The incumbent is a member of Prosthetic & Sensory Aids Service (PSAS) within the Prosthetic Service Line under the VISN or medical center. Incumbent is assigned to the VA Medical Center and has an active inpatient implant care coordination and outpatient treatment program and inventory responsibility. Performs direct medical supply Purchasing and Inventory Management support to the administrative and clinical services of the VA.

Duties

Major duties include, but are not limited to: Performs technical level purchasing adhering to the FAR, VAAR, VHA, and Prosthetics Directives and Handbooks, VISN policy and station memorandums to acquire Veteran specific medical equipment, supplies and services based on a medical provider's clinical assessment and evaluation of the Veteran's medical condition. Performs research to find alternate vendor resources not available in SAM to meet the needs of specific purchase situations. Independently performs the process of vetting and vendorizing following VHA Prosthetics guidelines to complete purchases for items that aren't available through established vendor networks. Provides Veteran care and support services to an adult population and serves as the point of contact for external customer service inventory needs and support. Independently responsible for utilizing PSAS reporting tools to monitor and track PSAS open purchase card orders, to ensure timely service is provided to Veterans. Independently monitors, receives, tracks, interprets, and analyzes Prosthetic Consults, and prescriptions (VAF 10-2431) for items, services and home medical equipment from physicians, therapists, medical center personnel, Veterans, or their representatives. Independently examines clinical health records and claims folders to determine eligibility and entitlement for items and services based on adopted criteria and advises Veteran of the same. As a purchase card holder, the incumbent is subjected to purchase card audits, at least quarterly. The VISN Purchase Card Coordinator is responsible for this external audit and all regulations must be adhered to. Incumbent assists and trains 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 Section within PSAS. Ensures correct Medicare Healthcare Common Procedure Coding (HCPC) is used to identify the items provided, along with verifying and annotating eligibility when provided to the Veteran. Performs all other 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-Friday, 7:45am - 4:30pm Telework: Ad-hoc at Supervisor's discretion Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PD994333-A 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, 08/23/2023. 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-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 as described below: Specialized Experience for GS-06: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: interpreting prescriptions and requests for medical equipment and services; maintaining regular contact with vendors, contractors, medical center professionals and staff; utilizing a variety of databases and computer systems; purchasing equipment, supplies and services using an agency/organization purchase card; and reconciling charges and preparing and submitting reports. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Attention to DetailCustomer Service (Clerical/Technical)Manages ResourcesTechnical 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: 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. There may be frequent walks 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/.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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 Salem VA Medical Center 1970 Roanoke Boulevard Salem, VA 24153 US
• Name: Alician Lott
• Phone: 478-272-1210 X72908
• Email: [email protected]