This position serves as a Purchasing Agent for the Logistics Service within the VA Health Care System Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System performing work to acquire supplies, services, and construction by purchase, rental, or lease through (a) delivery orders and/or (b) small purchase procedures.

Duties

This position utilizes knowledge of policies and procedures for delivery orders and small purchases and knowledge of commercial supply sources and common business practices related to sales, prices, discounts, units of measurement, deliveries, stocks, and shipments. The Purchasing Agent maintains responsibility for work leading to the purchase of a wide variety of complex and highly specialized services, supplies, equipment, and systems that support the full range of programs and activities. Major duties and responsibilities include: Purchasing Support - Conducts purchasing under the micro purchase threshold; reviews and edits purchase requests; resolves issues to ensure requests and bills are processed accurately and in a timely manner; identifies needs or problems and determines corrective action; utilizes federal and agency acquisition regulations to identify possible sources and other pertinent information related to purchases; tracks obligations/commitments and monitors expenditures to support recurring budget forecasts and identify potential fraud, waste and abuse based on procurement history and purchase trends; and, Procurement Support - Procures supplies and services to meet the purchase, rental, or lease needs of the organization; develops unique selection criteria for each purchase; Prepare and issue contract modifications for changes in delivery schedule and sends formal correspondence to a variety of customers such as inventory management specialists, other service line contacts, and contracting officers as appropriate for the purposes of auditing documents, processing receiving reports, and payments.; conducting open market research and sole source small purchases for highly specialized medical items with critical product requirements; and, Administrative Support - Serves as the first line of contact for medical staff and customers in regard to procured items; develops reports and spreadsheets, obtains, organizes, files and retrieves reports for briefing and presentation purposes; performs a variety of receptionist, timekeeping, record keeping and miscellaneous duties in medical facility; and, Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday - Friday, 8:00AM - 4:30PM - Tour of duty to be determined by supervisor based upon facility needs - Subject to change. Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PD99896S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required This position is covered by AFGE bargaining unit. Per the AFGE Master Agreement, the Area of Consideration will be:1st Area of Consideration - current permanent Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System employees including satellites; 2nd Area of Consideration - current permanent Veterans Healthcare Administration employees; 3rd Area of Consideration - current permanent VA Nationwide employees; 4th Area of Consideration - All Other Status Applicants.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/11/2024. Status Candidates (Current permanent employees of the Department of VA including VA Title 38, Title 38 Hybrid, and Canteen employees serving on excepted appointments; All federal employees serving on a Career/Career-Conditional appointment; Former competitive civil service employees eligible for reinstatement; Veterans eligible under the VEOA, as 30% Disabled Veterans, and under a VRA; Those eligible under the Employment Program for People with Disabilities; Those eligible under CTAP/ICTAP). 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-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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. To qualify for this position at the GS-6 level, you must have: At least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level in the Federal service that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of a Purchasing Agent, and that is typically in or related to the work of this 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. Driver's License Requirement: A current, valid state-issued Driver's License is required for this position. NOTE: We cannot accept photographs, therefore; please do not submit a copy of your license with your application package. If an interview is requested, you will be required to provide a copy of your current, valid state-issued Driver's License. Physical Requirements: Requires some physical effort such as standing, sitting, walking, or bending. There are not special physical demands.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Contacts

• Address Biloxi VA Medical Center 400 Veterans Avenue Biloxi, MS 39531 US
• Name: Lesa Lang
• Phone: 804-675-5000
• Email: [email protected]