Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

Videos

Major duties include, but are not limited to:

Pharmaceutical Purchasing and Distribution

• Serve as ordering officer delegated by the VA National Acquisition Center (NAC) for the purpose of ordering against the national pharmacy prime vendor (PPV) contract and national blanket purchase agreements (BPA) for pharmacy service.
• Initiates ordering pharmaceuticals, specialty, and supply items from required sources and meeting contract compliance while maintaining multiple complex accounts with the PPV. Responsible for regulatory and formulary requirements to meet patient needs within budgetary limits.
• Responsible for adherence to federal contracts and compliance with federal regulations regarding open market, ensuring inventory control through perpetual evaluation.
• Assists in determining and modifying as necessary: ordering intervals, inventory levels and cost-effective ordering quantities from required sources based on financial conditions in pharmacy, seasonal variations in drug usage, changing patterns in medical practice, delivery time requirements and urgency of medical need.
• Procures all types of pharmaceuticals including controlled and non-controlled drugs within established VA ordering guidelines, policies, and procedures within inventory management specialized area with the understanding of proper budget utilization.
• Purchases using National contracts (NAT), Federal supply schedules (FSS), Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) and open market etc. to ensure compliance with federal acquisition regulations, and policy, understanding the contracting hierarchy of all purchases.
• Incumbent will download invoices daily as part of the drug accountability process or other inventory management system.
• Incumbent may be required to obtain necessary certification to order narcotic medications through pharmacy prime vendor.
• Utilize the Government purchase card program for direct orders up to the micro purchase threshold per VA financial policy; while maintaining required proper documentation, and reconciliation of receipt of all orders for auditing and accountability purposes, training, etc.
• Reconciles all credit card purchases in a timely manner.
• Possesses technical knowledge of VA and regulatory agency requirements for drug storage and special requirements for procurement, storage, distribution, and handling of various hazardous and non-hazardous drug classes.
• Maintains knowledge of principles, policies and state and federal laws and regulations related to controlled substances.
• Utilizes proper inventory management to ensure sufficient stock of medications and supply are available to meet the needs of the pharmacy and patient care.
• Removes expired medications from stock and processes them for safe removal, according to VHA Directives and standard operating procedures.
• Work collaboratively with procurement team to process returns to the reverse vendor in a timely manner.
• Maintains a clean working environment and updates shelf labels as contracts dictate.
• Assists in training and orients new personnel, volunteers, students, etc., in the technical phases of operations.
• Possesses technical working knowledge and follows established policies and procedures of usage rates, stock levels, inventory maintenance concepts including just-in-time inventory and assist in annual or semiannual pharmacy wall-to-wall inventory.
• Provides support to assure drug recalls are executed in a safe and timely manner.
• Possesses technical knowledge of all aspects of drug characteristics and nomenclature for procurement and stock maintenance.
• Incumbent must maintain training requirements, national pharmacy technician certification and meet annual competencies required for this position.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 0730-1600; 0800-1630; 0830-1700, based on the needs of the service,
Telework: Not available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 93107-A

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• 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).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Education or Experience: None required.
• Certification: For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either: (1) Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT). OR (2) National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT).
• English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f).

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Creditable Experience. To be creditable, a candidate must possess the required knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) associated with the scope of pharmacy technician practice. The candidate's experience must be evidenced by active professional practice. (Active professional practice means paid/non-paid employment as a professional pharmacy technician.)

General Experience. (1) Any type of work that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work of the position, or (2) experience that provided a familiarity with the subject matter or processes of the broad subject area of the occupation. Successful completion of a course for medical technicians, hospital corpsmen, medical service specialists or hospital training obtained in a training program given by the Armed Forces or the U.S. Maritime Service under close medical and professional supervision is creditable on a month-for-month basis for general experience.

Part-Time Experience. Part-time experience is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time work week. For example, one week of full-time credit is equivalent to two weeks of half-time work.

Quality of Experience. Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to pharmacy technician experience at the next lower grade level. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.

Specialized Experience. Experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) to successfully perform the duties of the position and is typically in, or related to, the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level. Applicants who have one year of appropriate specialized experience are not required to have general experience, education above the high school level or any additional specialized experience to meet the minimum qualification requirements. Successful completion of pertinent specialized training courses in pharmaceutical and pharmacy practices while serving in the Armed Forces is creditable on a month-for-month basis up to the one year of specialized experience.

Grade Determinations

GS-08 Pharmacy Technician (Procurement/Inventory)

Experience. Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level GS-07. Examples of qualifying experience include, but are not limited to: work autonomously using independent judgement to perform a full range of duties, mentor and train lower graded pharmacy technicians in the practice setting, assist advanced/specialized pharmacy technicians and participate in performance improvement initiatives, function as staff pharmacy technicians in various locations of the pharmacy, including pharmacy contact centers and other non-traditional pharmacy locations, with minimal oversight.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: (a) Comprehensive knowledge of concepts, principles, methodology and policies in a specialized area or section of pharmacy (such as sterile compounding, controlled substances, automation, clinical pharmacy, contact center, etc.) (b)Skill in training and orienting new and existing pharmacy facility employees and students on proper policies and procedures.(c) Ability to evaluate, analyze and coordinate workflow and work activities within a specialized area or section of the pharmacy. (d) Basic knowledge of pharmacy procurement, distribution and storage requirements to maintain a safe working environment. This includes not limited to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), United States Pharmacopeia (USP)and DEA requirements and regulations. (e) Ability to assist in determining and modifying as necessary: ordering intervals, inventory levels and cost-effective ordering quantities from required sources based on current financial conditions in pharmacy, seasonal variations in drug usage, changing patterns in medical practice, delivery time requirements and urgency of medical need.

Certification. For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either:(a) PTCB as a CPhT. OR (b) NHA as a ExCPT.


Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-08.

Physical Requirements: The work requires regular and recurring physical exertion, involving standing or sitting for prolonged periods of time, typing, walking distances within the medical center, lifting/ carrying (up to 40 pounds) of pharmaceutical supplies, and bending/stooping/stretching. Position requires the ability to read fine print on labels, depth perceptions, ability to distinguish basic colors, hearing (aid permitted), clear speech, and emotional stability.

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 MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

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.

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.

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.