Purchasing Agent

Summary The Selectee is a member of Prosthetic & Sensory Aids Service (PSAS) within the Prosthetic Service Line under the VISN or medical center. The Selectee would be assigned to the VA Medical Center and has an active inpatient implant care coordination and outpatient treatment program and inventory responsibility to include, but are not limited to: Prosthetic and Sensory Aids; Fabrication Lab for Orthotic and Prosthetics, Audiology & Speech Pathology, Podiatry, and Orthopedic Services. Responsibilities The major duties in this position are identified in two categories: 1) complex purchasing that requires irregular research, analysis, collaboration and many other steps to ensure both best value and the most appropriate devices are purchased for the Veterans, and occupies the majority of the duty time in this position (40%); and, 2) routine purchasing includes routine purchase orders on established contracts or through established vendor resources using regular significant research, analysis or collaboration (60%). This is a critical direct patient care, Veteran facing position. The Selectee must work directly with the Veteran, his/her family, surgeon or clinical provider, and community care discharge planning staff. Initiates procurement of all outpatient medical requirements to include: direct individual purchases to the Veteran, stock purchases for immediate availability, all medical surgical implants used during surgery, and/or rental requirements associated with continual outpatient medical equipment and supplies. The Selectee will have multiple levels of micro purchase threshold authority, and these micro purchase thresholds uniquely influence the major duties and responsibilities in this position, particularly the complex purchasing major duty. Performs technical level purchasing adhering to the FAR, VAAR, VHA, and Prosthetics Directives and Handbooks, VISN policy and station memorandums to acquire Veteran- specific medical equipment, supplies and services based on a medical providers clinical assessment and evaluation of the Veterans medical condition. Functions include but not limited to: rentals to meet the outpatient medical needs of the services, all outpatient durable medical equipment and supplies, rehabilitation equipment, mobility and daily living aids, neuro-sensory, home oxygen, inpatient surgical implants, and supplies. The Selectee may be required to find additional vendor resources not available in SAM to meet the needs of specific purchase situations. Works independently performing the process of vetting and vendorizing following VHA Prosthetics guidelines to complete to complete purchases for items that aren't available through established vendor networks. The individual is often required to act independently on emergent situations with knowledge of up to date practices, procedures, and products; justifies actions to include sole source justification. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm, subject to change based on the needs of the facility. Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position is authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PD076050 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: is not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): is not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Pre-employment evaluation may be required 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, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/26/2024. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: - Experience 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.- Working with medical staff to determine procurement needs and priorities.- 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.- 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 programs such as MS Word and Excel. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Computer Skills Conflict Management Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Problem Solving Technical Competence 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; religions; 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. 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. Physical Requirements: Work is primarily sedentary when conducting purchasing functions for PSAS. However, while conducting inventory management functions, the incumbent may work comfortably in a warehouse environment, sitting, standing, walking, bending, lifting, carrying, retrieving, and managing inventory. Prolonged periods of working at a computer terminal is required. Ability to retrieve equipment from a storage room is required. Climbing associated with stocking of equipment and other items in storage areas is necessary. Incumbent may carry/lift items weighing up to twenty-five (25) pounds. Normal safety precautions are adequate. The work involves moderate discomfort when visiting sites away from the office. At times, the incumbent may be required to wear protective clothing when visiting the Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Fabrication Laboratory. There may be frequent walks between the main medical center and other parts of Prosthetics to conduct professional duties. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. 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.