What are the responsibilities and job description for the Purchasing Agent position at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs?
Summary
This developmental position is located in the Prosthetics & Sensory Aid Service within the Prosthetic Service Line under the VISN or medical center. The purpose of this position is to perform direct medical supply purchasing and inventory management support to the administrative and clinical services of the VA to initiate the obligation for all related requirements necessary to provide prosthetic and sensory aids services - to include durable medical equipment and supplies directly to Veterans.
Qualifications
To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 10/28/2026. 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-6 position - you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. The grade may have been in any occupation - but must have been held in the Federal service.A 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. Examples of appropriate SF-50s include: Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or SF-50s at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old. In addition to the Time-in-Grade Requirements - you must also meet specialized experience. To qualify for this position at the GS-6 level - you must possess the following: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-5) in the Federal Service - that is directly related to the work of the position and has equipped you with the particular knowledge - skills - and abilities to successfully perform the duties as a Purchasing Agent. Qualifying specialized experience is defined as: 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 (e.g. - MS Word - MS Excel - etc.) PREFERRED EXPERIENCE: Experience using a Government Purchase card - knowledge of medical terminology - and possessing the ability to type 40 WPM. NOTE: We will not make assumptions when reviewing applications. Please see the Required Documents section of the announcement for resume requirements. Your experience must be fully documented in your resume and must include job title - duties - month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week to receive proper evaluation. If any positions held are federal positions - you MUST indicate which GS level you held in the position(s). 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. There may be frequent walks 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/.
Duties
This developmental position is located in the Prosthetics & Sensory Aid Service within the Prosthetic Service Line under the VISN or medical center. The purpose of this position is to perform direct medical supply purchasing and inventory management support to the administrative and clinical services of the VA to initiate the obligation for all related requirements necessary to provide prosthetic and sensory aids services - to include durable medical equipment and supplies directly to Veterans.
Qualifications
To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 10/28/2026. 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-6 position - you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. The grade may have been in any occupation - but must have been held in the Federal service.A 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. Examples of appropriate SF-50s include: Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or SF-50s at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old. In addition to the Time-in-Grade Requirements - you must also meet specialized experience. To qualify for this position at the GS-6 level - you must possess the following: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-5) in the Federal Service - that is directly related to the work of the position and has equipped you with the particular knowledge - skills - and abilities to successfully perform the duties as a Purchasing Agent. Qualifying specialized experience is defined as: 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 (e.g. - MS Word - MS Excel - etc.) PREFERRED EXPERIENCE: Experience using a Government Purchase card - knowledge of medical terminology - and possessing the ability to type 40 WPM. NOTE: We will not make assumptions when reviewing applications. Please see the Required Documents section of the announcement for resume requirements. Your experience must be fully documented in your resume and must include job title - duties - month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week to receive proper evaluation. If any positions held are federal positions - you MUST indicate which GS level you held in the position(s). 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. There may be frequent walks 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/.
Duties
- This position utilizes knowledge of policies and procedures for delivery orders and small purchases and knowledge of commercial supply sources and common business practices related to sales - prices - discounts - units of measurement - deliveries - stocks - and shipments
- The Purchasing Agent maintains responsibility for work leading to the purchase of a wide variety of complex and highly specialized services - supplies - equipment - and systems that support the full range of programs and activities
- Major duties and responsibilities include: Purchasing Support - Conducts purchasing under the micro purchase threshold
- reviews and edits purchase requests
- resolves issues to ensure requests and bills are processed accurately and in a timely manner
- identifies needs or problems and determines corrective action
- utilizes federal and agency acquisition regulations to identify possible sources and other pertinent information related to purchases
- tracks obligations/commitments and monitors expenditures to support recurring budget forecasts and identify potential fraud - waste and abuse based on procurement history and purchase trends
- and - Procurement Support - Procures supplies and services to meet the purchase - rental - or lease needs of the organization
- develops unique selection criteria for each purchase
- Prepare and issue contract modifications for changes in delivery schedule and sends formal correspondence to a variety of customers such as inventory management specialists - other service line contacts - and contracting officers as appropriate for the purposes of auditing documents - processing receiving reports - and payments.
- conducting open market research and sole source small purchases for highly specialized medical items with critical product requirements
- and - Administrative Support - Serves as the first line of contact for medical staff and customers in regard to procured items
- develops reports and spreadsheets - obtains - organizes - files and retrieves reports for briefing and presentation purposes
- performs a variety of receptionist - timekeeping - record keeping and miscellaneous duties in medical facility
- and - Performs other related duties as assigned
- Work Schedule: Full-Time - Monday - Friday - 7:00 AM - 3:30 PM CST Telework: Ad Hoc Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
- Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PD70961A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Salary : $45,409 - $59,031