specialist. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your application and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the occupational questionnaire. The numeric rating you receive is based on your responses to the questionnaire. The score is a measure of the degree to which your background matches the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of this position. If, after the Human Resources Specialist reviews your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that the score you have received is not a true reflection of your qualifications and/or experience, your score can and will be adjusted to more accurately reflect the information you provided that support your abilities. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Your resume should provide detailed information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed. Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA): If you are applying for a VEOA appointment, you must be a veteran and must be honorably separated and either a preference eligible or have substantially completed 3 or more years of active service. ("Active Service" under this law means active duty in a uniformed service and includes full-time training duty, annual training duty, full-time National Guard duty, and attendance, while in the active service, at a school designated as a service school by law or by the Secretary concerned.) A veteran who is released under honorable conditions shortly before completing a 3-year tour is also eligible. Noncompetitive Appointment Authorities: The following links contain information on the eligibility requirements to be considered under a noncompetitive appointing authority: Primary Appointing Authorities for Career and Career-Conditional Appointments Hiring Authorities for Veterans People with Disabilities Important Note: Your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses to the occupational questionnaire or other assessment tool for consistency. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience. Your resume should provide sufficient information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed. You may preview questions for this vacancy.
How to apply
Click on the "Apply Online" button on the upper right side of the page. Please Note: You must apply for this position online through the 'Apply Online' button and submit required supplemental documents (if they are relevant to you). Your resume must be no more than two (2) pages. You may submit required documents by uploading them online during the application process. The complete application package, including any required documents, is due in the Smithsonian Office of Human Resources on the closing date of the announcement by 11:59 PM Eastern Time. If you are unable to apply online, paper applications may be accepted with prior approval of the Contact Person listed below.
Other information
This position is not included in the bargaining unit. Recruitment Incentive: Recruitment incentive(s) may be authorized for this position. However, approval for incentives are contingent upon various availability. If authorized, certain incentives will require the incumbent to sign a service agreement to remain in the Federal government for a certain time period. Note: This statement does not imply nor guarantee an incentive will be offered and paid. Selections may be made for vacancies across the Smithsonian Institution (SI). By applying to this position, you agree to allow your application and other personal information to be shared with one or more SI hiring officials for employment consideration for same/similar positions within the location(s) identified in this announcement.