As a Purchasing Agent, assigned to Prosthetic & Sensory Aids Service (PSAS) within the Prosthetic Service line within the Bruce W. Carter VA Medical Center in Miami, Florida. You 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 service, to include durable medical equipment and supplies directly to Veterans.

Duties

Major duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Performs technical level purchasing support adhering to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulations (VAAR), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), and Prosthetic Directives and Handbooks, Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) policy and station memorandums to acquire patient specific medical equipment, supplies and services. Verifies Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) and Bradstreet information and ensures each vendor is in the System for Award Management (SAM) and in good standing to do business with the government. Verifies accountability of all prosthetics expenditures in both the purchase menu and the prosthetics program and associates all obligations to the individual Veteran. Verifies adherence to training and other contractual agreements. Follow-up action on the status of all those orders is required weekly until purchased and direct patient care is completed. Provides patient care and support services to an adult population and serves as the point of contact for external customer service inventory needs and support. Tailors patient care/support services to meet the specialized need(s) of the individual patient and the clinical service it supports. Displays a positive image and be highly motivated to seek ways to expedite patient processing, accomplish the VA mission, and adapt to the ever-changing world of health care. Quickly deduce from written prescriptions or oral requests what items or services are needed. Initiate action on "stat" requests within 24 hours, or five (5) working days for routine requests. Obligates purchase order for equipment and/or supplies, or the rental of services within 30 working days. Action taken must be annotated on the consult as notification to the requestor and all other necessary parties. Monitors to ensure the completion of requests in less than a 90-day period; action taken must explain why actions could not be completed within the established timeframe. Specialized purchases require in-depth market research, collaboration with clinical providers, manufacturers and validation of quote to medical prescription. Monitors, receives, tracks, interprets, and analyzes Prosthetic Consults, and prescriptions (VA Form 10-2431) for items, services and home medical equipment for physicians, therapists, medical center personnel, patients or their representatives. Reviews requests for completeness, comparing disability or diagnosis to equipment and/or service normally provided for the condition for which they are requested, and/or proper documentation has been provided to justify the issuance. Ensures consults are completed and appropriately closed within guidelines and follows-up on all pending consults to ensure services are rendered as quickly as possible or as indicated on the prescription/consult. Documents the services required per the contractual agreement and monitors, tracks and trends contractor performance. Reports any detected non-contractual findings to the Contracting Official Representative (COR). Provides assistance and training to new Purchasing Agents in ordering of appropriate prosthetic appliances, purchase card reconciliation, stock and inventory control, etc. Trains new Purchasing Agents on the latest PSAS Software packages as they relate to the Patient Services Section within PSAS. Required to assist with additional workload due to the absence of one or more Purchasing Agents for an extended period of time (leave). Responsible for assisting in administering the following specialized programs within the service to include; provision of the item(s)/services; scheduling of appointments; travel; completion of appropriate forms and referrals as required for the following: (a) PSAS O&P Lab Program, (b) Footwear Program (Orthopedic, Inlay, and Custom Molded), (c) Orthotic Device Program, and (d) Prosthetic Service Card (PSC) Program. Uses office automation equipment such as, computer, work processor, facsimile/scanner machines, automatic data processing (ADP) equipment (keyboard and visual display), barcode scanners, label makers, calculator, copiers and telephones to effectively communicate with others, place purchase orders, produce forms and complete correspondence. Work Schedule: Full-Time, 7:30am - 4:00pm, Monday through Friday Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent (Logistics)/PD99896S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved 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, 12/19/2024. 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-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. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 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 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. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)Decision MakingManages 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: 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

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Contacts

• Address Bruce W Carter Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 1201 Northwest 16th Street Miami, FL 33125 US
• Name: Shaneen 'Shae' Daniel-Dalton
• Phone: 1-813-816-7155 X100111
• Email: [email protected]