The certified pharmacy technician procurement/inventory at the GS-9 is responsible for all prescription and nonprescription medications and supply purchasing and inventory in a highly complex area of Pharmacy Service at VA San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS). The incumbent serves as an ordering officer and has extensive knowledge of VA policy concerning drug procurement, inventory management, security and compliance.

Duties

The duties and responsibilities of the procurement/inventory pharmacy technician include but are not limited to the following: A. Procurement Serves as one of the lead ordering officers for pharmacy service, delegated by the VA National Acquisition Center (NAC) while maintaining annual training requirements. Determines, establishes, and modifies, as necessary, appropriate ordering intervals, inventory levels, most efficient and effective ordering quantities, sources of supply, etc. Assures when selecting a source, furnishes appropriate justification and documentation to the Fiscal Office so activities can be in conformance with existing Federal regulations. Utilizes knowledge of available contract information to switch to alternative generic drug products when available. Maintains pharmacy fund control records, verifies information, and reconciles all problems, questions, or discrepancies in this area with appropriate staff in Fiscal Office. Initiates ordering requirements of pharmaceuticals, specialty, and supply items through pharmacy prime vendors multi complex accounts or other mandatory sources using 1358, 2237, delivery orders and purchase cards as appropriate. Always follows the Pharmacy Prime Vendor B09 reconciliation procedures and assure they are completely within established timelines. Resolves discrepancies with Fiscal Service, vendor, or manufacturer as appropriate. Prior to placing orders with compounding pharmacies ensures that they all meet federal, state and VHA regulations and standards. Ensures that funds are available to cover any obligation and expenditure prior to ordering to avoid any unauthorized commitments. B. Inventory Management Maintains effective and economical inventory management of all drugs, medical supplies and chemicals handled by Pharmacy. The incumbent works to ensure that inventory levels of medications and medical supplies are managed so that patient care is not impaired due to insufficient stock or the unavailability of a therapeutic alternative. Maintains inventory turn performance that meets or exceeds VISN and national averages. Helps conduct all inventory counts, including but not limited to quarterly OIG reports, annual full inventory, biennial controlled substances inventory, and other needs as assigned. C. Budget Management Maintains pharmacy fund control records, verifies information, and reconciles all problems, questions, or discrepancies in this area with appropriate personnel in Fiscal Office. Uses this information to monitor cash flow and adjusts inventory levels and procurement activities to the extent possible to stay within allocated funds. Resolves budgetary discrepancies that arise among Fiscal and Pharmacy due to changes that occur during the procurement, obligation and delivery processes. Provides current and accurate drug budget information to the Pharmacy Chief. Provides information to the supervisor on matters that will require supplemental funding. Provides expertise and works in collaboration with supervisor for annual drug budgeting projections. D. Administrative and Organizational Support Provides authoritative interpretation of procurement issues to pharmacists, providers, technicians, and pharmacy leadership. Continuously analyzes and reassess priorities to ensure workload demands are accomplished in the most effective, efficient, and economic manner. Effectively evaluates pharmacy activities to assist pharmacy managers in obtaining short and long-range goals and objectives. Works with pharmacy staff including but not limited to Formulary team, clinical pharmacist to rest of the procurement team. Trains new procurement and pharmacy staff on departments standard operating procedures and provides oversight to ensure competencies are met. Re-trains staff as dictated. Assists the Contracting Officer Representatives (COR) within Pharmacy to put together procurement packages, sole source justifications as well as other documents required by VA regulations. Ensure separation of duties in compliance with VA Financial Policy Possesses technical knowledge of VA and regulatory agency requirements for drug storage and special requirements for procurement, storage, distribution, and handling of various hazardous and non-hazardous drug classes. Assists pharmacy leadership in identifying areas of effort duplication and developing solutions to streamline processes, reduce waste, save costs, and improve patient care. Work Schedule: Compressed Schedule, M-F, hours vary Telework: Not eligible for telework Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIREMENTS: Citizenship: Citizen of the United States. Education or Experience. For all grade levels and positions that accept both education and experience to qualify, equivalent combinations of qualifying education and experience that total at least 100% are qualifying. The combined percentage is determined by adding total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level to the education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level. Certification. Required Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements above, applicants must possess the following grade requirements. Pharmacy Technician, GS-09: Experience. One year of progressively complex experience equivalent to the lower grade level. Certification. For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either: PTCB as a CPhT or NHA as a ExCPT In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following technical KSAs and the potential to acquire the assignment specific KSAs designated by an asterisk (*): Expert knowledge serving as a key resource advising others in their particular specialty area or section of the pharmacy (such as procurement, sterile compounding (USP compounding standards), controlled substances DEA, automation, clinical pharmacy, lead tech, contact center, etc.). Skill in analyzing data for self-driven (independent) performance improvement projects, workload analysis and statistical reports. Skill in solving problems and implementing corrective actions to maximize outcomes in their program area. Ability to maintain special accreditations and prepare for national reviews/inspections (e.g., The Joint Commission, Inspector General, American Society of Health System Pharmacists®, controlled substance inspections). Ability to develop training programs and material for orientation, competency development and educational needs for regulatory requirements within the specialized pharmacy program area. Pharmacy Technician (Procurement/Inventory), GS-0661-09 Pharmacy technicians (procurement/inventory) at this level require independent technical judgement and expertise. They serve as the lead ordering officer for pharmacy service, providing guidance to lower-level procurement ordering officers. These individuals have extensive knowledge of VA policy concerning drug procurement, security and compliance with ordering officer requirements and regulatory areas (including, but not limited to, Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) per FDA regulations, recalls, return goods, open market, drug accountability, etc.). Pharmacy technicians maintain all records of pharmacy inventory for drug accountability, DSCSA per VHA policy and all other Federal regulations. Pharmacy technicians (procurement/inventory) perform a wide range of duties providing oversight on all pharmacy inventory to ensure standard operating procedures are followed and appropriate ordering and stock levels are maintained so patient care is not impaired. They stay within budgetary requirements, comply with contracts while maintaining inventory to meet or exceed the national average performance. They are accountable for pharmacy inventory management in areas such as regulatory and VHA formulary requirements, quality standards and official VA policies/procedures within the inventory management specialized area, conforming to pharmacy legal and professional requirements. Additional Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). Knowledge of pharmaceutical and supply inventory requirements to ensure compliance with regulations and national/audit/inspections (e.g., financial regulations, The Joint Commission, Inspector General, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists®, DEA, USP 797/800, FDA 503A/B). Knowledge of clinical specifications, characteristics and ordering processes of a wide variety of soft prosthetics and supply items (e.g., catheters, colostomy, ileostomy and urostomy supply and associated products) that technicians procure to dispense to Veterans in the outpatient pharmacy setting. Skill in managing specialized programs related to inventory including, but not limited to, specialty medications and supplies, All Hazards Emergency Cache Program, recalls, reverse distribution and pharmaceutical waste. References: Refer to VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix, G-28 Pharmacy Technician Qualification Standard, GS-0661-09 Physical Requirements: The work requires regular and recurring physical exertion, involving standing or sitting for prolonged periods of time, typing, walking distances within the medical center, lifting/ carrying (up to 40 pounds) of pharmaceutical supplies, and bending/stooping/stretching.

Education

IMPORTANT: 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 San Diego VA Medical Center 3350 La Jolla Village Drive San Diego, CA 92161 US
• Name: Rosezanna Daker
• Phone: (520)780-6862
• Email: [email protected]