This position is located in the Prosthetics & Sensory Aid Service. The purpose of this position is to perform direct medical supply purchasing and inventory management support to the administrative and clinical services of the VA to initiate the obligation for all related requirements necessary to provide prosthetic and sensory aids services, to include durable medical equipment and supplies directly to Veterans.

Duties

Answering phone calls, correspondence and visits from Veterans, family members, Veteran Service Organizations, Home Based Primary Care clinical team members, private medical facilities, hospice care, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, vendors and clinical staff regarding eligibility, durable medical equipment, services and benefits that are available. Displaying excellent interpersonal skills. Facilitating necessary linkages with other VA Services (Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Service, Spinal Cord Injury, etc.) Advising on availability, selection and acquisition of a wide range of prosthetic and sensory aids device and services. Reviewing non-VA and CHOICE prescriptions for durable medical equipment, supplies and services. Serving as the Prosthetic Purchasing Agent. Ensuring the correct Medicare Health Common Procedure Coding Systems (HCPCS) is assigned to each product procured. Assisting in developing procurement packages. Recommending payment or non-payment of invoices. Researching Veteran medical records to obtain information. Ensuring funds are obligated. Authorizing purchase orders for a wide variety of prosthetic and orthotic devices, medical supplies and home medical equipment and repairs. Authorized user of Government Purchase card. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level (GS-7) 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 AM to 4:30 PM Telework: Ad Hoc; and per supervisory approval Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. 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-6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. 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-7 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. Applicants must be eligible under the VA Interchange Agreement, having served continuously for at least one year in the other merit system under this interchange agreement. For more information regarding the VA Interchange Agreement please visit: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-authorities/competitive-hiring/. All Title 38 Veterans Canteen Service (VCS) employees must have served in their Excepted Service position for at least 90 days in order to be eligible for a position within the Competitive Service. Applicants who were previously selected under a Competitive Delegating Examining Unit (DEU) announcement must have served in their position for at least 90 days prior to being eligible for other positions within the Competitive Service. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: GS-6 Specialized Experience: To qualify for the GS-6, you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade of a GS-5 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to: Performing clerical or assistant duties in support of purchasing and procurement. 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. 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 Microsoft Word and Excel. Using commercial commodities and established markets to advise requisitioners of various product characteristics (e.g., available sizes, quantities, brand names, packaging, quality), identify sources of supply, and determine the appropriateness or adequacy of item descriptions. Applying basic arithmetic used in business to make simple comparisons of price, discounts, transportation costs, or similar terms. Using post award procedures sufficient to resolve typical problems with deliverables, such as differences in price or quantity, or to recommend and prepare, for example, no-cost cancellations of purchase orders. GS-7 Specialized Experience: To qualify for the GS-7, you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade of a 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: Knowledge and experience with Federal Acquisition policies, handbooks, and procedures, purchasing and procurement. Performing technical level purchasing. Procuring supplies and services to meet the purchase, rental, or lease needs. 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. Reconciliation of invoices and discrepancy/dispute resolution. Using purchasing methods, such as extended training or experience to make competitive or sole source, small, micro-purchase 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. Conducting thorough market research by obtaining competitive bids/Request for Quotation (RFQ) to determine fair and reasonable pricing. Generating bilateral purchase orders for manufactured and custom equipment, delivery, installation, and repairs of unique prosthetic devices and or appliances, i.e., high-end prosthetic limbs, power and manual mobility devices, respiratory equipment, and deliveries. Analyzing and interpreting unique and critical patient equipment orders that have critical characteristics including new emerging technology in prosthetic limb processors and surgical implants, including injectable grafts with recent FDA approval. Maintaining accurate funding, billing, and sub-account balances. Using a ten-key calculator to calculate quantity discounts, shipment costs and formulate shipping charges using the metric system. 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 Prosthetic & Sensory Aids Service (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. 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 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 Chalmers P Wylie Veterans Outpatient Clinic 420 North James Road Columbus, OH 43219 US
• Name: Aubrey Kipp
• Phone: 269-275-6381
• Email: [email protected]