Purchasing Agent

Full Job Description

This position serves as a Purchasing Agent for the Prosthetics Service within the VA Health Care System performing work to acquire supplies, services, and construction by purchase, rental, or lease through (a) delivery orders and/or (b) small purchase procedures.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/13/2026.

GS-5 GRADE REQUIREMENTS: Must meet one of the following: Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-4 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Knowledge of standardized purchasing regulations, policies and procedures, and common business practices to make purchases involving commercial requirements.

Broad in-depth knowledge of purchasing regulations, methods, procedures and business practices to make purchases involving specialized requirements and complicating factors.

Knowledge of Federal laws and regulations, and agency, medical center and Prosthetics policies regarding eligibility and entitlement to determine patient eligibility for treatment and equipment.

Knowledge of budget control point maintenance, and skill in procedures to maintain accurate funding, billing, and balances.

OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 4 years above high school.

OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education as described above.

GS-6 GRADE REQUIREMENTS: Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-5 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Knowledge of standardized purchasing regulations, policies and procedures, and common business practices to make purchases involving commercial requirements.

Broad in-depth knowledge of purchasing regulations, methods, procedures and business practices to make purchases involving specialized requirements and complicating factors.

Knowledge of Federal laws and regulations, and agency, medical center and Prosthetics policies regarding eligibility and entitlement to determine patient eligibility for treatment and equipment.

Knowledge of budget control point maintenance, and skill in procedures to maintain accurate funding, billing, and balances.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Decision Making Manages and Organizes Information Manages Resources Reasoning (Clerical/Technical) 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 mostly sedentary but requires some physical effort such as walking, standing, bending, and carrying of books, manuals, vendor's catalogs and prosthetics items to be issued from various stock rooms.

Duties involve extended periods of working at a computer terminal. Some climbing is associated with stocking items in storage areas. Incumbent may carry or lift items weighing up to 40-50 pounds.

There are no special physical demands.

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:

This position utilizes knowledge of policies and procedures for delivery orders and small purchases and knowledge of commercial supply sources and common business practices related to sales, prices, discounts, units of measurement, deliveries, stocks, and shipments.

The Purchasing Agent maintains responsibility for work leading to the purchase of a wide variety of complex and highly specialized services, supplies, equipment, and systems that support the full range of programs and activities.

Major duties and responsibilities include: Purchasing Support - Conducts purchasing under the micro purchase threshold; reviews and edits purchase requests; resolves issues to ensure requests and bills are processed accurately and in a timely manner; identifies needs or problems and determines corrective action; utilizes federal and agency acquisition regulations to identify possible sources and other pertinent information related to purchases; tracks obligations/commitments and monitors expenditures to support recurring budget forecasts and identify potential fraud, waste and abuse based on procurement history and purchase trends; and, Procurement Support - Procures supplies and services to meet the purchase, rental, or lease needs of the organization; develops unique selection criteria for each purchase; Prepare and issue contract modifications for changes in delivery schedule and sends formal correspondence to a variety of customers such as inventory management specialists, other service line contacts, and contracting officers as appropriate for the purposes of auditing documents, processing receiving reports, and payments.; conducting open market research and sole source small purchases for highly specialized medical items with critical product requirements; and, Administrative Support - Serves as the first line of contact for medical staff and customers in regard to procured items; develops reports and spreadsheets, obtains, organizes, files and retrieves reports for briefing and presentation purposes; performs a variety of receptionist, timekeeping, record keeping and miscellaneous duties in medical facility; and, Performs other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday - Friday, 8:00AM to 4:30PM Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PD11378A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized