Clarification from the agency

FIRST Area of Consideration - The VA Staff office or Department. SECOND Area of Consideration - From among properly ranked and certified candidates from any other appropriate source

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This position involves a multi-grade career ladder. The major duties listed below represent the full performance level of GS-09. At the lower grade levels, you will perform assignments of a more limited scope and with less independence. You will progressively acquire the background necessary to perform at the full performance level of GS-09.

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.

The duties of the Inventory Management Specialist EX includes but is not limited to:
Inventory Management and Control

• Manages and controls an assigned class of expendable material for a VA HCS and supported catchment area.
• Manages inventories to include a wide variety of expendable items and durable medical equipment (DME).
• Acts as a central point of contact for the coordination of commodity support and the resolution of logistics problems across organizational lines.
• Makes decisions and commitments for the medical center on medical/surgical supplies that materially affect the VA HCS' ability to provide medical care to Veterans.
• Utilizes performance measures to conduct forecasting and quantitative analysis
• Conducts short, mid and long-term advanced planning for expendable items and DME.
• Analyzes data to include demand history, program requirements, VA HCS operations, procurement lead-time, current stock levels and other factors which impact procurement decisions.
• Uses a range of well-established and commonly applied inventory principles, standard and nonstandard methodologies, and concepts to determine need to intervene in the supply system.
• Responds to fluctuations in rates of usage, cost, availability for established suppliers, alternative sources of supply and other similar conditions.
• Proactively engages customers to make recommendations for product changes, substitutions, and additions to product lines with a focus on increasing supply economy and efficiency.
• Forecasts short and long range inventory needs considering changes in medical and surgical technologies, clinical scheduling changes and program requirements.
• Develops acquisition strategies to acquire and purchase DME, displaying familiarity with contracting laws and regulations with industry practices.
• Analyzes and advises the customer on supply/DME purchase recommendations utilizing the "best value" approach.
• Researches opportunities for and conducts analysis of potential cost savings, efficiencies, and process improvements using quantitative analysis and historical usage patterns.

Returns, Recalls and Reutilization

• Implements federal and agency programs for the return and reutilization of medical supplies.
• Coordinates with the property managers for disposal of surplus or excess supplies in accordance with specific agency directives and procedures.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm
Compressed Schedule: Yes
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Inventory Management Specialist - EX/PD99823S
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary/trial period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/15/2025.

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-07 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 and/or education as described below:

GRADE DETERMINATION GS-07
1. Education: One full year of graduate level education (i.e. business administration, supply chain, logistics)
OR,
2. Superior Academic Achievement (SAA): S.A.A. is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership.

• Class standing - Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses.
• Grade-point average (G.P.A.) - Applicants must have a grade-point average of:
  • 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or
  • 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2years of the curriculum.
  • Grade-point averages are to be rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9.
• Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society: Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies. Membership in a freshman honor society cannot be used to meet the requirements of this provision.

OR,
3. Specialized Experiences: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level in the Federal service which includes:

• Conducts physical inventories;
• Utilizes automated property management systems; and
• Resolves inventory issues.

OR,
4. Combination of Education and Experience: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level.

GRADE DETERMINATION GS-09
1. Education:

• Master's or equivalent graduate degree (i.e. business administration, supply chain, logistics);OR
• Two full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree;

OR,
2. Specialized Experiences: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal service which includes:

• Manages variety of expendable items and durable medical equipment;
• Analyzes inventory management reports for metrics (e.g. over 90 days, supply on hand, pending backorder); and
• Leverages the VA Generic Inventory Package (GIP) program.

OR,
4. Combination of Education and Experience: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level.


You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Administration and Management
• Cost Estimation and Analysis
• Manages Resources
• Planning and Evaluating

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 normally accomplished in an office setting; however, due to the nature of the position and duties, may be called upon to assist in the receipt, storage and distribution of various supplies, primarily consisting of lifting light boxes generally less than 40 pounds, utilizing appropriate material handing devices, and placing items on shelves or carrying them elsewhere on station or within the catchment area. Must maintain applicable training and licensing to operate assigned equipment.

Work Environment: Work is primarily performed in normal office surroundings involving everyday risks or discomforts which require normal safety precautions. Is required to use safe work practices with office equipment, avoid trips or falls and observe fire regulations and traffic signs. Frequent trips outside are required for visits to the other areas of the Medical Center; such as the warehouse and some patient care areas, in order to provide services, cover for other members in the unit, attend meetings and training.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-09. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-07 to GS-09.

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/.

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.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

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

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.

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.