The Purchasing Agent position is located in Engineering Service at the VA Boston Healthcare System. This position is located at the Brockton, MA and another in Jamaica Plain, MA. The position is full-time at 40 hours per week.
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/30/2025. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education s described below: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-4) in Federal service that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the Purchasing Agent position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience includes performing duties to procure/purchase supplies and services to meet the needs of an organization; utilizing a variety of automated systems to enter, update, revise, sort, and track data; performing a variety of clerical/administrative duties by providing telephone support, organizing files/invoices, timekeeping, record keeping, etc.; and communicating detailed information to staff and supervisors of various levels. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE: Successfully completed four (4) years of education 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. One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university, or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business, secretarial, or technical school. As a general rule, education is not creditable above GS-5 for most positions covered by this standard; however, graduate education may be credited in those few instances where the graduate education is directly related to the work of the position. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. OR COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total experience requirements at grades GS-5. For GS-5 level positions, 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. The following are examples of how education and experience may be combined. They are examples only, and are not all inclusive: The position to be filled is a Purchasing Agent, GS-5. The applicant has 9 months of specialized experience and 75 semester hours of college (15 semester hours beyond the second year and the equivalent of 3 months of specialized experience). The applicant meets 75 percent of the required experience and 25 percent of the required education. The applicant meets 100 percent of the requirement for 1 year of specialized experience and is qualified for the position. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Clerical Contracting/Procurement 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: The work is sedentary. Typically, the employee sits comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking; standing; bending; carrying of light items such as papers, books, small parts; or driving an automobile, etc. No special physical demands are required to perform the work. The incumbent may be required to travel to another division if needed. Work Environment: The work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts which require normal safety precautions typical of such places as offices, meeting and training rooms, or libraries. Area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. 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/.
This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until September 30, 2025. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be July 30, 2025. Eligible applications received after the initial cut-off date will be referred as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled. The incumbent performs a wide variety of administrative tasks associated with maintaining and supporting the work performed within the Engineering organization. Duties include but not limited to: Performs a wide variety of administrative tasks associated with maintaining and supporting the work performed within the Engineering organization to include a variety of administrative functions necessary to the smooth management of an office and ranges from correspondence and information control to tracking equipment, supplies, and services. Acts as the primary liaison between the Engineering Office and administrative offices outside the organization. Types and submits reports and documents, transcribes, and compiles reports, documents and statistical data for Engineering Service. Regularly (at least hourly) reviews work requests submitted to Engineering by customers throughout the assigned division or community based outpatient clinic of the Health Care System and assigns them as appropriate. Answers both routine and trouble calls to Engineering Service and takes appropriate actions, directs calls to proper staff, responds to questions, or takes messages as appropriate. Searches, assembles and summarizes information from files and documents as required for reports, briefings and conferences. Utilizes appropriate computer software (e.g. MS Office, including Excel and Word) and programs (e.g. VISTA/DHCP) in the performance of tasks required for the job. Maintains key control records and distributes office and car keys. Manages the government vehicle reservations for the Fleet and submits the monthly reports of use to the Fleet Coordinator. Purchasing Coordinates procurement activity in Engineering Service at the division assigned. Serves as the organization's focal point for arranging and coordinating training activities. Works with staff to develop specific procedures to maximize efficiency of procurement for the section within Logistics and Fiscal guidelines. Creates and modifies forms for use by non-card­holding individuals to record all information necessary to process procurement requests. Develops procedures for issuing purchase orders to vendors. Creates any necessary documentation systems. Establishes procedures for prompt reconciliation and approval of credit card statements and/or FMS and IFCAP transactions. Serves as primary purchasing agent for Engineering at the assigned division through use of VA Purchase Card. Acts as a resource in establishing purchase card procedures for Engineering Service at the division. Enters all traditional (non purchase card) IFCAP requests for material and service and alerts Chief, Engineering or other designated Control Point Official of need for approving transactions and follows-up on status of any requests. Generates any purchasing-related reports needed by Engineering Manager for budgetary or other reasons using VA File Manager, IFCAP, or other applicable systems on software. Other duties assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p .m. Telework: Ad-Hoc work can be performed on an as needed basis anywhere other than a VA facility or using VA-leased space (example: home). Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PD523-00389-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS):Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required Notifications: These positions are in the Competitive Service. Current Federal employees may submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. These positions are AFGE and NAGE Bargaining Unit. These position are covered by locality-based comparability pay. Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employee. Selectee may be required to work at any VA Boston Healthcare System campus or CBOC, as needed. Incomplete applications will not be considered.