Description
Job Type: Full Time
Job Duration: Indefinite
Salary: $121,785 - $158,093
Minimum 10 years’ experience
Min Education: Graduate degree
Required Travel: 10-25%
Description
The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is a leading voice for contemporary art and culture and provides a national platform for the art and artists of our time. We seek to share the transformative power of modern and contemporary art with audiences at all levels of awareness and understanding by creating meaningful, personal experience in which art, artists, audiences and ideas converge. We enhance public understanding and appreciation of contemporary art through acquisition, exhibitions, education and public programs, conservation, and research.
To fulfill its mission, HMSG develops collaborative relationships with institutions and organizations within the Smithsonian, the United States, and abroad. Designed by architect Gordon Bunshaft, the museum’s elevated circular building has 60,000 square feet of exhibition space inside and nearly four acres outside in a multilevel Sculpture Garden and Plaza. The collection consists of approximately 13,000 objects of modern and contemporary art, consisting of paintings, sculptures, variable media, and works on paper.
The Opportunity
The Supervisory Chief Conservator serves as the Head Conservator and is responsible for the comprehensive administration of the conservation laboratory. They plan, direct, and coordinate conservation activities of the Laboratory and lead professional staff in carrying out the objectives of the conservation laboratory and the HMSG.
The head conservator is a senior conservator with understanding of the examination and treatment of a wide variety of contemporary and modern art objects and major experience in the scientific, technical analysis of modern art materials, and the interpretation of data resulting from such analysis. They must have extensive experience in the understanding of the display and manufacture of material culture, particularly modern and contemporary art. They comprehend the context for treatment decisions made by others, to guide and provide analysis and discern priorities.
The Head Conservator reports to the Director of Collections within the CCMD which includes the Registration, Conservation and Documentation and Archives departments of the museum. The Head Conservator will work closely with the managers of those departments on the overall management of the collections department.
Requirements
Major duties include:
Supervision
As supervisor, the incumbent reviews and approves the activities of the professional, para-professional, and technical staff. Performs management and supervisory functions in developing performance plans, identifying areas of growth and improvement, and fostering skills that complement the needs of the objects for stabilization and/or display. Distributes work among staff, sets general parameters for conservation projects on the permanent collection, and revises priorities as necessary.
Oversees treatment proposals and work in progress including procedures, methods, techniques and materials to be used, consulting with curators on major treatments. Ensures that schedules and standards are being met and that proper methods and techniques are being used. Reviews completed work and treatment reports for adequacy and ensures that treatments are appropriately documented, and records retained as part of the permanent files.
Senior Conservator
As senior conservator performs a full range of technical examinations of works of art to identify their structure and components; determines their condition as well as the appropriate conservation treatment procedures to be performed; and recommends appropriate preventative conservation measures.
As senior conservator, the incumbent leads by example. They have a demonstrated expertise in a medium of modern and contemporary art (such as painting, sculpture, works on paper, time-based media, etc.) The senior conservator seeks ways to integrate conservation and collections management into the exhibition, outreach, and programming teams of the museum. They perform scholarly art conservation research designed to meet the needs of the HMSG collection.
Policy and Procedure
The Head Conservator is fully responsible for the overall design and implementation of the conservation program, recommending policies for collections care based on accepted museum and collection management standards. Implement standards in collaboration with curators, management, and the collections management department staff. They are actively involved in collections storage and building planning projects.
Establishes procedures for the examination of objects; preparation and review of written treatment proposals; treatment and preparation of objects for loan or exhibition; completion of condition reports and documentation; and processing of loan requirement forms. Ensure that procedures are in harmony with the collaborative and multi-disciplinary nature of conservation of modern and contemporary art.
Budget
Develops and proposes annual budgets for the labs, oversees procurement and contract work in the lab. Determines need for new and additional equipment and recommends their purchase in the budgeting process. Monitors budget and maintain budget records to ensure that program expenses do not exceed available funds. Formulates the staffing program and succession planning.
Qualification Requirements
- Ability to communicate effectively and build productive working relationships to coordinate Conservation Lab operations across multiple departments.
- Ability to lead and oversee the work of conservation professionals, fellows, and interns including assigning work, providing guidance, and supporting professional development.
- Knowledge of the theories, practices, methods, and techniques of conservation applicable to the treatment of modern and contemporary art.
- Ability to assess and communicate the long-term preservation, conservation, and care requirements of museum collections, including newly acquired objects.
- Knowledge of object materials and analytical methods, environmental requirements, causes of deterioration, and the impact of preservation and conservation treatments on collection objects.
- Knowledge of administrative and management principles, including budget formulation and execution, procurement and contracting processes, and program oversight.
You qualify for this position if you have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 in the Federal Service. For this position, specialized experience is defined as experience examining and treating fine art objects; documenting object conditions and conservation treatments; monitoring environmental conditions and identifying potential risks to collections; managing project budgets; and supervising and/or mentoring conservation staff.
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 statements in your application may result in rejection of your application and may also result in termination after employment begins.
Application Instructions
Interested candidates should apply via USA Jobs at this USAJOBS - Job Announcement by September 10, 2026. 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. Resumes may not be more than two (2) pages. Relocation expenses are not paid.
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.
The Smithsonian Institution provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation should contact . 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 (https://www.si.edu/OEO/IndividualswithDisabilities).
The Smithsonian Institution is an Equal Opportunity Employer. To review the Smithsonian’s EEO program information, please click the following: https://www.si.edu/oeo.
Job ID: XX
Requirements
Requirements
Major duties include:
Supervision
As supervisor, the incumbent reviews and approves the activities of the professional, para-professional, and technical staff. Performs management and supervisory functions in developing performance plans, identifying areas of growth and improvement, and fostering skills that complement the needs of the objects for stabilization and/or display. Distributes work among staff, sets general parameters for conservation projects on the permanent collection, and revises priorities as necessary.
Oversees treatment proposals and work in progress including procedures, methods, techniques and materials to be used, consulting with curators on major treatments. Ensures that schedules and standards are being met and that proper methods and techniques are being used. Reviews completed work and treatment reports for adequacy and ensures that treatments are appropriately documented, and records retained as part of the permanent files.
Senior Conservator
As senior conservator performs a full range of technical examinations of works of art to identify their structure and components; determines their condition as well as the appropriate conservation treatment procedures to be performed; and recommends appropriate preventative conservation measures.
As senior conservator, the incumbent leads by example. They have a demonstrated expertise in a medium of modern and contemporary art (such as painting, sculpture, works on paper, time-based media, etc.) The senior conservator seeks ways to integrate conservation and collections management into the exhibition, outreach, and programming teams of the museum. They perform scholarly art conservation research designed to meet the needs of the HMSG collection.
Policy and Procedure
The Head Conservator is fully responsible for the overall design and implementation of the conservation program, recommending policies for collections care based on accepted museum and collection management standards. Implement standards in collaboration with curators, management, and the collections management department staff. They are actively involved in collections storage and building planning projects.
Establishes procedures for the examination of objects; preparation and review of written treatment proposals; treatment and preparation of objects for loan or exhibition; completion of condition reports and documentation; and processing of loan requirement forms. Ensure that procedures are in harmony with the collaborative and multi-disciplinary nature of conservation of modern and contemporary art.
Budget
Develops and proposes annual budgets for the labs, oversees procurement and contract work in the lab. Determines need for new and additional equipment and recommends their purchase in the budgeting process. Monitors budget and maintain budget records to ensure that program expenses do not exceed available funds. Formulates the staffing program and succession planning.
Qualification Requirements
- Ability to communicate effectively and build productive working relationships to coordinate Conservation Lab operations across multiple departments.
- Ability to lead and oversee the work of conservation professionals, fellows, and interns including assigning work, providing guidance, and supporting professional development.
- Knowledge of the theories, practices, methods, and techniques of conservation applicable to the treatment of modern and contemporary art.
- Ability to assess and communicate the long-term preservation, conservation, and care requirements of museum collections, including newly acquired objects.
- Knowledge of object materials and analytical methods, environmental requirements, causes of deterioration, and the impact of preservation and conservation treatments on collection objects.
- Knowledge of administrative and management principles, including budget formulation and execution, procurement and contracting processes, and program oversight.
You qualify for this position if you have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 in the Federal Service. For this position, specialized experience is defined as experience examining and treating fine art objects; documenting object conditions and conservation treatments; monitoring environmental conditions and identifying potential risks to collections; managing project budgets; and supervising and/or mentoring conservation staff.
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 statements in your application may result in rejection of your application and may also result in termination after employment begins.