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Purchasing Agent

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Conducts purchasing for the VA Medical Center and supported catchment area under the micro­ purchase threshold and must have knowledge of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), VA Acquisition Regulations (VAAR) and other federal procurement laws. Purchases various equipment, supplies, and services through the use of the government purchase card for micro purchases. Reviews and edits purchase requests to ensure the item or service is adequately described based on the requester's need.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
09/29/2020 to 10/12/2020
Salary
$38,340 to - $49,845 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 5
Location
Ann Arbor, MI
1 vacancy
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
5
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
CBSR-10924492-20-JAS
Control number
580209900

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Duties

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  • Provides administration and oversight on orders and services. Represents the VA in discussions with vendors/contractors to obtain agreement on micro purchases and vendor/contractor compliance.
  • Coordinates with the using services representatives regarding sources of supplies and acceptable substitutions when the standard items are in short supply or unavailable from the normal source of supply.
  • Applies conventional practices to solve any problems in the procurement transaction. When significant problems are encountered or deviations are required, develops recommended alternatives or solutions prior to completion of the procurement action for supervisory review.
  • Provides excellent customer service to medical staff, customers, vendors , and contractors and resolves issues in an expeditious manner to ensure requests and bills are processed in a timely and accurate manner.
  • Resolves minor disputes and informal complaints among medical staff and customers and refer formal complaints to the immediate supervisor.
    Communicates in a tactful and courteous manner with a variety of individuals with diverse backgrounds and levels of understanding.
  • Supports other functions of the Logistics Service as required, including distribution of procured supplies and material. Performs other related duties as assigned.
  • Procures supplies and services to meet the purchase, rental, or lease needs of the organization. Examines incoming requests for completeness including presence of purchase request number, accounting codes , item description estimated cost, and quantity.
  • Ensures all critical information is included in the solicitation package and develops unique selection criteria for each purchase. A particular procurement action involves the use of many different kinds of equipment services and trades.
  • Conducts open market research for purchases of routine equipment, supplies, and services.
  • Procures supplies and services to meet the purchase, rental, or lease needs of the organization. Examines incoming requests for completeness including presence of purchase request number, accounting codes, item description estimated cost, and quantity.

    Work Schedule: Monday-Friday (08:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)
    Telework: Not Available
    Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
    Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent6282-A GS-1105-5
    Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
    Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
  • Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
  • You may be required to serve a probationary period
  • Subject to background/security investigation
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/12/2020.

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 grade level. 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 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: developing procurement packages, utilizing different ordering, reporting procedures, and purchasing methods, maintaining communication with vendors and medical center staff, practicing cost containment through efficient purchasing, and maintaining item and vendor files, using government purchasing and micro purchasing programs; OR,
  • Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have at least four years above high school 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 beyond You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond the second year of post-high school education 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.
You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

Analytical Reasoning
Communication
Contract Administration
Critical Thinking
Customer Service


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 is generally performed in an office environment and requires some physical effort such as standing, sitting, walking, or bending. 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.

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.

Additional information

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.

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

If you are unable to apply online view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview.Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

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