The purchasing agent is a member of Prosthetic & Sensory Aids Service (PSAS) within the Prosthetic Service.
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, .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 and/or education as described below: GS-05 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: experience performing clerical or assistant duties in support of purchasing and procurement; provides purchasing services with properly prescribed prosthetic equipment, sensory aids, and other medical devices, monitors purchase order, monitors and resolves problems with home improvement /adaptive orders, responsible for reconciling invoices for certification of payment, maintains accurate record of transactions and completes all adjustments into a computerized system. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 4 years of education above high school. GS-06 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; performs technical level purchasing support, verifies accountability of all prosthetics expenditures, follows up action on the status of all these orders is required weekly until purchased and direct patient care is complete, selects the most appropriate cost-effective source to deliver the items/service in the most reliable manner, Trains new Purchasing Agents. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: 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 conducing 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: 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 and prosthetics equipment and supplies; avoidance of trips and falls, and observance of fire regulations is required. The 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/.
Major duties include: Performs direct medical supply Purchasing and Inventory Management support to the administrative and clinical services of the VA to initiate the obligation for all related requirements necessary to provide prosthetic and sensory aids services, to include durable medical equipment and supplies directly to Veterans. Works directly with the Veteran, his/her family, surgeon or clinical provider. 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. Reads, understands, and adheres to VA Provider Prescriptions/Consult to determine eligibility and entitlement of a Veteran's status for prescribed equipment and understand and follow acquisition regulations per VHA Directives and Handbooks, VISN policies and station memorandums, the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulations (VAAR). Accounts for all expenditures and inventory working between two separate programs, the purchase card and the prosthetics program; which require the use and knowledge of unique 2237 or 1358 obligation methods. Balances expenditures against obligations between the programs and document all inventory and purchasing actions in the Veteran's medical record and make medical notes to update the clinical provider, PSAS staff, Veteran and his/her family. 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: Full-time, Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: 3188A, 3189A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required