Purchasing Agent

Summary

The incumbent assigned to this position description serves as a member of Prosthetic & Sensory Aids Service (PSAS) within the Prosthetic Service Line that is within Legacy VISN 2 NY/NJ. Incumbents may be assigned to work in any medical center, health care system, or associated Community Based Outpatient Clinic that is associated with Legacy VISN 2.

Duties

Duties: PSAS has coordination responsibility of the Amputee Clinic, Rehabilitation Brace Clinic, SCI Brace Clinic, Wheelchair Evaluation Clinic, Diabetic Foot Clinic, Major Medical Equipment Committee, Specialty Bed Clinic, Prosthetics and Orthotics, and Home Respiratory Care Team Committee. Additionally, the scope of the incumbent's duties falls to all Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) throughout the Network and specialized clinical referrals (all outside VA transfers from other facilities to VAMC from outside VISN. 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. This is a direct patient care position, and the incumbent must work 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. Complex Purchasing 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 provider's clinical assessment and evaluation of the Veteran's 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. Obtains all necessary procurement information to successfully submit Acquisition Plans and Procurement Packages for stock and Veteran specific needs to the Network Contracting Office and uploads quotes, bids, invoices, consults, and other important documents to the Electronic Contract Management System (eCMS/FORCE). Unique Entity Identifier number (UEI) information and ensures each vendor is in the System for Award Management (SAM) and in good standing to do business with the government. Incumbent provides Veteran care and support services to an adult population and serves as the point of contact for external customer service inventory needs and support. The incumbent routinely reviews for discrepancies or loopholes in lengthy specifications or statements of work that are very detailed, or otherwise difficult to understand. Rental support requires necessary care coordination follow up initiation from PSAS to requestor for additional days of rental and/or discontinued services from the VA to the Vendor. Coordinates with appropriate vendor for device retrieval and reconciliation of acquisition days to ensure daily fund rental fiscal accountability. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am- 4:30pm Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PD11747A Requirements

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 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. 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) As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a probationary period. Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/30/2026. 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-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: To qualify for this position at the GS-6 level, you must have: At least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level in the Federal service that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of a Purchasing Agent, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position. Specialized experience includes: 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; 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 programs such as MS Word and Excel. Physical Requirements and Work Environment: 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. How You Will Be Evaluated

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position: Attention to Detail Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Reading Comprehension Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork Your 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. 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. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. 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. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. Other Information

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. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.