Purchasing Agent

Full Job Description

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

The Selectee would be assigned to the VA Medical Center and has an active inpatient implant care coordination and outpatient treatment program and inventory responsibility to include, but are not limited to: Prosthetic and Sensory Aids; Fabrication Lab for Orthotic and Prosthetics, Audiology & Speech Pathology, Podiatry, and Orthopedic Services.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/17/2026.

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-6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. 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 as described below: Specialized 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: 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 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.

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.

Preferred Experience: Basic computer skills, VISTA, CPRS, Microsoft Office, Excel, One Note and Customer Service.

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 conducting 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.

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:

Provides either direct or indirect patient care and support services. Verifies accountability of all prosthetics expenditures in both the purchase menu and the prosthetics program.

Knowledge and experience with Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, One Note, and Outlook).

Plans and coordinates actions to prevent, correct, or resolve delays or misunderstandings in the processes. Resolves minor disputes and informal complaints.

Applies conventional practices to problem solving. Provides face to face contact with patients and their families to meet outpatient medical needs.

Serves as a contact for external and internal customers regarding service needs and support. Handles conflict and problems in dealing with the customer constructively and appropriately.

Deals with issues such as organizational conflict, competing objectives, or resource problems to find solution.

Recommends a variety of issues that affect the effectiveness and efficiency of health care delivery in an innovative team treatment approach.

Provides guidance to assist in developing policy or process recommendations. Ability to read and process consults and can work with various VHA computer programs (CPRS, VISTA).

Collaborates with requester to resolve questions of equipment i.e. priority, variation of design, function, size and appropriateness of prescription.

Identifies and records all equipment by documenting the serial, model, manufacturer, and other identifiable information as needed.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:30 am- 4:00 pm, subject to change based on the needs of the facility. Telework: Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

Ad-Hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PDS0102A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized