Clarification from the agency

VEOA eligibles may apply for consideration who are (a) preference eligibles, or (b) Veterans whose most recent military separation was under honorable conditions after substantially completing at least 3 years of continuous active military service may compete under merit promotion procedures. Current permanent Veterans Canteen Service employees may apply and will be considered in the same manner as a current VA employee.

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Serves as a liaison and advisor on contract related services focusing on critical clinical and healthcare services, facility and environmental services, product acquisition and support services; and supervises a minimum of three Acquisition Utilization Specialists and four Purchasing Agents.

Duties include, but may not be limited to the following:

• Directs, maintains, and carries out management duties involving many separate and distinct phases of operations within the Business and Procurement Planning and Purchasing sector in the Supply Chain Service.
• Supervises employees from separate but interrelated units and conducts semi-annual and annual performance reviews.
• Assists subordinate staff with performance issues as necessary; schedules and grants leave; and monitors overtime usage.
• Resolves informal complaints and grievances, discusses corrective actions with employees, and recommends appropriate disciplinary and/or adverse action.
• Plans, coordinates, and evaluates the logistical actions required to support the clinical and administrative mission that the organization provides.
• Establishes, expedites, and reviews the micro-purchase orders and consolidation of all procurement packages.
• Serves as the Approving Official for approving reconciled purchase card transactions; and exercises Ordering Officer Authority in determining best value and contract sourcing.
• Develops sole source justifications in relation to cost, limited availability or unusual nature.
• Negotiates performance requirements among multiple sites and service lines to obtain agreement and standardize enterprise equipment, supply, and/or service requirements.
• Prepares and processes requisitions and procurement packages to the Network Contracting Activity (NCA) for award for facility wide fund control activities; and interfaces with Fiscal/budget staff to resolve obligation and reconciliation issues.
• Furnishes instructions and explanations on new regulations and procedures; and prepares reports, briefs, and contract data for meetings, inspections, audits and in-progress reviews.
• Coordinates with leadership, staff, and other stakeholders to develop and execute acquisition strategies; and conducts analyses and recommends courses of actions.
• Monitors the procurement process from pre-award to final delivery of requirements; and ensures compliance with the terms of contracts.
• Advises on all phases of negotiation with the contract specialist/contracting officer for contract modifications, change orders, supplemental agreements, delivery order processes and all phases of contract administration.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:00am - 3:30pm
Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Acquisition & Utilization Specialist/PD99867S
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

VA Whole Health Statement: The VA Midwest Health Care Network advocates for a Whole Health System of care in each of the Medical Centers. This is an approach to healthcare that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their lives to the fullest. As an employee operating in a Whole Health System of care, you will operate in a model with three core elements, seeking to create a personalized health plan for each Veteran. This is done in the context of healing relationships and healing environments and a connection back to the Veteran's community. This aligns with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Mission Statement to Honor America's Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being.

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
• 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)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 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 probationary period or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/02/2026.

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-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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 as described below:

• Specialized Experience: One (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal Service that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of a Supervisory Acquisition Utilization Specialist, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position. Specialized experience includes: serving as a team lead or senior specialist assisting with the direction and control of supply chain planning; handling contract related services, product acquisition, and procurement of items in a healthcare environment; overseeing contracts from pre-award to post-award; preparing procurement packages including development of requirement documents (e.g. performance work statements and objectives, cost benefit analysis, sole source justifications, etc.); developing and analyzing reports to make recommendations on acquisition and contracting issues; participating in negotiations throughout all phases of contract administration; and monitoring expenditures and reporting on deviations from contract terms. This position requires some degree of specialized knowledge and experience of logistics support activities in areas of acquisition management, contracting, purchasing, transportation, distribution, inventory management and control, expendable and non-expendable equipment, and warehouse operations.

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

• Administration and Management
• Attention to Detail
• Communication
• Contracting/Procurement
• Control of Funds
• Leadership
• Problem Solving
• Technology Application

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 primarily sedentary in nature. Requires occasional travel to conduct inspections of contract facilities or motor vehicles providing contracts for healthcare resources to ensure Joint Commission and safety requirements are met.

You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.

Work Environment: Work is primarily in an office setting with adequate lighting, heating, and ventilation.

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.