Clarification from the agency

This position is open to all U.S. Citizens or U.S. Nationals. Note: Federal employees with permanent status or individuals eligible for special appointing authorities may also apply to Job Announcement #23R-BN-308537-MPA-NMAAHC More than one selection may be made from this announcement.

The Purchasing Agent is primarily responsible for purchasing and financial processing, supporting the Office of Finance/Budget/Procurement within NMAAHC. 

In this position, you will:

• Ensure the effective, prompt and policy-compliant procurement of goods and services for the museum using purchase orders, purchase cards, online travel tools, miscellaneous reimbursement, and inter-unit transfer procedures.
• Serve as Procurement Officer with delegated authority to budget check and sign purchase orders up to $25,000, to review travel authorizations and vouchers, and to review and approve purchase card transactions loaded into the financial system. 
• Serve as liaison with the Smithsonian Office of Contracting, Travel Office and Purchase Card Program representatives.
• Serve as a museum point of contact for assigned unit(s) on procurement and travel related inquiries, reviews transactions for adequacy, completeness, and accurate financial coding.
• Review open transactions, notify appropriate staff of upcoming expiration dates and provides guidance to staff on procurement issues or difficulties when necessary.
• Assist museum staff in preparing procurement documentation, including statements of work, schedule of deliverables, payment schedules, allowable travel expenses and other required supporting documentation that are situation dependent. 
• Train and coach staff members with procurement responsibilities on proper methods, allowable purchases and required documentation.  Create, organize, and maintain procurement training and job aid materials for museum staff.
• Record procurement and travel transactions to financial database or spreadsheet, monitor progress of vendor invoices. Reconcile financial records by comparing transactions posed in multiple tracking systems (SI ERP, Concur, office spreadsheets) to verify accuracy of entries and monitor expenditures.

Conditions of employment

• Pass Pre-employment Background Investigation
• May need to complete a Probationary Period
• Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer
• Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.
• U.S. citizenship

Conditions of Employment

COVID-19 VACCINATION REQUIREMENTS:

For the latest information on the COVID-19 vaccination requirements and its impact on your application, click on Smithsonian Institution’s Frequently Asked Questions. 

Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.

For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions on OPM website.

Qualifications

Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-08 level in the Federal Service.  For this position, specialized experience is defined as experience working with management on procurement issues ensuring that all goods and services are properly identified and documented, and corrections are made as necessary, and tracking and reporting procurement data.

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; religious; 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.

Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience. Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week.

Or Education: As a general rule, education is not creditable at this grade level covered by this standard for the substitution of the 1 year of specialized experience, however, graduate education may be a substitution of the 1 year of specialized experience if the graduate education is directly related to the work of the position.

For a full explanation of this option please see the Qualification Standards. Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are qualifying by education and/or you have education completed in a foreign college/university described above, it is your responsibility to provide transcripts and proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study. For instructions on where to fax these documents, see the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

How you will be evaluated

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

Applicants for this position may be evaluated in multiple stages. The first stage is an evaluation of your responses to the online multiple-choice questions that assess your experience, education, and/or training for the job related competencies below:

1. Skill in Federal and/or non-Federal purchasing procedures and practices.
2. Ability to interpret, analyze and apply procurement regulations, policies, and procedures.
3. Ability to communicate orally.
4. Ability to communicate in writing.  
5. Knowledge of computer software applications.

Applicants who meet or exceed minimum qualifications will be assigned to one of three category groups based on job-related criteria:

• Best Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and excels in most of the job related competencies above.
• Better Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and satisfies most of the job related competencies above.
• Good Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements, but does not satisfy most of the job related competencies above to a substantive degree.

This category rating process does not add veterans' preference points or apply the "rule of three", but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category. A selecting official may make selections from the highest quality category (Best Category) provided no preference eligible in that category is passed over to select a non-preference eligible in that category unless the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 3317(b) or 3318(b) are satisfied. Preference eligibles who meet minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-9 grade level or higher. Applicants who have not submitted a resume in the USAjobs system and/or have not answered all of the vacancy questions will not be considered for this position.

Important Note:

Your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses to the occupational questionnaire or other assessment tool for consistency. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience. Your resume should provide sufficient information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.