Clarification from the agency

The first area of consideration is current, permanent employees of the West Palm Beach Veteran Affairs (Station 548) facility. Status Candidates {Current and former competitive service Federal employees, and people eligible under special hiring authorities. This includes all Merit Promotion sources: Status (Transfers, Reinstatements), VEOA, Permanent Canteen (VCS) employees, CTAP, ICTAP, Non-Competitive Eligible and certain Excepted Service Employees (i.e., Interchange Agreements).}

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The Purchasing Agent is a member of the Prosthetic & Sensory Aids Service (PSAS) within the West Palm Beach Medical Center and/or Community Base Outpatient Clinic (CBOC). Has coordination responsibility of the Amputee Clinic, Rehabilitation Brace clinic, SCI Brace Clinic, Wheelchair Evaluation Clinic, Diabetic Foot Clinic, Major Medical Equipment Committee, Specialty Bed Clinic, Prosthetics and Orthotics, and Home Respiratory Care Team Committee, and Care in the Community Request for Service care coordination stemming from approved community authorizations for care. Performs direct medical supply Purchasing and Inventory Management support to the administrative and clinical services of the VA to initiate the obligation for all related requirements necessary to provide prosthetic and sensory aids services, to include durable medical equipment and supplies directly to Veterans.

This is a critical direct patient care, Veteran facing position. Must work directly with the Veteran, hi/her family, surgeon or clinical provider, and the community care service. Initiates procurement of all outpatients' medical requirements to include but not limited to direct individual purchases to the Veteran, stock purchases for the immediate availability- point of care, all medical surgical implants used during surgery, and/or rental requirements associated with continual outpatient medical equipment and supplies.

The Purchasing Agent has multiple levels of micro purchase threshold authority, and these micro purchase thresholds uniquely influence the major duties and responsibilities in this position, particularly the complex purchasing major duty.

Additional Duties Include But Not Limited To:

• Performs technical level purchasing adhering to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulations ((VAAR), VHA, Prosthetics Directives, and Handbooks, Local and VIN policy and station memorandums to acquire Veteran-specific medical equipment, supplies and services based on a medical provider's clinical assessment and evaluation of the Veteran's medical condition.
• Obtain all necessary procurement information to successfully submit Acquisition Plans and Procurement Packages for stock and Veteran specific needs to the Network Contracting Office and uploads quotes, bids, invoices, consults and other important documents to the Electronic Contract Management System (eCMS. FORCE).
• Independently performs the process of vetting and vendorizing following VHA Prosthetics guidelines to complete purchases for items that aren't available through established vendor networks.
• Provides Veteran care and support services to an adult population and serves as the point of contact for external customer service inventory needs and support which often includes coordination between the clinician, our vendor networks, and the Veteran's specific circumstances to independently guidelines, adapting procedures, and deciding the approach for each specific situation.
• Routinely reviews for discrepancies or loopholes in lengthy specifications or statements of work that are very detailed, or otherwise to understand.
• Must frequently evaluate many different specifications or statements of work and work with the vendor on corrections to ensure the proper piece of medical equipment is purchased.
• Rental support requires necessary care coordination follow up initiation from PSAS to requester for additional days of rental and/or discontinued services from the VA to the Vendor.
• Coordinates with appropriate vendor for device retrieval and reconciliation of acquisition days to ensure daily fund rental fiscal accountability.
• Independently responsible for utilizing PSAS reporting tools to monitor and track PSAS open purchase card orders, to ensure timely service is provided to Veterans.
• Has the authority to obligate the Government in procurement actions up to the single micro-purchase threshold for open market and under established contracts for all types of goods and services.
• He/she has the responsivity for all procurement. actions taken within the limits of this authority and is responsible for protecting the Government's interest on all transactions in which he/she engages.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PD03069T
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): 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
• 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, 06/22/2026.

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-06 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 as described below:

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:

• 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.
• Reconciling charges and preparing and submitting reports.

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

• Technical Competence: Review request for completeness and proper medical justification. Prioritizes workload to meet mandated timelines standards. Ensures funding allocations for the Prosthetic Service line reflect correct expenditures and balances utilizing Fiscal polices and procedures.
• Contracting/Procurement: Examines clinical health records and claims folders to determine legal eligibility and medical entitlement for prosthetic items and services based on criteria. Authorizes and prepares complex purchase orders for a wide variety of prosthetic & sensory aids, medical supplies, orthotic devices, surgical implants durable medical equipment and repairs. Reconciles all invoices for certification of payment while ensuring accurate prices are charged for services and/or items.
• Communication: Maintains continuous liaison with vendors, medical center professionals and staff to ensure timely acquisition and provision of items and services to Veterans. Communicates effectively with Veterans and family members in-person, on the telephone. and written responses. Researches information on prosthetic appliances, services and medical equipment from local and national sources by contacting various vendors.
• Computer Skills: Operates prosthetic software package to maintain detailed and accurate accounting of all actions taken for Veterans. Tracks request for quotes, purchase orders by creating an excel document. Researches national contracts, policies , directives and regulations and emerging technology to keep current. Documents electronically all records thoroughly. Adheres to regulations and instructions regarding computer security and access to files.

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. Ability to retrieve equipment from a storage room is required. Climbing associated with stocking of equipment and other items in storage areas is necessary. Incumbent may carry/lift items weighing up to twenty-five (25) pounds. Normal safety precautions are adequate. The work involves moderate discomfort when visiting sites away from the office. At times, the employee may be required to wear protective clothing when visiting the Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Fabrication Laboratory. There may be frequent walks between the main medical center and other parts of Prosthetics to conduct professional duties.

Work Environment: The incumbent works in a health care office with the possibility of contact with ill and diseased patients. Normal duties are performed in an office setting, which has adequate heat, light, and ventilation; however, the incumbent must retrieve prosthetic items from various storage areas daily. The incumbent may on occasion, accompany the Site Manager and/or Prosthetic Representative on visits to the patients' homes or to a vendor for shop inspections. Incumbent has direct daily contact with patients and may handle equipment returned from Veterans with contagious diseases; hence, the incumbent is required to practice universal precautions in observance of normal safety practices with office equipment, prosthetics equipment & supplies; avoidance of trips and falls, and observance of fire regulations is required. The area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated.

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.