Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. This position is open to current, permanent AAVHA employee and its supporting CBOCs only!

Videos

VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://youtube.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws

The duties and responsibilities of the lead procurement/Inventory pharmacy technician include but are not limited to the following:

Administrative

• Continuously analyzes and reassess priorities to ensure workload demands are accomplished in the most effective, efficient, and economic manner.
• Effectively evaluates pharmacy activities to assist pharmacy managers in obtaining short- and long-range goals and objectives.
• Assists pharmacy manager in identifying areas of effort duplication and developing solutions to streamline processes, reduce waste, save costs, and improve patient care.
• Reports potential and/or actual medication errors. Encourages pharmacy technicians to report actual and/or potential medication errors or adverse events.
• Assists in quality improvement by participating in service process assessments and action teams and by continually seeking to improve the service.
• Demonstrates efforts to improve patient satisfaction, lower cost, and improve quality and timeliness.
• Maintains continuous oversight on the security of pharmacy inventory and storage areas and reports to management any inconsistencies or concerns.

Pharmaceutical Purchasing and Distribution:

• Serves as lead ordering officer for pharmacy service, delegated by the VA National Acquisition Center while maintaining annual training requirements.
• Trains new procurement staff on departments standard operating procedures and provides oversight to ensure competencies are met.
• Initiates ordering requirements and provides guidance to ordering officers for pharmaceuticals, specialty, and supply items through pharmacy prime vendors multi complex accounts or other sources using various methods of payment. Responsible for adherence to federal contracts and compliance with federal regulations regarding open market.
• Provides oversight in determining ordering intervals and stock levels appropriate to meet changes in formulary, brand to AB rated generic drugs, contract changes, conversions, new drug indications including backorders and seasonal changes.
• Provides guidance on 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, understands and provides guidance to ordering officers on contracting hierarchy of all purchases.
• Process receipt of inventory for the purpose of drug accountability or other inventory management system.
• Utilizes government issued credit cards for micro purchase limits with understanding of when to use; while maintaining required proper documentation, and reconciliation of receipt of all orders in a timely manner for auditing and accountability purposes, training, etc.
• Uploads and maintains proper documentation for the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) per the FDA requirements.
• Participates in maintaining all records of pharmacy inventory for DSCSA accountability for auditing purposes.
• Possesses advanced 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.
• Provides oversight in the removal of expired medications from stock, isolates, and processes them for safe removal according to VHA Directives and standard operating procedures.
• Processes outdated, unusable, and excess inventory for return to respective manufacturers for replacement of usable formulary items or credit.
• Develops the loan and borrow book standard operating procedures for within and outside of VA. Maintains proper documentation as per the DSCSA requirements.
• Participates in the drug recall program and reports to management their findings. Sequesters product and follows instructions in the recall report for replacement.
• Maintains advanced knowledge of principles, policies and state and federal laws and regulations related to controlled substances.
• Assists with the All-Hazards Emergency Cache replenishment procedures per VHA Directive 1047, All-Hazards Emergency Cache Program, if applicable
• Other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: 0700-1530 M-F
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): 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 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:

• Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).
• Education or Experience.
  • None required.
  • 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. For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either:
  • Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT). OR
  • National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT).
• Grandfathering Provision. Pharmacy technicians employed in VHA on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure/certification/registration that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements in this standard but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:
  • Employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level or changed to lower grade within the occupation but may not be promoted beyond the journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
  • Employees in an occupation that requires a licensure/certification/ registration only at higher grade levels must meet the licensure/ certification/registration requirement before they can be promoted to those higher grade levels.
  • Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
  • Employees who are converted to title 38 hybrid status under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation.
  • Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.
• Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials.
• 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).

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).

Grade Determinations:

Pharmacy Technician, GS-10

• Experience. In addition to meeting the basic requirements, one year of progressively complex experience equivalent to the lower grade level.
• 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.
• Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs and meet any additional KSAs for the assignment, if indicated:
  • (a) Ability to analyze data for performance improvement projects, workload analysis and statistical reports.
  • (b) Ability to prepare for and maintain special accreditations, inspections and reviews (e.g., The Joint Commission, Office of Inspector General, American Society of Health System Pharmacists, controlled substances inspections).
  • (c) Ability to solve problems and implement corrective actions to maximize outcomes in their program area.
• Assignments. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity and range of variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.
  • Pharmacy Technician. Pharmacy technicians at this level oversee and coordinate pharmacy programs at the VISN, regional (consortium or Clinical Resource HUB level) or national level. These positions require expertise in complex areas of pharmacy practice, regulatory requirements and quality standards. The incumbent provides program oversight of specialty pharmacy programs at various VHA levels, interacting as a subject matter expert and communicates with pharmacy leadership. They gather reports, perform inspections of regulatory records and provide feedback and performance improvement. Pharmacy technicians develop comprehensive training programs and materials for orientation, competency development and educational needs related to this program. They also aggregate and analyze data related to pharmacy programs.
    • Additional Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs).
      • (A) Knowledge of a particular specialty area with detailed understanding of variations based on complexity of program area.
      • (B) Skill in developing comprehensive training programs and material for orientation, competency development, educational needs and regulatory requirements.
      • (C) Skill in analyzing information from multiple services, programs or facilities to evaluate regulatory compliance and make necessary quality improvements to ensure compliance within a particular area of pharmacy practice.

Preferred Experience: Pharmacy Procurement Experience Preferred 2-3 years.

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-10.

Physical Requirements: Physical demands of the position require regular and recurring physical exertion, involving standing for prolonged periods of time, lifting/carrying of pharmaceutical supplies weighing up to 40 pounds, pushing and pulling of large carts. The job may include significant time at a computer terminal.

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.