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Purchasing Agent

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Veterans Health Administration

Summary

This position is a developmental position leading to the full performance GS-06 grade level. This position will perform assignments similar in comparison to the full performance GS-06 grade level Purchasing Agent position. However, the incumbent will receive closer supervision when performing consult management and with regard to purchasing assignments.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Posted yesterday · Apply by 06/15/26
Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on June 15, 2026
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
No
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$40,896 - $56,263 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 5 - 6
Promotion potential
None
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
Not required
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
Yes
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Other
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
CBSW-12978513-26-NM
Control number
871855100

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This position is open to status applicants (VA, other Federal employees, reinstatement eligible, VEOA, etc)

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Duties

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Major duties include but not limited to:
  • Develops knowledge and understanding of medical disorders and the prosthetic devices utilized in the treatment of the same.
  • Familiarity with rehabilitation procedures and the support equipment necessary in that process.
  • Understand clinical, social, economic, vocational, psychological and environmental needs of the patients serviced by the facility and how these impact the patient's prosthetic and rehabilitative goals is essential to this position.
  • Knowledge of a body of standardized purchasing regulations, policies, and procedures; established commodities and markets; and common business practices to make purchases involving commercial requirements and average complexity.
  • Routine purchases are simplified orders that do not require extensive research and are generally procured using FSS/VISN/Local and/or DALC contracts.
  • Knowledge of community care DME practices and procedures to coordinate complex DME purchases between Veteran's being seen in the community on community care authorizations and VA purchasing to support those needs.
  • Educate outside providers on VA common practices and regulations to ensure proper orders from the community with high volume clinics over a period of time.
  • Knowledge of prosthetic regulations and policies, as stated in VHA Directives and Handbook 1173, " Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service." As well as "Prosthetic and Rehabilitative Items and Services" 38 CFR 17.3200-3250.
  • Knowledge of medical terminology, physical and sensory disabilities, basic anatomy and kinesiology is imperative.
  • Ability to interpret oral and written instructions from physicians and therapists is essential. Knowledge of all PSAS VA Forms and the ability to determine when to use each form.
  • Has the authority to purchase on contract surgical implants up to a dollar threshold of $100,000 for contracted surgical implants.
  • Independently interpret and review the implants used in a procedure and determine if they meet the requirement to be purchased using 8123 authority at the higher micro purchase threshold.
  • Demonstrates knowledge of VA Medical Center and PSAS mission, regulations and policies regarding eligibility for treatment, as they are necessary to adequately determine a patient's eligibility/entitlement for equipment.
  • Knowledge of contracts, purchasing policies, equipment sources, trade policies, shipping procedures and the corresponding terminology.
  • Must have ability to search brochures and contracts to rapidly find the most reasonably priced item that can be purchased to satisfy the prescription.
  • Must have medical equipment knowledge to make independent purchasing decisions based on the needs of the patient and the providers clinical consult to provide the devices to best meet the Veteran's needs when defined policies and procedures do not outline specifically how situations are to be handled to come to a decision on the proper purchase vessel.
  • Must possess knowledge specific to equipment specification, equipment terminology, and medical terminology.
  • Ability to analyze and interpret unique and critical patient equipment orders that have critical characteristics.
  • Knowledge of the Restorations Program to include its unique terminology and the timeframes for fabrication.
  • Must have the ability to investigate non-payment complaints from vendors and resolution of complaints and explain to vendors using tact and diplomacy on how and why a payment outcome decision was made.
  • Mathematical aptitude and use of a ten-key calculator is required to calculate quantity discounts, shipment costs and formulate shipping charges using the metric system.
  • Knowledge of computer software programs, which are required to, complete patient processing in Prosthetics.
  • Familiarity with several automated prosthetics programs to enter, track, correct, and retrieve recurring reports and to structure, implement, and retrieve specialized reports.
  • Capability to conduct extensive and exhaustive searches of the specialized reports to make sound decisions of stock quantities requirements, monitor activity, trend usage, track history, review replenishment, to determine disposal or reissue, and correct any noted discrepancies.
  • Sound understanding of the purchasing procedures in more than one program, product availability and changes, current market value and availability, sources for hard-to-locate or items with critical or unusual characteristics or complicated factors, Medicare identification and costs, contracts and agreements, national mandated contract sources, means to exclude or wavier to purchase unique or emergent requests and documentation of practices exceptions in the procedures.
Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm Monday - Friday
Telework: Not Available
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

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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 identification 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, 06/15/2026.

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-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04. 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:GS-05:

  • Specialized Experience: Experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to 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 the 1 year of appropriate specialized experience, as indicated in the table, are not required by this standard to have general experience, education above the high school level, or any additional specialized experience to meet the minimum qualification requirements.
OR,
  • Education: Successfully completed education above the high school level in any field for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite is creditable at grades GS-3 through GS-5. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university. One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university, or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business, secretarial, or technical school. *As a general rule, education is not creditable above GS-5 for most positions covered by this standard; however, graduate education may be credited in those few instances where the graduate education is directly related to the work of the position.*

OR,

  • Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond .
GS-06:
  • Specialized Experience: interpreting prescriptions and requests for medical equipment and services; maintaining regular contact with vendors, contractors, medical center professionals and staff; utilizing a variety of databases and computer systems; purchasing equipment, supplies and services using an agency/organization purchase card; and reconciling charges and preparing and submitting reports.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)
  • Manages Resources
  • Technical Competence


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 when conducting purchasing functions for PSAS. However, while conducting inventory management functions, the incumbent may work comfortably in a warehouse environment, sitting, standing, walking, bending, lifting, carrying, retrieving and managing inventory. Prolonged periods of working at a computer terminal is required.

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/.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

*For GS-06: Education substitution can not be used.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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.

Veterans Health Administration

OUR MISSION: - "To fulfill President Lincoln's promise to care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors".

How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate care to Veterans?

Welcome to Reno/Tahoe! Nestled at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains with easy access to Lake Tahoe, Reno is ideal for your inner adventurer. Enjoy kayaking, paddle boarding, and hiking in the summer, sledding and snowshoeing in the winter, or head on up to the slopes to ski or snowboard where many Olympic athletes train. Check out our many hip restaurants and shops in Midtown, or take a walk by the river downtown and stop in at a dog friendly brewery. We are the home of a dynamic art scene and many iconic events: Artown, Hot August Nights, Street Vibrations, Rib Cook-off, Great Reno Balloon Races, Reno Rodeo, and the National Championship Air Races. Summers can get hot, but the humidity is low, and there is no state income tax in Nevada!

For more information click: Special Events.

We encourage you to consider VA employment in Reno, NV. We offer both a mission you can put your heart into and a home for fun, new experiences. Join a team that values a healthy home/work life balance and be rewarded by your role in keeping the promise to those who served.

For more information click Recreation.

Agency contact information

Nicole Masters
Phone
(216) 544-4460
Email
Nicole.Masters@va.gov
Address
VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System
975 Kirman Avenue
Reno, NV 89502
US

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Learn more about what it's like to work at Veterans Health Administration, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

http://www.va.gov/jobs

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