The incumbent is a member of Prosthetic & Sensory Aids Service (PSAS) within the Prosthetic Service Line under the VISN or medical center. The employee serves as a Purchasing Agent for a Network Contracting Office (NCO) and is responsible to insure acquisition requests submitted to the contracting office are procured in accordance with Federal and VA procurement and acquisition policies, regulations, and procedures.

Duties

Major Duties: The work involves procurement of various equipment, supplies, and services on a competitive and noncompetitive basis through the use of Simplified Acquisition Procedures (Example: $25,000 for open market purchases and up to the designated order limitation for orders against established contracts, such as FSS and VA decentralized contracts). The work performed supports Medical Centers, Veterans Outreach Centers, Regional Offices, and Community Based Outpatient Clinics. The employee is responsible for clerical and assistant work leading to the award of purchase orders and contracts which are signed by warranted Contracting Officers. The employee assists customers with Statement of Work (SOW). The employee drafts correspondence for signature of the Contracting Officer and ensures all pertinent documents are filed in the contract file (pre-award, post-award, and close-out). The employee performs work to procure supplies and services to meet the purchase, rental, and lease needs of the organization. Employee is responsible to resolve a variety of purchasing problems, such as inadequate or restrictive specifications, lack of multiple suppliers, urgent need, and/or insufficient price history. Ensures all information is included in the solicitation package prior to submission to the warranted Contracting Officer. The employee identifies which factors in addition to price, to determining the best offer. The employee is responsible to develope technical ranking factors for award determinations, or negotiating terminations for convenience or default. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday: 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: Ad-Hoc Telework - VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PD24xxxA Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized 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, 08/02/2024. 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-5 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-4. For a GS-6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: Must possess (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-5) that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. Such knowledge and skills are identified in the Competence Assessment Checklist of the position and include knowledge and skills in: Communication and interpersonal relations, including the ability to appropriately and courteously relate to internal and external customers; Ordering of appropriate prosthetic appliances, purchase card reconciliation, stock and inventory control; Generating bilateral purchase orders for manufactured and custom equipment, delivery, installation and repairs of unique prosthetic devices and or appliances; Analyzing and interpreting unique and critical patient equipment orders that have critical characteristics; Budgeting control point maintenance and skills in accounting procedures, including basic math skills necessary to maintain accurate funding, billing and sub-account balances; Computer software programs, which are required to, complete patient processing in Prosthetics; Maintenance of confidentiality of patient/employee information, electronic and print; The Medical Center, Hospital, or Community Based Outpatient Clinics Performance Improvement Program; How to work and function in the medical center in a safe manner, including infection control and the correct operation of equipment. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)Manages and Organizes InformationManages ResourcesReasoning (Clerical/Technical)Technical Competence 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 requires some physical effort such as standing, walking, bending, or sitting. There are no special physical demands. 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.

Contacts

• Address Tomah VA Medical Center 500 East Veterans Street Tomah, WI 54660 US
• Name: Avian Wilkins
• Phone: (901) 522-5536
• Email: [email protected]