Purchasing Agent

Description:

The incumbent is a member of Prosthetic & Sensory Aids Service (PSAS) within the Prosthetic Service Line under the VISN or medical center and is assigned to the VA Medical Center and has an active inpatient implant care coordination and outpatient treatment program and inventory responsibility.

Requirements:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/07/2026.

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 must submit the following documentation demonstrating eligibility:
Official Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) noting your current position or most recently held position, tenure, type of position occupied (i.e., Excepted or Competitive), grade level and duty location. (Text version SF-50s or Request for Personnel Action SF- 52s are not acceptable.) For current Federal employees, the SF-50 must be effective the first pay period of the current year or later.

Time-In-Grade (TIG) Requirement: TIG requirements apply to applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade at any time in the past 52 weeks, as well as former Federal employees applying for reinstatement, and current employees applying for a Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. Applicants who must meet TIG must also submit the following in addition to their most recent SF-50:

• Official SF-50 that shows you hold the grade for the position you are applying for (or a higher grade), or
• Official SF-50s that show you held the next lower grade for at least one year for the position you are applying for. (Multiple SF-50s may need to be submitted to show this.)

Examples of appropriate SF-50s to include in addition to your most recent SF-50 to meet TIG requirements include:

• Within grade increases (WGI) at the highest grade held; or
• Promotions with an effective date that occurred more than one year from the closing date of the JOA; or
• SF-50s at the highest grade held with an effective date that occurred more than 1 year from the closing date of the JOA.

NOTE: Do not submit Award SF-50s, as they do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade.
Failure to submit any of the above required documents applicable to your submission may result in loss of consideration and a rating of ineligible due to an incomplete application package. It is the applicant's responsibility to verify that their application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. We will not contact applicants for additional documentation, nor will we accept late or missing documents after the close of the announcement.

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: Analyzing and Interpreting equipment orders; Using contracts, purchasing policies, equipment sources, trade policies, shipping procedures and the corresponding terminology; Using electronic databases, software or systems, Purchasing equipment, supplies and/or services using an agency/organizational purchase card; Reconciling charges, Preparing and submitting reports, and Providing quality customer service.

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

• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)
• Manages Resources
• Technical Competence

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. Often, walking 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/ .