Job Description

The Smithsonian Folklife Festival, founded in 1967, is an international exposition of living cultural heritage annually produced outdoors on the National Mall, taking place for two weeks every summer drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors.,
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It is an educational presentation, usually divided into 2-3 unique programs, that features musicians, artists, performers, craftspeople, workers, cooks, storytellers, and others from states, regions, and nations around the world.,
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For the 2020 Festival the theme will be \x93Traditional Knowledge and the Environment\x94, we will create custom-built structures, stages, scenery, and other infrastructural projects in our 17,000 square foot shop to be installed on the National Mall in support of four programs that feature Brazil, UAE, Solar Decathlon, and SI Conservation Commons, all of which will feature living cultural traditions, crafts, food, fashion, music, performance, demonstrations, dance, and storytelling.,
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The Festival is a complex technical production, requiring a high level of coordination, communication, and expertise from all overhire technicians. There are many opportunities to work with the Festival in the following capacities:,
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If you are interested in DIRECT OVERHIRE CONTRACT WORK (OVERHIRE LIST) this season please read the following:,
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"We typically hire overhire contractors to carry out a variety of carpentry, welding, electrical power distribution, logistics, and heavy equipment operation, and specialty jobs on an as-needed basis throughout the summer in May, June, and July (there may be additional opportunities throughout the year) based on our needs as outlined in the production schedule, which won\x92t be finalized until April, meaning that I will not be able to confirm any dates until then. Im usually able to give overhire contractors two or three weeks advanced notice of work, but may be able to give more advanced notice for some projects. ",
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All that being said, I\x92d like to have folks on the approved OVERHIRE CALL LIST well in advance. ,
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The reason for this is because the Federal government (the Smithsonian is a quasi-governmental organization) doesn\x92t allow us to hire people on an ad hoc, last-minute basis, meaning that everyone we contract with must already be enrolled in a system called SAM (Systems for Awards Management, a vetting system the government uses to ensure that individual/companies are eligible to work in the U.S.) before we can write a contract. ,
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It\x92s a free and relatively easy, though tedious, enrollment process, but once in, it opens individuals/companies up to future work with the Smithsonian and other Federal government agencies.,
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It sounds pretty scary, but please reach out to Tyler Nelson (NelsonTL@si.edu) if you are interested in joining us. I\x92ll walk you through you the process and give you a handy dandy enrollment guide. ,
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If you are already enrolled in SAM please disregard the following, but make sure that your registration is still ACTIVE and that all your information in the system is correct and current. ,
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"If you are interested in working with us, Id suggest getting started on the enrollment as soon as possible, as it can take 1-2 weeks for (SAM) to process the applications once submitted. ",
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Once an individual is enrolled, we\x92ll negotiate rates and talk about dates. Once we\x92ve settled on the rate, the individual will officially be added to our overhire list, and I\x92ll draw up a contract/ purchase order that is valid from May-July. ,
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Once the PO is approved by the Smithsonian, the individual is officially cleared to do work. Pay varies depending on experience and duties assigned, but the contract is usually paid per hour or per project.,
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All that being said, it\x92s easy to do work with us once enrolled in SAM. ,
Please take a moment to review the attached enrollment guide and let me know if you have any questions. ,
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Here\x92s a brief step-by-step review to clear up any confusion about the OVERHIRE process:,
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1.Candidates express interest,
2.Candidates send resume,
3.I speak to candidates to confirm qualifications,
4.Candidate begins SAM enrollment process (see attached guide),
a.DUNS number process (1-3 days before DUNS issues a special number needed to begin SAM),
b.SAM process (Be sure that the information that you put into DUNS and SAM are exactly the same or SAM may throw an error. (i.e. 123 Sesame St. and 123 Sesame Street will cause problems),
5.After 1-2 Weeks, assuming no errors were made, candidate is officially enrolled in SAM,
6.I negotiate rates and talk dates with candidates,
7.Candidate is officially on the Folklife overhire list,
8.I write up a contract/PO valid from May-July,
9.Once PO is approved, candidate is reclassified as a contractor,
10.Beginning in April or May, I\x92ll schedule contractor for specific dates throughout the summer,
11.Contractor reports for duty and completes work,
12.Contractor submits invoices for payment,
13.SI/Treasury pays contractor via electronic funds transfer,
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Please email Tyler Nelson, NelsonTL@si.edu for more information. ,
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