Archivist

National Gallery of ArtWashington, District of Columbiausajobspublished 10/26/2026

About the company

We are the nation's art museum, home to a renowned collection of over 160,000 works of art from antiquity to today. Millions of people come through our doors each year—with even more online—making us one of the most visited art museums in the world. Located on the National Mall, admission to the West and East Buildings, Sculpture Garden, special exhibitions, and public programs is always free.

Your tasks

The Gallery Archives at the National Gallery of Art is responsible for the stewardship of the museum's permanent valuable records relating to its history in every physical form including textual, photographs, media, and digital. The incumbent supports this program through various archival collection management, preservation, reference, and discovery activities. Duties for this position include Records surveys and appraisals Arrangement and description of institutional and manuscript collections Reference service and research assistance Digitization projects, holding maintenance and archive information management

Requirements

Basic Requirements: Bachelor's degree in archival science or bachelor's degree with a major that includes 18 semester hours in archival science, history and/or in political science or government, and 12 semester hours in one or any combination of the following: archival science, history, American civilization, economics, political science, public administration, or government. or Combination of education and experience - at least 30 semester hours that included courses as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education AND Specialized Experience Statement: Candidates must possess at least one year of specialized experience, equivalent in responsibility to the GS-08 level in the Federal service or private sector applying professional archival principles and methods in appraising, arranging, preserving, and describing the records maintained by a museum or cultural organization OPM Qualifications Standard: Individual Occupational Requirements: Archivist Series 1420 Associated Group standard: General Schedule Qualification Standards You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement. 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.

This position has an education requirement. Education must be obtained from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Foreign education must be reviewed by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website.

Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement. For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions viewable on OPM Website. It is your responsibility to ensure that you submit appropriate documentation prior to the closing date. Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must highlight your most relevant and significant experience as it relates to this job announcement. Be clear and specific when describing your work history since human resources cannot make assumptions regarding your 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). Your resume must include the dates of all qualifying experience (from month/year to month/year) and the number of hours worked/volunteered per week.