National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities

Program Manager for Museum Initiatives

Washington, District of Columbia Full time

Program Manager for Museum Initiatives

Department: National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities

Location(s): Washington, District of Columbia

Salary Range: $121785 - $158322 Per Year

Job Summary: This position is located within the office of Programs & Partnerships (P&P), within the Visual Arts division at the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The incumbent reports to the Division Coordinator and works closely with the Senior Program Director in their efforts to provide national leadership and direction for the assigned discipline(s).

Major Duties:

  • In this position, you will serve as Program Manager for Museum Initiatives. Typical work assignments include: Managing the Blue Star Museums program, including agreements, timelines, deliverables, partner coordination, and participant support. Leading national museum recruitment to expand and diversify program participation. Serving as the main liaison to museums, military families, partner organizations, and NEA offices; support communications and program outreach. Supporting leadership initiatives in the museum field, including convenings, webinars, cooperative agreements, and agency representation. Reviewing and processing grant applications for assigned disciplines, ensuring eligibility, compliance, panel coordination, and applicant communication. Providing museum-field expertise to inform policies, guideline revisions, reports, and cross-agency initiatives.

Qualifications: Applicants must demonstrate that they meet the Specialized Experience requirements as noted below. In order to qualify for this position, you must meet the following specialized experience requirement: Specialized Experience for this GS-13: You qualify for this GS-13 grade level (starting salary $121,785) if you possess one year of specialized experience in the Federal service or equivalent public or private sector experience at a level comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-12 grade level performing all of the following duties: Managing museum-related programs or initiatives including the coordination of timelines, deliverables, and partner communications. Providing liaison or customer service support to museums, cultural organizations, or similar entities by responding to inquiries, assisting with program participation, or contributing to outreach and communication materials. Checking eligibility, completeness, and compliance with guidelines for grant or application review processes. Assisting with leadership or program initiatives such as meetings, webinars, cooperative agreements, or gathering information for reports or surveys. Your resume is the key means we have for evaluating your skills, knowledge, and abilities as they relate to this position. Therefore, we encourage you to be clear and specific when describing your experience. Your resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the advertised grade level or pay band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer and part time experience. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the dates worked and total number of hours per week. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (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. Applicants are encouraged to use the USAJOBS resume template. However, if you do not use the template you must ensure that your resume contains ALL required information which includes hours worked, starting & ending month and year, and if Federal employment (series, pay plan, and grade). Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

How to Apply: Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments, and required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: Click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside at least 2 hours to take the USA Hire assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. For more general information, system requirements, reasonable accommodation information, and to request assistance regarding the USA Hire Assessments, review the following resources: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=USA_Hire_Assessments. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status: Click on this: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application. If you need help with login.gov or USAJOBS (e.g., account access, Resume Builder) visit the USAJOBS Help Center: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/ If you experience difficulty applying on USAJOBS, after clicking the Apply Online button, or you are experiencing a significant hardship hindering your ability to apply online, the Agency Contact listed in the announcement can assist you during normal business hours. If you receive any system error messages, take screenshots if possible, to aid technical support.

Application Deadline: 2026-05-10