Supervisory Pharmacy Technician

This position is located within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy (CMOP), Lowell, Massachusetts.

Qualifications:

Basic Requirements:To qualify for appointment to this position, all applicants must possess the following:

1. Citizenship - You must be a citizen of the United States
2. English Language Proficiency - You must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7403(f).
3. Education or Experience:
   1. None required.
   2. 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.
4. Certification (GS-07 and above): For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either:
   1. Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT).
   2. National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT).

Grandfathering Provision. A Pharmacy Technician employed in VHA on the effective date of the qualification standard (11/7/2023) are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure/certification/registration that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements in this standard but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:

1. Employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level or changed to lower grade within the occupation but may not be promoted beyond the journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
2. Employees in an occupation that requires a licensure/certification/ registration only at higher grade levels must meet the licensure/ certification/registration requirement before they can be promoted to those higher grade levels.
3. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
4. Employees who are converted to title 38 hybrid status under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation.
5. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.

Grade Determinations:In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-09 Supervisory Pharmacy Technician, you must possess at least 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-08).

1. Certification: For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either:
   1. Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT).
   2. National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT).
2. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following technical KSAs:
   1. Expert knowledge serving as a key resource advising others in their particular specialty area or section of the pharmacy (such as procurement, sterile compounding (USP compounding standards), controlled substances DEA, automation, clinical pharmacy, lead tech, contact center, etc.).
   2. Skill in analyzing data for self-driven (independent) performance improvement projects, workload analysis and statistical reports.
   3. Skill in solving problems and implementing corrective actions to maximize outcomes in their program area.
   4. Ability to maintain special accreditations and prepare for national reviews/inspections (e.g., The Joint Commission, Inspector General, American Society of Health System Pharmacists, controlled substance inspections).
   5. Ability to develop training programs and material for orientation, competency development and educational needs for regulatory requirements within the specialized pharmacy program area.
   6. Skill in interpersonal relationships in dealing with employees, team leaders and managers.
   7. Ability to utilize staffing methodology principles to determine adequate staffing to coordinate and manage workflow and work activities within pharmacy.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-9.

Physical Requirements:

Work is performed in a highly mechanized warehouse setting around production machinery. Moderate noise and traffic require attention to safety. Some work areas involve a moderate risk requiring exercise of safety precautions when operating or working around the automated equipment (i.e., accumulators, moving belts, etc.). Appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is mandatory when handling specific medications and in certain areas of production or assignment.

The work requires regular and recurring physical exertion and activity, involving standing for prolonged periods of time on hard surfaces, lifting/carrying/pushing/pulling of pharmaceutical supplies weighing up to 50 lbs. unassisted andbending/twisting/stooping/reaching.

Responsibilities:

VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://youtube.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Major Duties Include but not Limited to:

• Responsible for the supervision of all Pharmacy non-pharmacist technical staff and volunteers.
• Operating on a broad delegation of authority with independence of judgment and action.
• Evaluates, coordinates, and provides supervisory oversight for all technical aspects of pharmacy operations involved with workflow, including floor stocking, medication delivery, ward inspections, narcotic vault oversight, inventory procurement and maintenance, infusion room support, medication dispensing.
• Supervises and provides technical oversight to manage personnel and work assignments that assures completion of pharmacy workload such as personnel scheduling, time-and-attendance oversight, and oversight for quality assurance activities.
• Consistently demonstrate independent technical judgement and comprehensive and thorough working knowledge of associated CMOP policies and procedures.
• Assist in special assignments or projects as requested.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 5:30am-3:00pm
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 85489A

Salary : $93,564