Purchasing Agent

Summary

The incumbent 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.

Duties

Duties to include but not limited to the following: The position has a high degree of visibility due to direct patient care contact with the Veteran population, many of whom are severely disabled; therefore, the incumbent displays a positive image and be highly motivated to seek ways to expedite patient processing, accomplish the VA mission and adapt to the ever-changing world of health care. The incumbent must quickly deduce from written prescriptions or oral requests what items or services are needed and/or conduct follow up information requests to the initiator to clarify the medical need or device specifications, based on the Veterans medical evaluation. These medical needs are indicated on Prosthetic Service Requests/Consults. These consults are entered by VA clinicians in the electronic medical record. Prosthetics Purchasing Agents are responsible for triaging consults in VISTA or APAT. Based on the urgency of the need, the incumbent will select the most appropriate cost-effective source to deliver the items/service in the most reliable manner. Purchasing staff in PSAS conduct work utilizing independent problem-solving skills in a STAT and routine manner, taking appropriate action based on the request from the clinical provider prescribing the device based on the interpreted instructions on the clinical prescription. Timelines for procurement will be established by local or national guidance via Business Practice Guidelines or Standard Operating Procedures. Adherence to these timelines is extremely important, as a delay from PSAS could prevent discharge from input to output status, delay scheduled surgeries, and/or impact other care coordination efforts to Veterans awaiting care. They obligate purchase orders for equipment and/or supplies, or the rental of services within 30 working days. Action taken must be annotated on the consult as notification to the requestor and all other necessary parties. Monitors to ensure the completion of requests in less than a 90-days period. Action taken must explain why actions could not be completed within the established timeframe. All updates regarding the acquisition process must be indicated on the consults. These updates work as two-way communication between the purchasing staff and the VA clinical staff. PSAS purchasing staff will change the status of consults based on local processes and guidelines and in accordance with all Business Practice Guidelines and Standard Operating Procedures. The incumbent will be responsible for using discernment in managing consults and changing statuses accordingly using purchase orders, inventory issues, forwarding consults, and administratively completing them using NR codes. The incumbent will be responsible for managing and monitoring their List Open Purchase Card Transactions By Initiator report / unreconciled orders on a regular basis and in accordance The incumbent will be responsible for managing and monitoring their List Open Purchase Card Transactions By Initiator (LPCI) report / unreconciled orders on a regular basis and in accordance. The incumbent has multiple levels of micro purchase threshold authority, and these micro purchase thresholds uniquely influence the major duties and responsibilities in this position, particularly the complex purchasing major duty. Purchase authority is established or changed when the incumbents VA Form 0242 is submitted and signed by VHA procurement authority based on the items purchased and their contract status. For non-national contract items the incumbent has a general micro purchase authority of $10,000 (this threshold is subject to change). For national contract-based purchases when 38 U.S.C 8123 authority is delegated, by the Secretary for the Department of Veteran's Affairs, the incumbent has a micro purchase threshold of $100,000 (this threshold is subject to change). This includes surgical implants and additional commodities which may be included as the authority is expanded. The 8123 authority was first authorized by the Secretary of the VA on October 5th, 2017, and the authority specifically authorizes the incumbent the following provisions: 1) approval of non warranted individuals to establish purchase orders and use purchase cards to pay for such orders without regard to micro-purchase threshold limitations; and 2) approval of establishing written obligated purchase card orders and payments to vendors after the product has been used. NOTE: This position involves a multi-grade career ladder. Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday - Friday, 8:00am- 4:30pm Telework: This position is not authorized for telework. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PD# 03188-A

Requirements

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 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 dentification 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 will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications and evaluation

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment. The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position. For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document. Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. 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 to apply

All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 10/22/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13089108. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume: Prioritize most relevant and recent experience Use concise, results focused language Align language from the job announcement Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies Remove outdated or unrelated experience Use the USAJOBS resume builder Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/merit-hiring-plan-resources/applicant-guidance-on-the-two-page-resume-limit/ The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/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/. 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.

Required documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes: Resume The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please make sure you have included other documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), documentation to support Veterans Preference claims, or ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees). You will not be contacted for additional information. Cover Letter DD-214/ Statement of Service Disability Letter (VA) Resume Separation Notice (RIF) SF-15 SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action Transcript SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (if applicable for Time in Grade and/or Eligibility): Most recent SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee An SF-50 showing 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 Award 50's do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade. Examples of appropriate SF-50's include: Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old. Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit Feds Hire Vets - Veterans - Job Seekers - Veterans' Preference.

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit or 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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. 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.