Purchasing Agent

Summary The position serves as a Purchasing Agent for the Logistics Service in a Veteran Affairs Health Care System (VA HCS) and supported catchment area in Palo Alto,California. This position primarily performs Purchasing Agent work to acquire supplies, services, and construction by purchase, rental, or lease through (a) delivery orders and/or (b) small purchase procedures. Responsibilities THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION Major duties and responsibilities include: Purchasing Support- Purchases various equipment, supplies, and services through the use of the government purchase card for micro purchases; reviews and edits purchase requests to ensure the item or service is adequately described based on the requester's need; ensures all information has been provided and the request is consistent with legal requirements; obtains necessary product information, price information and procedures for written or verbal purchase orders. Procurement Support- Examines incoming requests for completeness including presence of purchase request number, accounting codes, item description estimated cost, and quantity; ensures all critical information is included in the solicitation package; prepares and issue contract modifications for changes in delivery schedule and sends formal correspondence to a variety of customers such as inventory management specialists; utilizes various web-based applications to identify required sources of supply. Administrative Support- Provides clerical support and coordination to approving officials and administrators. Performs a variety of receptionist, timekeeping, record keeping and miscellaneous duties in medical facility; uses departmental software to produce printouts for logistic and medical staff; establishes office files and record systems; utilizes a variety of automated systems to enter, update, revise, sort, and calculate data; monitors purchase requests; process receipts; and monitor active and delinquent invoices; develops reports and spreadsheets, obtains, organizes, files and retrieves reports for briefing and presentation purposes. Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Full-Time; Monday through Friday, 7:00am -3:30pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, you must meet the following requirement: Specialized Experience: At least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-5) in the Federal service that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of this Purchasing Agent position. Specialized experience includes: performing clerical or assistant duties in support of purchasing and procurement; procuring supplies and services to meet the purchase, rental, or lease needs of an organization; resolving a variety of shipment, payment, or other discrepancies in support of procurement programs and operations; purchasing various equipment, supplies, and services through the use of a purchase card; and assembling and/or summarizing information from files and documents as required to create reports utilizing automated computerized supply/inventory management systems and Microsoft Office software. NOTE: Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must clearly indicate the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Decision Making Manages and Organizes Information Manages Resources Reasoning (Clerical/Technical) Technical Competence IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (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. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Physical Requirements: Requires some physical effort such as standing, sitting, walking, or bending. There are no special physical demands. The work is performed in an office setting involving everyday risks or discomforts. Normal safety precautions are adequate. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. Education There is no educational substitution at this grade level. NOTE: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov). Additional Information This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.