The incumbent will serve as a Purchasing Agent in the Prosthetic & Sensory Aids Service (PSAS) within the Prosthetic Service Line, VISN 20 Prosthetics, assigned to VA Puget Sound Healthcare System, American Lake Division, Tacoma, WA.

Duties

Major Duties include, but are not limited to: Performing technical level purchasing support adhering to the FAR, VAAR, VHA, and Prosthetics Directives and Handbooks, VISN policy and station memorandums to acquire patient specific medical equipment, supplies and services. Tailoring the patient care/support services to meet the specialized need(s) of the individual patient and the clinical service it supports. Initiate action on "stat" requests within 24 hours, or five (5) working days for routine requests. Monitoring, receiving, tracking, interpreting, and analyzing Prosthetic Consults, and prescriptions for items, services and home medical equipment from physicians, therapists, medical center personnel, patients or their representatives. Identifying, verifying and ensuring eligibility of all services and durable medical equipment (DME) requested on Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) consult request by an authorized requester per the area of responsibility and training is addressed before issuing durable medical equipment (DME). Acting on emergent situations with knowledge of up-to-date practices, procedures, and products; justifying actions to include sole source justification. Reporting any detected non-contractual findings to the Contracting Official Representative (COR). Utilizing office automation equipment such as, computer, word processor, facsimile or scanner machines, automatic data processing (ADP) equipment (keyboard and visual display), barcode scanners, label makers, calculator, copiers and telephones to effectively communicate with others, place purchase orders, produce forms and complete correspondence. 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, 8:00am - 4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PD99434S, PD99433S, and PD99432S Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Physical Requirements: Work is primarily sedentary when conducing 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.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 10/03/2023. 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 within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-05 position - For this vacancy, employees under the GS pay system must have held a GS-03 or higher position in the last 52 weeks to be eligible for the GS-05 grade level. For a GS-06 position - Candidates must have held a GS-05 position or higher in the Federal service or have previously held a Federal non-GS position equivalent to the GS-05 or higher for at least one year. For a GS-07 position - Candidates must have held a GS-06 position or higher in the Federal service or have previously held a Federal non-GS position equivalent to the GS-06 or higher for at least one year. 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. 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: GS-05 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: Under supervision, performs 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; 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. 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 of education above high school. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university (Transcript(s) must be submitted with your application). OR, Combination: Applicants may use a combination of education and specialized experience. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement (Transcript(s) must be submitted with your application). One full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience. GS-06 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: Assists in 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; prioritizes workload requests to comply with mandated timeliness standards; 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. GS-07 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: Independent experience procuring supplies and services to meet the purchase, rental, or lease needs of an organization; assisting in training new employees and answering questions on purchasing/procurement procedures, policies, etc.; purchasing various equipment, supplies, and services through the use of a purchase card; working with medical staff to determine procurement needs and priorities; prioritizes workload requests to comply with mandated timeliness standards; knowledge of specialized programs within the service to assist in administering processes to ensure continuous quality of care for patients; resolving a variety of shipment, payment, or other discrepancies in support of procurement programs and operations; 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. 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 conducing 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

There is no educational substitution at the GS-06 & GS-07 grade level.

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 VA Portland Health Care System 3710 Southwest US Veterans Hospital Road Portland, OR 97239 US
• Name: Iyorliam Tardzer
• Phone: 208-422-1000 X7718
• Email: [email protected]