The Purchasing Agent - Prosthetic & Sensory Aids Service (PSAS) provides a range of services within a scope of duties for the Fayetteville, NC VA Medical Center. The incumbent will 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, which include durable medical equipment and supplies for Veterans.

Duties

The Purchasing Agent is a member of the Prosthetic & Sensory Aids Service (PSAS) with an active inpatient implant care coordination and outpatient treatment program and inventory responsibility. In addition, the Purchasing Agent (PSAS) performs 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. This is a critical direct patient care, Veteran facing position. This position involves a multi-grade career ladder. The major duties listed below represent the full performance level of GS-07. At the GS-05 grade level, the employee performs assignments of a more limited scope and with less independence. You will progressively acquire the background necessary to perform at the full performance level of GS-07. Promotion is at the discretion of the supervisor and is contingent upon satisfactory performance, availability of higher-level work, and availability of funds. Duties include but are not limited to the following: Work directly with the Veteran, his/her family, surgeon or clinical provider, and community care discharge planning staff. Initiate procurement of all outpatients' medical requirements to include direct individual purchases to the Veteran, stock purchases for immediate availability, all medical surgical implants used during surgery, and/or rental requirements associated with continual outpatient medical equipment and supplies. Read, understand, and adhere to VA Provider Prescriptions/Consult/Electronic Health Orders, to determine eligibility and entitlement of a Veteran's status for prescribed equipment and understand and follow acquisition regulations per VHA Directives and Handbooks, VISN policies and station memorandums, the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulations (VAAR). Account for all expenditures and inventory working between two separate programs, the purchase card, and the prosthetics programs. Balances expenditures against obligations between the programs and has the accountability to document all inventory and purchasing actions in the Veteran's medical record and make medical notes to update the clinical provider, PSAS staff, Veteran, and his/her family. 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 Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized Telework: Authorized Per Agency Guidelines Virtual: This is not a virtual position Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PD99434A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: 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, 02/26/2024. Time-In-Grade Requirement: GS-05: 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-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. GS-06: 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. GS-07: 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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. Note: 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. Basic Minimum Requirements: Experience and Education Requirements: GS-05: Below shows the amount of education and/or experience required to qualify for positions covered by this standard. General Experience: One (1)year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-04 grade level OR Education: Four (4) years of education above high school. OR Specialized experience at the GS-05 grade level: Examples include but are not limited to the following: Under close supervision interpret and make decisions based on published acquisitions regulations; prepare purchase orders, procurement actions for open market; reconcile invoices, verify completeness of orders, maintaining accurate record of transactions computing correct total costs and resolving discrepancies with vendors. OR Combination of Education and Experience: Equivalent combination of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet the total experience requirements at grad GS-05 and below. For GS-05 Level positions - Only education more than the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. One (1) full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience. GS-06: Below shows the amount of education and/or experience required to qualify for positions covered by this standard. General Experience: One (1) year of specialized experiments equivalent to at least the GS-05 grade level. OR Education: There is no educational substitution for this grade level. OR Specialized experience at the GS-06 grade level: Examples include but are not limited to the following: Review and screen purchase orders and contracting documents for completeness; reconcile contracts for error from vendors and procurement officials; make purchases of limited range of equipment, commodities, and services through automated and manual systems; research information such as supply sources, discount sales, deliveries; understand medical and special interest terminology as related to supply and service requirements. GS-07: Below shows the amount of education and/or experience required to qualify for positions covered by this standard. General Experience: One (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-06 grade level. OR Education: There is no educational substitution for this grade level. OR Specialized experience at the GS-07: Examples include but are not limited to the following: Procurement for supplies, services, and equipment for Surgical Staff; perform a variety of purchasing methods to make competitive or sole source purchases; experience using electronic contracting databases or systems, submitting plans and procurement packages to contracting offices; interpreting and analyzing prescriptions and request for medical equipment and services; maintaining regular contact and resolving issues with vendors, contractors, medical center professionals and staff; purchasing equipment, supplies and services using an agency/organization purchase card and reconciling charges and preparing and submitting reports. Physical Requirements Work is primarily sedentary when conducting 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. Routine work includes, walking between the main medical center and other parts of Prosthetics to conduct professional duties as well as prolonged periods of working at a computer terminal. 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. Work Environment The incumbent works in a health care office with possible contact of the infirmed or deceased. Normal duties are performed in an office setting, which has adequate heat, light, and ventilation; however, the incumbent must retrieve prosthetic items from various storage areas daily. On occasion, the incumbent may accompany the Site Manager and/or Prosthetic Representative on visits to patients' homes or to a vendor for shop inspections. Direct daily contact with patients and handling of equipment returned from Veterans with contagious diseases is likely; hence, the incumbent is required to practice universal precautions in observance of normal safety practices with office equipment, prosthetics equipment & supplies. Avoidance of trips and falls, and observance of fire regulations is required. 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 an education substitution of four (4) years above high school at the GS-05 grade level.
• There is no educational substitution at the GS-06 grade level
• There is no educational substitution at the 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address Fayetteville NC VA Medical Center 2300 Ramsey Street Fayetteville, NC 28301 US
• Name: Patti Hoover
• Phone: 217-510-8022
• Email: [email protected]