The West Los Angeles VA Prosthetic & Sensory Aids Service is seeking a Purchasing Agent. This position is within the West Los Angeles VA Prosthetic & Sensory Aids Service. The Purchasing Agent is responsible for supporting the prescribed clinical treatment plans of Vetarans by purchasing medical equipment for individual patients and bulk inventory for the service. This is an indirect patient care position, but works directly with the Veteran, his/her family or VA provider to support their care.

Duties

Duties include but are not limited to: Perform technical level purchasing support adhering to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulations (VAAR), VHA, and Prosthetics Directives and Handbooks, VISN policy and station memorandums to acquire patient specific medical equipment, supplies and services. Verify Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) and Bradstreet information and ensure each vendor is in the System for Award Management (SAM) and in good standing to do business with the government. Verify accountability of all prosthetics expenditures in both the purchase menu and the prosthetics program and associate all obligations to the individual Veteran. Provide patient care and support services to an adult population and serve as the point of contact for external customer service inventory needs and support. Tailor the patient care/support services to meet the specialized need(s) of the individual patient and the clinical service it supports. Monitor, receive, track, interpret, and analyze Prosthetic Consults and prescriptions (VAF 10-2431) for items, services and home medical equipment from physicians, therapists, medical center personnel, patients or their representatives. Examine clinical health records and claims folders to determine eligibility and entitlement for items and services based on adopted criteria and advises Veteran of the same. 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, 8:00am-4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PD14658A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/29/2024. 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-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. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. 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 education and/or experience 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; reviewing and working with patients' medical records; completing training or assisting in routine and complex specialized purchases for clinics including medical equipment, prosthetic and orthotic appliances; utilizing computer software programs; and communicating with internal and external customers via various methods. OR Education: Applicants may substitute education for the experience required. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 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 in a field directly related to this position and specialized experience directly related to the work of the position as outlined above that meets the requirements of the position. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. One full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience. Preferred Experience: Purchasing of durable medical equipment Interpreting physician prescriptions Inventory management You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and ManagementCustomer Service (Clerical/Technical)Financial ManagementTechnical 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: 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. Prolonged periods of working at a computer terminal is required. 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. Often, walking between the main medical center and other parts of Prosthetic to conduct professional duties. 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 Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System 11301 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90073 US
• Name: Jasmin Theodore
• Email: [email protected]