- Position Title
- Purchasing Agent
- Agency
- Veterans Health Administration
- Announcement Number
- CBSS-12747274-25-EA Opens in new window
- Open Period
- Wednesday, June 11, 2025 to Wednesday, June 18, 2025
For preview purposes only. To apply, please return to the USAJOBS announcement and click the Apply button.
Eligibilities
1.
Are you an employee of the facility indicated for this position?
This includes: Career/Career Conditional or Excepted Service (i.e. Canteen, Hybrid, Title 38, etc. and meets interchange agreement requirements). This does not include temporary, term or temporary intermittent.
To verify your eligibility, you must submit a copy of your most recent Notification of Personnel Action, Standard Form 50 (SF-50). Your SF-50 must include enough information to be able to determine that time-in-grade requirements have been met (if applicable) and include your position title, pay plan/series/grade, tenure and the type of appointment (i.e. Competitive or Excepted). Please be aware that award SF-50's do not always include this pertinent information.
This includes: Career/Career Conditional or Excepted Service (i.e. Canteen, Hybrid, Title 38, etc. and meets interchange agreement requirements). This does not include temporary, term or temporary intermittent.
To verify your eligibility, you must submit a copy of your most recent Notification of Personnel Action, Standard Form 50 (SF-50). Your SF-50 must include enough information to be able to determine that time-in-grade requirements have been met (if applicable) and include your position title, pay plan/series/grade, tenure and the type of appointment (i.e. Competitive or Excepted). Please be aware that award SF-50's do not always include this pertinent information.
2.
Are you a current or former federal employee displaced from the agency hiring for this position? If yes, confirm:
For more information, review the USAJOBS Help Center.
To verify your eligibility, you must submit supporting documentation such as a Reduction in Force (RIF) separation notice or a Proposed Removal/Separation notice to include your latest performance rating (if the notice does not have this information included, you must submit a copy of your most recent performance appraisal) and a copy of your latest Notification of Personnel Action, Standard Form 50.
- you are located in the same local commuting area of the vacancy; AND,
- you are applying to a position that is at or below the grade level of the position from which you were or will be separated; AND,
- your grade is equivalent to or below the grade level of the vacancy; AND,
- your last performance rating of record is at least fully successful or the equivalent.
For more information, review the USAJOBS Help Center.
To verify your eligibility, you must submit supporting documentation such as a Reduction in Force (RIF) separation notice or a Proposed Removal/Separation notice to include your latest performance rating (if the notice does not have this information included, you must submit a copy of your most recent performance appraisal) and a copy of your latest Notification of Personnel Action, Standard Form 50.
3.
Are you currently employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs within the VISN the position is located?
This includes: Career/Career Conditional or Excepted Service (i.e. Canteen, Hybrid, Title 38, etc. and meets interchange agreement requirements). This does not include temporary, term or temporary intermittent.
This includes: Career/Career Conditional or Excepted Service (i.e. Canteen, Hybrid, Title 38, etc. and meets interchange agreement requirements). This does not include temporary, term or temporary intermittent.
Preferences
1.
Which of the following items describes your current or recent (within the last five years) political appointee service?
If you responded yes to any of the items below, you will need to include a SF-50 specifying your prior service.
If you responded yes to any of the items below, you will need to include a SF-50 specifying your prior service.
Your resume must be submitted in English and include the following information for each job listed:
- Job title Duties (be as detailed as possible)
- Month & year start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008)
- Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week)
- Series and Grade, if applicable, for all Federal positions you have held
- Please be aware that your answers will be verified against information provided on your resume. Be sure that your resume clearly supports your responses to all of the questions by addressing your work experience in detail.
By submitting your application, you are certifying, to the best of your knowledge and belief, all the information submitted by you with your application for employment is true, complete, and made in good faith, and that you have truthfully and accurately represented your work experience, knowledge, skills, abilities and education (degrees, accomplishments, etc.). The information you provide as part of your application may be investigated. You are also certifying, and acknowledging, that misrepresenting your experience or education, or providing false or fraudulent information in, or with your application, may affect your eligibility for appointment and/or continued employment. False or fraudulent statements may be punishable by fine or imprisonment (18 U.S.C. 1001).
2.
I authorize my application information being shared with hiring managers for similar positions. I understand this option may not result in further consideration for additional positions nor will it impact my application for this announcement.
Assessment 1
Select the appropriate answer to each of the following questions based on your current level of education and/or experience that demonstrates your ability to perform the duties of this position. When answering the questionnaire, remember that your experience and education are subject to verification by investigation. You may be asked to provide specific examples or documentation of experience or education as proof to support your answers, or you may be required to verify a response by a practical demonstration of your claimed ability to perform a task.
To verify your eligibility to apply to the area of consideration listed in the announcement, you must provide a copy of your most recent non-award SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee.
1.
To verify you meet Time-in Grade requirements an SF-50 showing your time-in-grade eligibility must also be submitted with your application materials and it must be dated within the last 12 months. This could be an SF 50 that shows an Within Grade or Step increase at your highest grade held. 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 - Award 50's do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade.
- Examples of appropriate SF-50's to document time-in-grade include:
- Within grade increases at the highest grade held;
- Promotions with an effective date more than one year old;
- SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old.
2.
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE GS-5 level: Select the appropriate answer based on your current level of education and/or experience that demonstrates your ability to perform the duties of the Purchasing Agent position.
3.
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE GS-6 level:
I possess at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level in the Federal Service that has equipped me with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of a Purchasing Agent.
Qualifying specialized experience includes:
- 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.
For each task in the following groups, choose the statement from the list below that best describes your experience and/or training.
Select the one statement that most accurately describes your training and experience carrying out each task using the scale provided.
4.
Quickly deduce from written prescriptions or oral requests what items or services are needed, selecting the most appropriate cost-effective source to deliver the items/service in the most reliable manner.
5.
Manages the collection of data to be used in numerous reports to ensure adequate resource funding and compliance.
6.
Researches the use of different solicitation methods, ordering or reporting procedures, and purchasing methods to distinguish between different purchasing strategies.
7.
Documents the services required per the contractual agreement and monitors, tracks, and trends contractor performance.
8.
Completes transaction on the patient's medical record to ensure documentation of exactly what was purchased and issued.
9.
Conduct face-to-face and telephone conversations with patients, family members, and private medical staff, contractors, vendors, and co-workers.
10.
Speaks calmly and compassionately to severely disabled patients from all walks of life.
11.
Skills in dealing with a large community base, vendors, hospital staff and the public is required to display a positive image of the organization.
12.
Providing patient care and support services to an adult population and serves as the point of contact for external customer service inventory needs and support.
13.
Resolves conflicts in administering purchase orders, such as protests, claims, duplicate billing & terminations for convenience or default.
14.
Examines contracts, purchasing policies, equipment sources, shipping procedures and corresponding terminology to rapidly find the most reasonably priced item to meet requirement.
15.
Works independently to complete purchase orders and reconcile charges.
16.
Maintains accurate records of transactions and completes all adjustments to computerized system before final payment to vendor is certified.
17.
Maintains an inventory of all purchased and consignment equipment with expiration date, imitate exchange and/or replacement of expired stock.
18.
Completes written procurement and support notes in medical records to ensure order status is provided to the clinical requester to reduce delivery delays.
19.
Performs technical level purchasing support adhering to the Service Directives and Handbooks, policy and memorandums to acquire patient specific medical equipment, supplies and services.
20.
Initiates procurement of all outpatient medical requirements.
21.
Initiates recall action of identified recall products provided and communicates all findings to the appropriate offices.
22.
Verifies accountability of all prosthetics expenditures in both the purchase menu and the prosthetics program and associates all obligations to the individual patient.
23.
Ensures the services provided are documented as the type of service and duration.
RESUME REMINDER- Your resume must include the following information for each job listed: Job title Duties (be as detailed as possible) Month & year start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008) Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week) Series and Grade, if applicable, for all Federal positions you have held Please be aware that your answers will be verified against information provided on your resume. Be sure that your resume clearly supports your responses to all of the questions by addressing your work experience in detail. Recommended: Even though we do not require a specific resume format, your resume must be clear so that we are able to fully evaluate your qualifications. To ensure you receive appropriate consideration, please list the duties you performed under each individual job title. If we are unable to match your experiences with the positions held, you may lose consideration for this vacancy. We cannot make assumptions regarding your qualifications.