The Lead Purchasing Agent is responsible for the timely acquisition of a wide variety of medical, scientific, technical, and specialized supplies, services, and equipment for patients at the San Juan, VA Caribbean Healthcare System & Outpatient Clinics. Independently counsels veterans, family members, caregivers, stakeholders and other relatives to the items/services provided.

Duties

-Duties of the position include but are not limited to: Receives requests and prescriptions for prosthetic items and durable medical equipment, and reviews requests to ensure completeness and appropriateness. Tracking software (GUI/DSS APAT) in order to insure requests are completed with in the mandated time frame. Contacts vendors as necessary to ensure device or service purchased is provided in the specified time frame, and advises patients of progress or delays. Plan and coordinate actions to prevent, correct, or resolve issues in the purchasing process, exercising sound judgment and compliance with regulations. Treats Veterans with dignity, courtesy and respect. Demonstrates the ability to check, interpret and evaluate facts that ensure the patients' needs are met effectively. Utilizes knowledge of Prosthetic package, items available and costs, and appropriate purchasing strategies in order to minimize processing time when emergent equipment needs are identified. Required to attend appropriate acquisition training and utilize government purchase cards as appropriate, within prescribed rules and regulations. Adheres to the highest professional standards. Practices cost containment through efficient purchasing, utilizing valid government contracts. Monitors terms and conditions of established contracts. Demonstrates language proficiency both orally and in written communication with vendors, patients and other staff members. Demonstrates tact, poise and self-control in order to create patient confidence and respect, in addition to avoiding conflict. Communicates with all in a courteous, positive, cooperative manner. Incumbent provides assistance and training to new Purchasing Agents in ordering of appropriate prosthetic appliances, purchase card reconciliation, stock and inventory control, etc. Trains new Purchasing Agents on the latest PSAS Software packages as they relate to the Patient Services. Assist with additional workload due to the absence of one or more Purchasing Agents for an extended period of time (leave). Responsible for identification and recording of all equipment by documenting the serial, model, manufacturer and other identifiable information for possible recall; and by expiration dates for necessary replacement. Responsible to maintain an inventory of all purchased and consignment equipment with expiration date, imitate exchange and/or replacement of expired stock. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 07:30 A.M.-4:00 P.M. Monday through Friday. May be required to work overtime, and work during emergencies such as Hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and other disasters. Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Lead Purchasing Agent/PD99879-S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/01/2023. 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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6. 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. LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY 1. Must be proficient in English orally and in writing. 2. Must be proficient in spoke Spanish. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-6 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: purchasing of equipment, supplies, and services through simplified acquisition procedures, formal competitive bid (sealed bid) and renegotiated procedures; screening purchase requests for completeness and adequacy to determine how a purchase should be made; ordering against an existing contract (e.g., Federal Supply Schedules) or through open market/small purchase procedures; soliciting quotes either orally or by issuing requests for quotation (RFQ); selecting and using the appropriate method (e.g., delivery order, purchase order, blanket purchase agreement, impressed funds, and credit cards) to confirm and place an order. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)Decision MakingManages and Organizes InformationManages ResourcesReasoning (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 requiring some walking, climbing, and carrying light to medium-heave stock items up to 50 pound and make adjustments to equipment to properly fit the patients. The employee may be required to receive and store stock appliances. In the course of doing this, the employee may need to remove large or bulky items from packing boxes and push or carry them to storage facilities. Items may weight up to 50 pounds. Climbing associated with stocking of equipment in storage areas may be necessary. 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

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address San Juan VA Medical Center 10 Calle Casia San Juan, PR 00921 US
• Name: Miguel Viera-Rodriguez
• Phone: 787-641-7582
• Email: [email protected]