Purchasing Agent

Full Job Description

The Purchasing Agent is a member of Prosthetic & Sensory Aids Service (PSAS) within the Prosthetic Service Line under the VISN or medical center.

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.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/23/2026.

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: GRADE DETERMINATION: GS 05 Specialized Experience: Must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-4 level in the Federal service that has equipped me with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of this Prosthetic Clerk at the full performance level (GS-5), and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled.

Specialized experience includes: Knowledge of medical terminology, physical and sensory disabilities, basic anatomy and kinesiology, demonstrates knowledge of contracts, purchasing policies, equipment sources, trade policies, shipping procedures and the corresponding terminology, Conduct face-to-face and telephone conversations with patients, family members, and private medical staff, contractors, vendors, and co-workers, Maintains accurate records of transactions and completes all adjustments to computerized system before final payment to vendor is certified.

OR Education: successfully completed four (4) years of education above the high school level in any field which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite.

Transcripts must be submitted at time of application.

OR Combination of education and experience: have an equivalent combination of successfully completed post-high school education (beyond the second year) and specialized experience as described above, which meet the total experience requirements for this grade level.

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 (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. Experience must be clearly indicated in your resume.

GS 06: Specialized Experience: must possess 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 the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of this Purchasing Agent position.

Specialized experience includes: comprehend from written prescriptions or oral requests what items or services are needed, selecting the most appropriate cost-effective source to deliver the items/service in the most reliable manner, completes written procurement and support notes in medical records to ensure order status is provided to the clinical requester to reduce delivery delays, verifies accountability of all prosthetics expenditures in both the purchase menu and the prosthetics program and associates all obligations to the individual patient.

NOTE: 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.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Attention to Detail Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Manages Resources 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: Must be in overall good health, able to sit at a desk working at a computer, engage in light to moderate physical activity including sitting, walking, bending, and carrying supplies.

Employee must be able to perform primarily light and sedentary duties with occasionally moderate physical demands, exercise patience, and control emotions, with reasonable accommodation, if necessary, without endangering the health and safety of the or others.

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:

Duties to include but not limited to the following: 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 Procurement Support Procures supplies and services to meet the purchase, rental, or lease needs of the organization; develops unique selection criteria for each purchase Prepares and issues 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 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.

Performs other related duties as assigned.

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 thru Friday 7:30 am - 4:00 pm PST; subject to change based on needs of service between hours of 6:30 am - 5:00 pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PD03189A and PD03188A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized