Assistant Director (Finance)

Smithsonian Institution

Washington, District of Columbia$143,913 - $187,093Full-timePosted 7h ago

Get more Accounting openings

A short daily email when similar roles appear in Washington, District of Columbia. No account needed.

Summary

The Smithsonian Institution (SI) is the world's largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo. This position is located in the Financial Planning Office, Office of the Director, Office of the Senior Advisor, National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) Under Secretary for Museums and Culture (USMC). More than one selection may be made from this announcement.

Duties

The Assistant Director (Finance) is responsible for the financial administration of the National Museum of the American Indian. In this position, you will: Supervise, manage, and oversee staff addressing the myriads of recordkeeping, process implementation, oversight, etc., of an annual federal budget of more than $30M and a Trust fund budget exceeding $13M. Manage, direct, and implement financial programs in keeping with the Museum's mission of broad service and contact with Native organizations and individuals, with heavy emphasis on long range planning and budgeting related to the Museums three sites, and unique outreach activities to communities throughout the Western hemisphere. Plan and carry out financial management and operational studies specifically addressing the needs of a rapidly evolving Museum program. Based on reviews, surveys, fact finding, organizational structures and relationships, available resources, and programmatic priorities, etc., develop options and recommendations for senior management to consider in arriving at decisions. Prepare submissions related to formulating, writing, justifying and executing annual and multi-year Federal and Trust budgets for the Museum. Serve as liaison with the SI Office of the Treasurer on such matters as debt repayment schedules and status, and evolving financial support needs of the Museum as it undertakes special projects at all three locations including programs and capital improvements, etc.

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.

Qualifications and evaluation

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: Ability to manage, supervise, and guide daily program operations and a staff providing administrative and technical oversight, setting priorities, assigning work, assessing employee performance, and ensuring staff development and counseling. Expert knowledge of the legislation, regulations, principles, practices and policies of financial administration budget formulation, justification, presentation and execution to prepare museum federal and trust fund budget submissions, oversee established control systems to monitor expenses, and provide oversight of other automated reporting systems. Knowledge to plan and carry out management and operational studies within a museum/cultural institution setting to assess the needs, efficiency, and effectiveness of a rapidly evolving museum program. Knowledge to develop long and short-range plans for new program initiatives and/or facilities, including budgets, construction and equipping costs, maintenance, projected cash flow, and contracts. Interpersonal communication skills to establish and maintain effective working relationships with senior leadership of the Smithsonian, NMAI, representatives of other government agencies, private foundations, cultural institutions, and Native Peoples. 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. You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Education

There is no subsitution for education at this level

Benefits

The Federal Government offers a comprehensive benefits package. Please see Benefits at https://www.si.edu/OHR/benefits for a complete description. Flexible Spending Accounts - https://www.fsafeds.com/ Health Insurance - http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/index.asp Leave - http://www.opm.gov/oca/leave/index.asp Life Insurance - http://www.opm.gov/insure/life/index.asp Long Term Care Insurance - http://www.ltcfeds.com Retirement Program - https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/

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.

Required documents

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. Your application package should include the following documents: Resume - Your resume can be uploaded and attached to your application or created using the USA Jobs on-line resume builder. Ensure your resume contains the job title (including the occupational series and grade if it is Federal), job-related qualifications, starting and ending dates (month and year), and hours worked per week, for each employment period. It is your responsibility to ensure all information is submitted. Failure to include this information may result in disqualification for the position. For assistance with creating a resume, please click USAJOBS Help Center - How do I write a resume for a federal job? Current and former employees MUST submit a copy of their Standard Form (SF)-50, β€œNotice of Personnel Action,” that indicates proof of status and time-in-grade eligibility. The SF-50 must include your position title, series, grade, step, salary, type of service (competitive or excepted in block 34), and tenure (1 or 2 in block 24). Please provide a SF-50 that shows the length of time you have been in your current/highest grade level. Examples of appropriate SF50s include: Appointments, Reassignments, Within-grade/range increases or Promotion actions. NOTE: Pay adjustments and award SF-50s do not include the length of time in your current position, therefore, they are NOT acceptable SF-50's on their own. You may need to provide more than one SF-50. Failure to provide the appropriate SF-50(s) may prevent you from receiving consideration for this position. Unofficial school transcripts, if the position has an education requirement or if you are using education to qualify. If selected for the position, you must provide an official transcript before appointment. Proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study, if applicable. Proof of Veteran's Preference - DD214 (Member 4 Copy) if you are requesting a special appointment authority, such as VRA or VEOA Proof of severe disability if you are requesting special placement consideration. Proof of eligibility for a military spouse appointment, such as a permanent change station military order. Proof of eligibility for any other special appointing authority not specifically mentioned here.

Additional 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.

The average job posting receives 250 applications.

Stand out by tailoring your resume to this specific role. Our AI resume builder highlights the skills and experience that matter most to this employer.

Frequently asked questions

Who is hiring for Assistant Director (Finance) at Smithsonian Institution ?+
Smithsonian Institution is actively hiring for this Assistant Director (Finance) role. Click "Apply Now" to submit your application directly on Smithsonian Institution 's careers page β€” Careeronaut doesn't charge employers or candidates for referrals.
When was this Assistant Director (Finance) role posted?+
This listing was first posted on 2026-11-02. We pull the latest copy from the source feed daily, and any role that's taken down gets removed from Careeronaut within seven days so you don't waste time on stale listings.
How should I apply to this Assistant Director (Finance) role?+
Start by tailoring your resume to the posting β€” most applicants send generic CVs and the first filter recruiters use is keyword relevance. Careeronaut's AI does this automatically: paste the job description, get a matched resume in under a minute, and download as PDF or DOCX.
Where can I find more Accounting jobs in Washington, District of Columbia?+
Browse all open accounting roles in Washington, District of Columbia on the listing pages linked below. You can filter by salary, remote-friendly, and posting date.