Clarification from the agency

This position is open to Syracuse VAMC VHA Facility employees.

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Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

• PSAS 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.
• Additionally, the scope of the incumbent's duties falls to all Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) throughout the Network and specialized clinical referrals (all outside VA transfers from other facilities to VAMC from outside VISN.
• 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 direct patient care position, and the incumbent must work directly with the Veteran, his/her family, surgeon, or clinical provider.
• Initiates procurement of all outpatient medical requirements to include; direct individual purchases to the Veteran, stock purchases for immediate availability, all medical surgical implants used during surgery, and/or rental requirements associated with continual outpatient medical equipment and supplies.

Complex Purchasing

• Performs technical level purchasing adhering to the FAR, VAAR, VHA, and Prosthetics Directives and Handbooks, VISN 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.
• Functions include but not limited to: rentals to meet the outpatient medical needs of the services, all outpatient durable medical equipment and supplies, rehabilitation equipment, mobility and daily living aids, neuro-sensory, home oxygen, inpatient surgical implants, and supplies.
• Obtains 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).
• Unique Entity Identifier number (UEI) information and ensures each vendor is in the System for Award Management (SAM) and in good standing to do business with the government.
• Incumbent 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.
• The incumbent routinely reviews for discrepancies or loopholes in lengthy specifications or statements of work that are very detailed, or otherwise difficult to understand.
• Rental support requires necessary care coordination follow up initiation from PSAS to requestor 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.

Work Schedule: 08:00-16:30 Monday-Friday
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PD99434S

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
• You may be required to serve a probationary/trial 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.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/09/2025.

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 GS05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS04, and the GS06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the ???????GS05. 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:

GS05 Requirements:
To meet the minimum qualifications for GS05, you must meet one of the following :

• One (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-4 level in the Federal service that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position. Specialized experience includes: Ability to perform a variety of receptionist, timekeeping, record keeping and miscellaneous duties; Ability to procure supplies and services to meet the purchase, rental, or lease needs of an organization; purchasing various equipment, supplies, and services through the use of a purchase card; Experience utilizing a variety of automated systems to enter, update, revise, sort, and calculate data; and utilizing different ordering, reporting procedures, and purchasing methods. ~OR~
• Has successfully completed four (4) years of education above the high school level in any field for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. 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. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application. Education cannot be credited without documentation. ~OR~
• Possess equivalent combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and specialized experience may be used to meet total experience requirements. NOTE: If using education combined with specialized experience to qualify, a copy of your transcript is required.

GS06 Requirements:
To meet the minimum qualifications for GS06, you must meet one the following :

• At least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level in the Federal service that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of a Purchasing Agent, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position. Specialized experience includes: Experience performing clerical or assistant duties in support of purchasing and procurement; Ability to procure supplies and services to meet the purchase, rental, or lease needs of an organization; Experience working with medical staff to determine procurement needs and priorities; Ability to resolve a variety of shipment, payment, or other discrepancies in support of procurement programs and operations; Experience purchasing various equipment, supplies, and services through the use of a purchase card; and Ability to assemble and/or summarize information from files and documents as required to create reports utilizing automated computerized supply/inventory management systems and Microsoft Office software programs such as MS Word and Excel.

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

• Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)
• Decision Making
• Manages and Organizes Information
• Manages Resources
• Reasoning (Clerical/Technical)
• Technical Competence

Preferred experience: Purchasing and/or scheduling experience helpful but not required.

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.

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.