Education Specialist

Role overview

The Education Specialist designs and delivers meaningful public learning experiences that help audiences explore American history and culture through the African American experience. The role focuses on creating programs that are interactive, inclusive, and aligned with the museum’s mission and outreach goals.

Key responsibilities

• Partner with museum staff and external collaborators to plan, coordinate, run, and assess engaging programs that support exhibition themes, audience growth, and outreach strategies.
• Create, prepare, and share informational resources tied to program activities.
• Suggest digital and communications content for the museum website, social channels, and other outreach efforts.
• Prepare purchase order specifications as needed.
• Shape and evaluate museum programming delivered through digital, recorded, livestream, and video-conference formats.
• Build and track budgets and spending plans.
• Administer federal and trust funding responsibly.
• Work with Smithsonian colleagues and community partners to deliver informal education approaches for learners of different ages and backgrounds.
• Oversee staff work, assign priorities, organize schedules, and monitor progress on ongoing production-focused tasks.

Qualifications and requirements

This position requires career or career-conditional status, or eligibility for it. Men born after December 31, 1959 must be registered with Selective Service. Promotion candidates must satisfy applicable qualification rules, including one year of time-in-grade at the next lower grade, within 30 days of the closing date.

The role has a positive education requirement. Applicants must hold a degree that included, or was supplemented by, major study in education or a related subject area suitable for the position. A qualifying alternative is a combination of education and experience, or related coursework plus experience, equivalent to a four-year course of study in the same field. Unofficial transcripts are required with the application.

In addition to the education requirement, applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level in federal service. Relevant experience includes conceiving, developing, implementing, and evaluating educational and public programs for museum audiences. Part-time and unpaid experience may count if the hours worked each week are clearly stated. Applicants with foreign education must provide transcripts and proof of U.S. accreditation where applicable.

Current Smithsonian employees in the same job series 1701 and in a federal competitive position may not need to submit transcripts with the application, though they must provide them before the start date if selected. Under merit promotion rules, anyone currently holding or having held within the last 52 weeks a non-temporary General Schedule position in the competitive or excepted service must meet the required time-in-grade standard.

Additional information

This role is outside the bargaining unit. A recruitment incentive may be approved depending on funding and other conditions, but it is not guaranteed. If an incentive is approved, the selected employee may need to sign a service agreement to remain in federal service for a specified period.

Selections may be made for vacancies across the Smithsonian Institution, and by applying, candidates allow their information to be shared with Smithsonian hiring officials for consideration for similar roles in the listed locations. Applicants are expected to support the efficiency of the federal government, respect the ideals of the American republic, and uphold the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Benefits

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