The Purchasing Agent position, located within in the Durham Veterans Affairs Heath Care System (DVAHCS) Prosthetics Service provides comprehensive treatment and tailors patient care and support services to meet the specialized need(s) of the individual patient. The Purchasing Agent will support the Durham VAHCS and all outpatient clinics within the area of responsibility by providing customer service to our Nations Veterans and internal customers throughout each facility.

Duties

Major duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to: Adherence to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), VA Acquisition Regulations (VAAR), and the Simplified Acquisition Procedures to procure all supplies, equipment, and service needs for all authorized Veterans. Use of SharePoints to monitor National mandated compliance and enter requests for any request exceeding the micro-threshold into the Forecast of Opportunities and Requirements Center for Excellence (FORCE) within established timelines. Documenting in Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) professionally and appropriately. Gathering any needed information from the prescribing body to assure the correct medical devices are procured. Creating purchase orders for requested Prosthetic devices using a government credit card. Operating specific software packages to maintain a detailed and accurate accounting of all actions taken for Veterans and documents their records showing items or services provided. Interviewing veterans reporting to the service and receiving phone calls from beneficiaries. Responsible for posting stock issued equipment to patients electronic record. Ability to multitask between purchasing and providing direct customer service. 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: 8:00am - 4:30pm, Monday -Friday Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PD99434A, PD99433A, and PD99432A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Available Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/25/2023. 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-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04. For a GS-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. 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: To Qualify for a GS-05 Position you must have one of the following: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: receiving and analyzing prosthetic request and prescriptions from licensed independent practitioners and works with the Prosthetics Program Manager to ensure that veterans receive information about prosthetic and sensory aids equipment, services, and benefits and that information and services provided to Veterans are in accordance with applicable regulations and directives; receiving phone calls, correspondence , and visits from veterans, family members, veteran service organizations, home based primary care teams, private medical facilities, hospice care, nursing homes, assistive living facilities and clinical staffs about eligibility, equipment, services and benefits that are available and how to access them. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed four (4) years above the high school level in any field for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. (This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college, or university.) OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond two (2) years and specialized experience as described above that demonstrates the ability to perform the duties of this Purchasing Agent position. To Qualify for a GS-06 Position you must have one of the following: Specialized Experience: 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: the 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: 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 a variety 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; and 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. **There is no educational substitution at this GS-06 grade level. To Qualify for a GS-07 Position you must have one of the following: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Utilizing electronic contracting databases or systems, submitting plans and procurement packages to contracting offices; interpreting and analyzing prescriptions and request for medical equipment and services; maintaining regular contact and resolving issues with vendors, contractors, medical center professionals and staff; purchasing equipment, supplies and services using an agency/organization purchase card and reconciling charges and preparing and submitting reports. Responsible for procurement of Surgical Implants and interaction with Surgical Staff. **There is no educational substitution at this GS-07 grade level. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:Acquisition StrategyAnalytical ThinkingClient OrientationComputer SkillsCustomer Service (Clerical/Technical) 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/.

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 Durham VA Medical Center 508 Fulton Street Durham, NC 27705 US
• Name: Cassandra Brown
• Phone: 804-675-5000 X2353
• Email: [email protected]