What are the responsibilities and job description for the Lead Purchasing Agent position at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs?
Summary
This position serves as a Lead Purchasing Agent for the Supply Chain Management Service within the Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System and supported catchment area - and is responsible for issuing - reviewing - and/or procuring prescribed items to Veterans in compliance with VHA guidelines and directives.
Qualifications
To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 04/23/2026. 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-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6. 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-6 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include - but are not limited to: Procuring supplies and services to meet the purchase - rental - or lease needs of an organization; assisting in training new employees and answering questions on purchasing/procurement procedures - policies - etc.; purchasing various equipment - supplies - and services through the use of a purchase card; 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; and - 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. 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/.
Duties
This position serves as a Lead Purchasing Agent for the Supply Chain Management Service within the Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System and supported catchment area - and is responsible for issuing - reviewing - and/or procuring prescribed items to Veterans in compliance with VHA guidelines and directives.
Qualifications
To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 04/23/2026. 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-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6. 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-6 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include - but are not limited to: Procuring supplies and services to meet the purchase - rental - or lease needs of an organization; assisting in training new employees and answering questions on purchasing/procurement procedures - policies - etc.; purchasing various equipment - supplies - and services through the use of a purchase card; 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; and - 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. 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/.
Duties
- As a Lead Purchasing Agent - you will fulfill acquisition requests under the federal micro-purchase threshold - ensuring purchases are procured in accordance with federal and VA regulations - policy and procedures with responsibility for work leading to the purchase of a wide variety of complex and highly specialized services - supplies - equipment - and systems
- Duties include - but are not limited to the following: Leads three or more Purchasing Agents performing work at or below the GS-6 level
- serves as first respondent to any staff concerns related to procurement or purchase orders and is expected to work independently to resolve those issues - only escalating unresolvable issues
- distributes and balances the workload among employees
- assures timely accomplishment of assignments
- and reviews completed work for compliance
- instructs Purchasing Agents in specific tasks and job techniques
- and - identifies training needs and provides on the job training to new Purchasing Agents
- Conducts purchasing for the Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System and supported catchment area under the micro purchase threshold
- purchases various equipment - supplies - and services using the government purchase card for micro purchases
- utilizes different ordering - reporting procedures - and purchasing methods depending on the type quantity - dollar value - and urgency of the requirement
- provides administration and oversight on orders and services
- advises approving officials and purchase card holders on purchase card program - procurement procedures and responsibilities
- Serves as the first line of contact for medical staff and customers in regard to procured items
- provides clerical support and coordination to approving officials and administrators
- utilizes a variety of automated systems to enter - update - revise - sort - and calculate data
- develops reports and spreadsheets - obtains - organizes - files and retrieves reports for briefing and presentation purposes
- Performs other related duties as assigned
- Work Schedule: Monday-Friday - 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: This position may be authorized for ad hoc telework
- Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process
- Virtual: This is not a virtual position
- Position Description/PD#: Lead Purchasing Agent/PD99879S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Salary : $50,460 - $65,599