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Purchasing Agent

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
El Paso VA Health Care System
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is organizationally located in the Prosthetic Service within the Medical Center. The incumbent will work under the supervision of the Chief Prosthetics Agent. The incumbent has coordination and active involvement with various Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) throughout VISN 17.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
07/07/2025 to 07/14/2025
Salary
$44,959 to - $58,445 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 6
Location
El Paso, TX
3 vacancies
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
CAZM-12759014-25-EMG
Control number
840143800

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This vacancy announcement is open to current, permanent VA Employees, Federal employees on a Career/Career-Conditional appointment or in the Excepted service covered by an Interchange Agreement; former competitive civil service employees eligible for reinstatement; Veterans eligible under the VEOA, as 30% Disabled Veterans, and under VRA; those eligible under the Employment Program for People with Disabilities, those eligible under Military Spouse, and CTAP/ICTAP eligible.

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Duties

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The incumbent receives and analyzes Prosthetic Consults, and prescriptions (VAF 10-2431) for items, services and home medical equipment from physicians, therapists, medical center personnel, patients or their representatives. The incumbent reviews requests for completeness, comparing disability or diagnosis to equipment and/or services normally provided for the condition for which they are requested, and ensures that the proper documentation has been provided to justify the issuance and make arrangements to procure these items.
Major duties include:

  • receives and analyzes Prosthetic Consults, and prescriptions for items,
    services and home medical equipment.
  • reviews requests for completeness, proper documentation and make
    arrangements to procure these items.
  • Establishes workflow protocols to ensure the timely execution of work. Coordinate work for
    special circumstances.
  • As the subject matter expert (SME), will advise other services on the policies and procedures
    to establish requisitions for services, equipment and commodities.
  • Review requests from various sources and making substitutions if necessary (within scope).
  • Examine clinical health records and claims folders to determine eligibility and entitlement for
    items and services.
  • Advise Veterans and clinicians in relation to eligibility for entitlements for items and
    services.
  • Review clinical requests, determine sources and determine the availability of replacement
    parts and alternatives for power mobility, artificial limbs and other pieces of medical
    equipment.
  • Follow up in relation to parts and labor orders, returns shipping back to manufactures and
    accounting for warranty work.
  • Procures specialized medical equipment, supplies and services for Veterans.
  • Procure specialized medical equipment with critical and unique characteristics and associated
    guidance from a variety of sources.
  • Purchases various equipment, supplies, and services through the use of the government
    purchase card for micro purchase.
  • The incumbent will negotiate prices with sole source vendors, persuade reluctant vendors and
    collect data for requirements not previously required.
  • Authorizes and prepares complex purchase orders for a wide variety of devices, medical
    supplies and durable medical equipment.
  • Execute price adjustments; resolve any discrepancies, modifications, amendments to
    purchase orders and cancelations of purchase orders.
  • The incumbent will also coordinate work with local vendors.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:45pm
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PD0826VS
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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
  • 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, 07/14/2025.

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 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: performing clerical or assistant duties in support of purchasing and procurement; procuring supplies and services to meet the purchase, rental, or lease needs of an organization; working with medical staff to determine procurement needs and priorities; resolving a variety of shipment, payment, or other discrepancies in support of procurement programs and operations; purchasing various equipment, supplies, and services through the use of a purchase card; assembling and/or summarizing 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:
  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Technical Competency
  • Manages Resources

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: The work is sedentary. Some work may require movement between offices, hospitals, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work. Work may also require walking/standing, in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site. Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds.

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

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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.

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.

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.

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