Purchasing Agent

Summary

The incumbent is a member of Prosthetic & Sensory Aids Service (PSAS) within the Prosthetic Service Line under the VISN or medical center. Incumbent is assigned to the Augusta VA Medical Center and has an active inpatient implant care coordination and outpatient treatment program and inventory responsibility. Performs direct medical supply Purchasing and Inventory Management support to the administrative and clinical services of the VA.

Duties

• Duties to include but not limited to: Coordinate delivery of home medical equipment Maintain accurate funding, billings, and account balances Research brochures and contracts to find most reasonably priced item/s. Operates the Prosthetics and Sensory Aids Service(PSAS) software package to maintain detailed and accurate accounting of all actions for veterans. Examines electronic health record to determine legal eligibility and medical entitlement for prosthetic items and services. Contact with vendors and/or contractors to procure items and services. Regularly resolves conflicts in administering purchase orders, such as protests, claims, duplicate billing, and terminations for convenience or default. Must work directly with vendors to trouble shoot duplicate billing errors and resolve those errors to ensure appropriate reconciliation of purchase orders. Make independent purchasing decisions outside of already established contracts for open market items for custom/complex in home installations or other custom devices where the particular purchase route or vendor is not always clear and decisions must be made based on multiple bids, Veteran's medical condition living situation and information from the original consult. Independently performs the process of vetting and vendorizing following VHA Prosthetics guidelines to complete to complete purchases for items that aren't available through established vendor networks. Performs independent technical level purchasing support adhering to the FAR, VAAR, VHA, and Prosthetics Directives and Handbooks, VISN policy and station memorandums to acquire patient specific medical equipment, supplies and services based on a medical providers clinical assessment and evaluation of the Veteran's medical condition Obtain all necessary procurement information to successfully submit Acquisition Plans and Procurement Packages for stock and Veteran specific needs to the Network Contracting Office and uploads quotes, bids, invoices, consults, and other important documents to the Electronic Contract Management System (eCMS/FORCE). Verifies adherence to training and other contractual agreements. Independently monitors, receives, tracks, interprets, and analyzes Prosthetic Consults, and prescriptions (VAF 10-2431) for items, services and home medical equipment from physicians, therapists, medical center personnel, patients, or their representatives. Independently examines 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. As a purchase card holder, the incumbent is subjected to purchase card audits, at least quarterly. The VISN Purchase Card Coordinator is responsible for this external audit and all regulations must be adhered to. Performs other duties as assigned. 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/PD509-11291A and PD11378A

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/02/2026. Grade Determinations for GS-1105-05 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. 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: 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: Experience 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 and basic medical terminology. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 4 years above high school. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and successfully completed post-high school education as described above. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. (UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED: If you do not submit your transcript, your application may not be reviewed. Grade Determinations for GS-1105-06 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: Experience 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, prosthetics experience, and experience/training with the use of a Government purchase card or Government purchase card holder. NOTE: 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. Please if you have experience using the government purchase card please list on your resume and be able to provide proof of either being a government purchase card holder or completed the government purchase card hold training. 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/.