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Pharmacy Technician

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Veterans Health Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The incumbent is a certified pharmacy technician who is efficient, motivated, focused on customer satisfaction. The incumbent is responsible for ensuring that the daily work assignments in a timely, efficient, and customer oriented manner. The incumbent is expected to strive to achieve First Contact Resolution(FCR) when possible.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
06/20/2025 to 06/30/2025
Salary
$49,960 to - $64,952 per year

This is a fully remote position so your salary will be dependent on where you live.

Pay scale & grade
GS 7
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Los Angeles, CA
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—This is a fully remote position.
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
Yes
Announcement number
CBSX-12752870-25-IQ
Control number
839216300

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Duties

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Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional
Major Duties:

  • Work collaboratively with VISN programs,services,and interdisciplinary team members to provide access to care and meet the needs of Veterans, their family members, and/or legal representatives via various available contact modalities to include but not limited to, telephone calls, secure messaging, chat, text messaging, and video regarding a broad range of topics including medication refills and renewals, basic billing inquiries, and procedural pharmacy activities.
  • Routinely reviews computer medication profiles for therapeutic duplication, prescription non-compliance, allergies, and drug interactions. Seeks assistance with identified individuals from a Clinical Pharmacist or supervisor for further evaluation, if needed.
  • Processes and submits patient requests for new prescription orders and renewal requests, including controlled substances, into the computer accurately, thoroughly, and in a timely manner. Uses approved VISN Clinical Contact Center Pharmacy protocols when appropriate to satisfy patient medication requests.
  • Consistently documents patient contact and resolution in VISN Clinical Contact Center software and/or Electronic Health Records (EHR) to include but not limited to, what was requested, what action was taken, and any other information which may be pertinent during future research. Assists in the documentation of medication variances.
  • Assists in training lower graded technicians and technician students.
  • Assists in the completion of workload for other VISN Clinical Contact Center Pharmacy Services in the event of Natural Disasters, low staffing, and other contingency needs.
  • Performs all duties of lower graded technicians, if required.
  • Actively and diligently treats all Veterans with respect and utmost dignity. Seeks to solve Veteran's concerns at first contact. When required, refers to other VA resources to assist in the resolution process. Always resolves all Veteran issues in a timely and caring manner with emphasis on providing first contact resolution.
  • Seeks assistance from designated Lead Technician, a pharmacist or supervisor when responding to unusual questions or when reasonable attempts to satisfy a caller have been unsuccessful.
  • Follows applicable regulations and instructions regarding access to computerized files. Ensures Electronic Health Record(EHR) access to all sites serviced are maintained.
  • Participates in continuous daily improvement and VISN VA Health Connect initiatives.
  • Maintains National Pharmacy Technician Certification.
  • Completes additional duties as assigned.
Work Schedule: Full-Time, 7 Days a week rotating 6:00 am - 9:00 pm (Rotating schedule includes weekends, evenings & holidays on Pacific Standard Time)
Remote: This is a fully remote position.

Requirements

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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.
  • You may be required to serve a probationary period.
  • 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.
  • 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).

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.
  • 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).
    • National Health career Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT).
  • 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-07

Experience:
Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next 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:
  • PTCB as a CPhT.
  • NHA as a ExCPT.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
  • Knowledge of pharmacy technician principles, practices, concepts and theories providing for sound independent work.
  • Knowledge of the computerized prescription process and input of prescriptions and medication orders or electronic equivalent.
  • Ability to resolve pharmacy/medication issues with other members of the healthcare team, Veterans and external customers.
  • Ability to train developmental pharmacy technicians and students.
  • Ability to dispense medication or sterile products following all regulations, policies and procedures to ensure safe medication distribution.
  • Ability to troubleshoot automated dispensing equipment (ADE) or technology platforms/databases.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Physical Requirements: This is a primarily sedentary position.

Education

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 or 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.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

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

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

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.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

This announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

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.

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