Purchasing Agent

In the Prosthetic & Sensory Aids Service (PSAS) service line, the Purchasing Agent is assigned to the VA Medical Center with an active inpatient implant care coordination, outpatient treatment program and inventory responsibility. PSAS has coordination responsibility of the various clinics and Care in the Community Requests for Service care coordination from authorizations, and act as Purchasing and Inventory Management support to the administrative/clinical services of the VA. Major duties include, but not limited to: Purchases prosthetic, orthotic, sensory-aid, durable medical equipment, medical supply, repair, rental, and service requirements for Veterans. Reviews clinical prescriptions, consults, purchase requests, and supporting documentation for completeness and accuracy. Conducts market research on products, vendors, contracts, prices, availability, specifications, and delivery requirements. Ensures purchases provide clinically appropriate items and the best value to VA. Coordinates with Veterans, clinicians, Prosthetic Representatives, vendors, fiscal staff, contracting staff, and other VA personnel. Uses authorized contracts, vendor resources, purchase orders, delivery orders, and Government Purchase Card procedures. Prepares, processes, modifies, and tracks purchase orders and related procurement documentation. Exercises delegated purchase-card and micro-purchase authority in accordance with VA Form 0242 and applicable policy. Tracks orders through delivery, receipt, issuance, invoicing, reconciliation, and payment. Resolves or refers order, delivery, billing, pricing, quantity, and vendor-performance discrepancies. Maintains accurate Veteran-specific purchasing, financial, inventory, equipment, and medical-record documentation. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: Monday • Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm (Subject to change based on the needs of the agency.) Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PDS01001A and PDS01001B Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/29/2026. 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-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04, and 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 for GS-05 based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Performing purchasing support functions for supplies, equipment, or services by following established purchasing policies, procedures, and guidelines; Applying established procurement procedures to prepare and process purchasing documents; Using automated purchasing systems or other software applications to enter purchase information, maintain procurement records, and track order status. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successful completion of four (4) years above the high school level in any field for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college, or university (NOTE: transcripts required). OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond post-high school education and specialized experience as described above that demonstrates the ability to perform the duties of this Purchasing Agent position. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. One full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience (NOTE: transcripts required). You may qualify for GS-06 based on your experience and/or education 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: Applying purchasing regulations, methods, procedures, and business practices to purchase supplies, equipment, or services; Using different purchasing methods to carry out purchases, or to place orders against established contracts and agreements; Using automated purchasing systems or other software applications to process transactions, maintain procurement documentation, and monitor orders through completion; Working with customers and vendors to resolve purchasing problems, such as incomplete requests, order discrepancies, delivery delays, or incorrect items; Exercising judgment and applying prior purchasing experience to resolve purchasing issues, determine appropriate next steps, and refer matters outside assigned authority. 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/. 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 employee may be required to wear protective clothing when visiting the Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Fabrication Laboratory. Often, walking between the main medical center and other parts of Prosthetics to conduct professional duties. Work Environment: The incumbent works in a health care office with the possibility of contact with ill and diseased patients. Normal duties are performed in an office setting, which has adequate heat, light, and ventilation; however, the incumbent must retrieve prosthetic items from various storage areas daily. The incumbent may on occasion, accompany the Site Manager and/or Prosthetic Representative on visits to the patients' homes or to a vendor for shop inspections. Incumbent has direct daily contact with patients and may handle equipment returned from Veterans with contagious diseases; hence, the incumbent is required to practice universal precautions in observance of normal safety practices with office equipment, prosthetics equipment & supplies; avoidance of trips and falls, and observance of fire regulations is required. The area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Must pass pre-employment physical examination. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Resume Requirement: Your resume must include the following information: Job title, description of duties, beginning and ending date (month/year) of employment; and average hours worked per week. A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. 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/.