Clarification from the agency

This Merit Promotion position is open to Current Federal Employees and Former Federal Employees with permanent status or reinstatement eligibility. Individuals who are eligible for a special appointing authority may also apply such as Individuals with Disabilities (Schedule A), former Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, and Vista volunteers; certain Military Spouses, or individuals eligible under various programs for Veterans (VRA, VEOA, 30% disabled).

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.

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, including one year time-in-grade at the next lower grade level for promotion candidates, must be met by the closing date of the announcement. See the 'Required Documents' section for additional information.

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

How you will be evaluated

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

Your application will be evaluated first for the basic qualifications described above.  The applications that meet the basic qualifications will be evaluated further against the following criteria:

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.

BASIS OF RATING:  Once the announcement closes, your application will be automatically evaluated and rated by the system and a Human Resources Specialist. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your application and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the occupational questionnaire. The numeric rating you receive is based on your responses to the questionnaire. The score is a measure of the degree to which your background matches the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of this position. If, after the Human Resources Specialist reviews your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that the score you have received is not a true reflection of your qualifications and/or experience, your score can and will be adjusted to more accurately reflect the information you provided that support your abilities. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Your resume should provide detailed information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.

Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA):  If you are applying for a VEOA appointment, you must be a veteran and must be honorably separated and either a preference eligible or have substantially completed 3 or more years of active service. ("Active Service" under this law means active duty in a uniformed service and includes full-time training duty, annual training duty, full-time National Guard duty, and attendance, while in the active service, at a school designated as a service school by law or by the Secretary concerned.) A veteran who is released under honorable conditions shortly before completing a 3-year tour is also eligible.

Noncompetitive Appointment Authorities:  The following links contain information on the eligibility requirements to be considered under a noncompetitive appointing authority:

• Primary Appointing Authorities for Career and Career-Conditional Appointments
• Hiring Authorities for Veterans
• People with Disabilities

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.