The Purchasing Agent is a developmental position located in the Prosthetics & Sensory Aid Service in the Birmingham VA Healthcare System, at the Bessemer VA Clinic.

Duties

The Purchasing Agent is a member of a team providing patient care, services, and support to an adult, veteran population with specialized needs. The work has a high visibility and a positive attitude and motivation to expedite patient care and satisfaction are critical to accomplishing the VA mission. Duties and responsibilities include, and are not limited to: Receives and analyzes prosthetic request forms and prescriptions from physicians, therapists, patients, and patient representatives. Examines clinical health records and claims folders to determine legal eligibility and medical entitlement for the prosthetic items and service based on criteria; and advises veterans on the outcome of eligible and entitlement determination. Authorizes and prepares complex purchase orders for a wide variety of prosthetic and sensory aid devices, medical supplies, and durable medical equipment. Utilizes several established procedures and guidelines in the performance of work assignments. These include procurement history, Federal Supply Schedules or other established contracts, standard operating procedures, and regulations governing small purchases and delivery orders. Coordinates the delivery of home medical equipment, including oxygen therapy, through contracted providers. For purchases over $10,000, prepares all required documentation if the purchase is other than open market and uploads required documents (market research, sole source justification, and price reasonableness documentation) into the Electronic Contracting Management System for the contracting specialist to utilize as supporting documentation for the final purchase. Ensures funding allocations for the Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service Line reflect correct expenditures and balances utilized Fiscal policies and procedures. Reconciles all invoices for certification of payment. Makes purchases through automated process or through utilization of a purchase card Operates the Prosthetics software package to maintain detailed and accurate accounting of all actions taken for veterans and documents their records to show all items and services provided. Conducts quarterly inventory of prosthetic stock in compliance with procedures and regulatory requirements. Maintains continuous liaison with vendors, medical center professionals and staff to ensure timely acquisition and provision of items and services to veterans. Advises physicians and other professional staff on the availability, selection and acquisition of prosthetic devices or services. 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, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PD01531a Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved 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, 01/03/2024. 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-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6. For a GS-6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. For a GS-5 position, Candidates may be advanced without time restriction to positions up to GS-5 if the position to be filled is no more than two grades above the lowest grade the employee held within the preceding 52 weeks under his or her latest nontemporary competitive appointment. 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: 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: performing administrative duties in a healthcare setting; progressively responsible clerical, office, or other work that indicates ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of a purchasing agent. 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 this position at the GS-6 level: 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: experience as a procurement clerk or purchasing agent that demonstrates knowledge of Federal procurement laws and regulations; experience that demonstrates knowledge of medical equipment/prosthetic and orthotic appliances; skill in fund control procedures (making and reconciling purchases/maintaining a budget). To qualify for this position at the GS-7 level: 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: receiving and analyzing prosthetic request forms from physicians, therapists, patients, and patient representatives; determining eligibility and medical entitlement for prosthetic items and services based on established criteria; authorizing and preparing purchase orders for a wide variety of prosthetic and sensory aid devices, medical supplies, and durable medical equipment; coordinating the delivery of home medical equipment through contract providers; making purchases through an automated process or utilization of a purchase card. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Contracting/Procurement Compliance Control of Funds Computer Skills 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: The work is primarily sedentary but requires some physical effort such as walking, standing, bending and carrying of books, manuals, vendor catalogs and prosthetics items to be issued from stock rooms. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address Birmingham VA Medical Center 700 South 19th Street Birmingham, AL 35233 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]