The incumbent is a member of Prosthetic & Sensory Aids Service (PSAS) within the Prosthetic Service Line under the VISN or medical center.

Duties

Duties listed are not limited to. The major duties in this position are identified in two categories: 1) complex purchasing that requires irregular research, analysis, collaboration and many other steps to ensure both best value and the most appropriate devices are purchased for the Veterans, and occupies the majority of the duty time in this position-(60%); and, 2) routine purchasing includes routine purchase orders on established contracts or through established vendor resources using regular significant research, analysis or collaboration-(40%). 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. Complex Purchasing (60%) 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. Obtains all necessary procurement information to successfully submit Acquisition Plans and Procurement Packages for stock and Veteran specific needs to the Network Contracting Office and uploads quotes, bids, invoices, consults, and other important documents to the Electronic Contract Management System (eCMS/FORCE). The incumbent 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. The incumbent may be required to find additional vendor resources not available in SAM to meet the needs of specific purchase situations. Incumbent 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. The incumbent routinely reviews for discrepancies or loopholes in lengthy specifications or statements of work that are very detailed, or otherwise difficult to understand. Rental support requires necessary care coordination follow up initiation from PSAS to requestor for additional days of rental and/or discontinued services from the VA to the Vendor. The incumbent is independently responsible for utilizing PSAS reporting tools to monitor and track PSAS open purchase card orders, to ensure timely service is provided to Veterans. Routine Purchasing (40%) The incumbent performs independent technical level purchasing support 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 providers clinical assessment and evaluation of the Veteran's medical condition. The incumbent verifies accountability of all prosthetics expenditures in both the purchase menu and the prosthetics program and associates all obligations to the individual Veteran. 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 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. 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, 8:00a.m.-4:0p.m. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PD99432A, PD99433A, PD99434A, and PD91083A Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/16/2023. Purchasing Agent GS-5: GS-5: Experience. You possess at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-04) in the Federal Service, that is directly related to the work of the position and has equipped me with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties as Purchasing Agent. Qualifying specialized experience includes performing administrative duties in a healthcare setting; reviewing and working with patients' medical records; completing training or assisting in routine and complex specialized purchases for clinics including medical equipment, prosthetic and orthotic appliances; utilizing computer software programs; and communicating with internal and external customers via various methods. OR Education. You must possess the successful completion of 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. One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university, or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business, secretarial or technical school (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) OR Experience/Education Combination. You must possess a combination of education and experience as described above. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) Equivalent combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total experience requirement at GS-05. For GS-05 only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. One full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience related to the work of the position as outlined above. Purchasing Agent GS-6 Experience: You must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-05 grade level in Federal service. Examples of specialized experience for this position would typically include but are not limited to: A broad knowledge of a body of purchasing regulations, methods, procedures, and business practices to make purchasing involving specialized requirements and/or commercial requirements that have unstable price or product characteristics, hard to locate sources, many critical characteristics or similar complicating factors. There is no educational substitution at this grade level. Purchasing Agent GS-7 Experience: You must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-06 grade level in Federal service. Examples of specialized experience for this position would typically include, but are not limited to knowledge of purchasing methods, such as extended training or experience to make competitive or sole source, small, micro-purchases that involve collecting data to determine process reasonableness for new items, prepared detailed written solicitations, tailoring special terms and conditions or other matters of similar complexity. Routine purchases are simplified orders that do not require extensive research and are generally procured using FSS/VISN/Local and/or DALC contracts. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Attention to Detail Customer Service Technical Competence Manages Resources 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 comfortablyin 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

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 Northern Indiana HCS 1700 East 38th Street Marion, IN 46953 US
• Name: Mary Ann Kalis Jordan
• Phone: (313) 917-7841
• Email: [email protected]