Welch Head of Conservation and Scientific Research (Supervisory Conservator) (IS-1001-14)

Industry: National Museum of Asian Art

Company: Smithsonian Institution

Welch Head of Conservation and Scientific Research (Supervisory Conservator) (IS-1001-14)

Application Deadline: 10 February 2025

Department: National Museum of Asian Art

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Washington, DC

Reporting To: Deputy Director for Collections and Exhibitions

Compensation: $139,395 – $162,629 / year

Description

OPEN DATE: January 7, 2025

CLOSING DATE: February 10, 2025

POSITION TYPE: Trust Fund

APPOINTMENT TYPE: Indefinite

SCHEDULE: Full Time

DUTY LOCATION: Washington, DC
Position sensitivity and risk: Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

Open to all Qualified Applicants

What are Trust Fund Positions?

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).

Conditions of Employment

• Pass Pre-employment Background Check and Subsequent Background Investigation for position designated.
• Complete a Probationary Period.
• Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer.
• The position is open to all candidates eligible to work in the United States. Proof of eligibility to work in U.S. is not required to apply.
• Applicants must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

OVERVIEW

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. We now steward 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 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 America. 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 we are determined to make our second century as accomplished as our first. We are building on our core strengths-the quality and depth of our collections, scholarship, and conservation-while embracing experimentation and new approaches to our work. We are 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 Welch Head of Conservation and Scientific Research plays a pivotal role in the museum’s excellence, providing leadership, development, management, and strategic direction to a distinguished team of scientists, conservators, research scholars, fellows, and interns. This team is renowned for its size, depth, and expertise in the study, preservation, and conservation of works of art and cultural heritage.

The endowed position ensures the Department of Conservation and Scientific Research maintains its longstanding excellence and scholarship in the field, while continuing to advance conservation and scientific research globally. As the foremost center in the United States for the care and scientific study of the arts of Asia, the department plays a critical role in preserving cultural heritage, providing new insights into historic objects, and training the next generation of conservators.

The Welch Head of Conservation and Scientific Research will serve as a catalyst for collaboration, enhancing the museum’s position as the international leader in conservation and scientific research in Asian art. Additionally, the role contributes significantly to museum-wide priorities, including expanding the museum’s impact, fostering transparency in museum practice, enhancing research activities, building international partnerships, and creating a diverse, resilient, and collaborative community.

About the Department of Conservation and Scientific Research

Conservation at the National Museum of Asian Art began in 1932 with the hiring of Japanese painting mounters and the establishment of the East Asian Painting Conservation Studio. In 1951, the museum established its technical laboratory, the first Smithsonian facility dedicated to the use of scientific methods for the study of works of art. Over time, the laboratory expanded to include objects, paper, and exhibit conservation. These two facilities later merged to form the Department of Conservation and Scientific Research.

Today, our award-winning scientists and conservators strive to improve preservation methods, educate others in conservation practices, and conduct cutting-edge research into materials. They collaborate closely with the museum’s collection, exhibition, and curatorial departments. Together, they safeguard the collections, ensure the proper display and storage of objects, and contribute to the ever-growing understanding and appreciation of Asian and American art.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Major duties include:

• Providing leadership and management by overseeing the department’s goals, articulating priorities, developing strategies, managing personnel, and evaluating performance.
• Developing annual staffing plans, including hiring and professional development initiatives.
• Overseeing the development, justification, presentation, allocation, and execution of the annual operating budget. Working with staff to develop budget projections that align with long-term planning for new and ongoing initiatives.
• Collaborating with museum leadership to formulate strategic plans, policies, priorities, and department objectives and deliverables that advance both short- and long-term museum goals.
• Performing conservation treatments or scientific analyses of art or archaeological materials in adherence to professional ethical standards, including the AIC Code of Ethics, and consulting with curatorial staff as needed.
• Conducting advanced technical or scientific studies that increases the body of knowledge, makes authoritative and original contributions to the field, and enhances the institution’s reputation.
• Serving as an expert in advancing the field through the development of international partnerships and presentation of expertise at conferences, and symposia; keeping abreast of professional and popular conservation literature and maintaining a strong professional network.
• Developing and overseeing conservation policies, procedures, and guidelines for aspects of department responsibilities, such as preventive conversation, integrated pest management, environmental monitoring, laboratory safety, handling, emergency management, and display of works of art and cultural heritage.
• Developing fundraising strategies and grant proposals in collaboration with the advancement office and engaging with donors to support the museum’s mission.
• Overseeing outreach programs and contributing to museum programming.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

• Graduate of a formal advanced-level conservation training program or PhD in a related science or engineering field.
• Eight or more years of experience in the field of conservation and scientific research of art and cultural heritage, with demonstrated expertise and knowledge of conservation and scientific principles, procedures, materials, techniques, analysis, and ethics.
• Demonstrated skill in leading, supervising, and managing a multidisciplinary and culturally diverse team, including goal setting, planning, program implementation, metric establishment, reporting protocols, budgeting, and resource management.
• Demonstrated research skills and active engagement with current trends in the field.
• Ability to travel and represent the museum at conferences and other operationally significant meetings.

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.

The Smithsonian Institution values and seeks a diverse workforce. 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.

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and InclusionThe Smithsonian Institution provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation should contact nmaa-hr@si.edu. 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.

The Smithsonian Institution is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe that a workforce comprising a variety of educational, cultural, and experiential backgrounds support and enhance our daily work life and contribute to the richness of our exhibitions and programs. See Smithsonian EEO program information: https://www.si.edu/oeesd.