Clarification from the agency

This position is open exclusively to current, permanent, VHA employees nationwide. Please note that due to a critical agency staffing shortage identified for Fiscal Year 2026, Veteran's Preference requirements have been officially waived. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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Primary Duties

• Multi-Site Clinical Support: Provides dedicated pharmacy technician support and services across the Close to Me Program, the Cancer Center, the Inpatient Pharmacy, and the Indian River Clinic.
• Clinic Travel Requirements: Travels as needed between the primary Medical Center and the Indian River Clinic to facilitate medication distribution.
• Chemotherapy Compounding: Receives, reviews, and prepares physician orders for cytotoxic agents, antineoplastic medications, and pre-medications within the oncology sterile IV compounding suite.
• Technical Order Review: Reviews medication orders for technical accuracy after a pharmacist's clinical review, converting orders if necessary to match the exact drug and dose ordered for the patient.
• Sterile Admixture Preparation: Follows strict aseptic techniques to manufacture complicated and uncomplicated parenteral admixtures, including large and small volume IV solutions, infusion syringes, PCAs, and ophthalmic preparations.
• Regulatory Compliance: Compounds all hazardous and non-hazardous sterile preparations in absolute compliance with VHA, Joint Commission, FDA, OSHA, NIOSH, EPA, and USP standards.
• Therapeutic Problem Identification: Identifies basic therapeutic problems, such as duplicate therapies within the same drug class, and proactively alerts the pharmacist for clinical intervention.
• Clean Room Decontamination: Performs rigorous daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning of the IV ante rooms and clean rooms per USP standards, including walls, windows, shelving, ceilings, and floors.
• Hazardous Waste Management: Cleans the exteriors of sharps containers, waste receptacles, and hazardous waste bins daily, placing them outside the IV room for proper pickup.
• Quality Assurance Testing: Participates in mandatory initial and annual glove fingertip testing, media fill testing, and airborne particulate or microbial surface testing to ensure room certification standards are met.
• Inventory Coordination: Reviews inventory needs and communicates potential stock shortages to the procurement technician to maintain seamless operations for the Cancer Center and associated clinics.
• Stock Maintenance and Rotation: Receives, stores, and restocks pharmaceuticals, ensuring proper rotation so that the earliest-expiring products are utilized first.
• Waste and Return Management: Removes expired or unusable stock from active inventory, coordinates disposition with procurement, and processes pharmacy returns for recycling and reissuance.
• Staff Mentorship and Training: Mentors and trains lower-grade technicians, facility employees, and students on proper pharmacy policies, procedures, and localized training manuals.
• Workflow Coordination: Evaluates, analyzes, and coordinates daily work activities and sequence timing independently within the assigned specialized oncology or inpatient section.
• Physical Security Enforcement: Controls access to the high-security pharmacy environment, monitors refrigerator temperatures daily, and immediately reports any potential security or controlled substance compromises.
• Interdisciplinary Communication: Answers inquiries from pharmacy and non-pharmacy personnel regarding drug distribution processes across the various program sites.
• Performance Improvement: Participates in medical center total quality improvement initiatives, process assessments, and action teams to elevate pharmacy service standards.

Work Schedule: Rotating (days, evenings, overnights, weekends, & holidays)
Compressed/Flexible:N/A
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 41562F
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

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 identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• 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 will be required to serve a 1 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 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.
English Language Proficiency. Pharmacy Technician candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
Education or Experience. (1) None required. (2) For all grade levels and positions that accept both education and experience to qualify, equivalent combinations of qualifying education and experience that total at least 100% are qualifying. The combined percentage is determined by adding total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level to the education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level.
Certification-Documentation Submitted. 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).

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).

Pharmacy Technician, GS-08.
(1) Experience. Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level and demonstrate the KSAs below.
(2) 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.

(3) Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs for all GS-08 assignments and meet any additional KSAs for the assignment, if indicated:

• 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.) Note: See Specialized Area in the Definitions Section.
• Skill in training and orienting new and existing pharmacy facility employees and students on proper policies and procedures.
• Ability to evaluate, analyze and coordinate workflow and work activities within a specialized area or section of the pharmacy.

Preferred Experience: One year experience in preparation of oncology products.

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 8.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service.

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.