Purchasing Agent

Summary

The position serves as a Purchasing Agent for the Logistics Service in a Veteran Affairs Health Care System (VA HCS) and supported catchment area. This position primarily performs Purchasing Agent work to acquire supplies - services - and construction by purchase - rental - or lease through (a) delivery orders and/or (b) small purchase procedures. The work requires knowledge of policies and procedures for delivery orders and small purchases.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 05/19/2026. 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. Specialized Experience: You must have one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level in the Federal service that equipped you with the particular knowledge - skills - and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position - and that is typically in or related to the work of this Purchasing Agent position? Specialized experience includes: experience 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; 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. Physical Requirements and Work Environment: Requires some physical effort such as standing - sitting - walking - or bending. There are no special physical demands. The work is performed in an office setting involving everyday risks or discomforts. Normal safety precautions are adequate. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Attention to Detail Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Decision Making Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Manages and Organizes Information Manages Resources Reading Comprehension Reasoning (Clerical/Technical) Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork 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. 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

• Major duties include but may not be limited to the following: Purchasing Support: Conducts purchasing for a VA Medical Center - and supported catchment area - under the micro purchase threshold and must have knowledge of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) - VA Acquisition Regulations (VAAR) and other federal procurement laws
• Purchases various equipment - supplies - and services through the use of the government purchase card for micro purchases
• Obtains necessary product information - price information and procedures for written or verbal purchase orders
• As a subject matter expert - the incumbent will provide general guidance to potential vendors on requirements and information needed to be entered into the VHA's local vendor file
• The incumbent 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
• Provides excellent customer service to medical staff - customers - vendors - and contractors and resolves issues in an expeditious manner to ensure requests and bills are processed in a timely and accurate manner
• Communicates in a tactful and courteous manner with a variety of individuals with diverse backgrounds and levels of understanding
• Supports other functions of the Logistics Service as required - including distribution of procured supplies and material
• Performs other related duties as assigned
• Procurement Support: Procures supplies and services to meet the purchase - rental - or lease needs of the organization
• Examines incoming requests for completeness including presence of purchase request number - accounting codes - item description estimated cost - and quantity
• 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
• A particular procurement action involves the use of many different kinds of equipment - services and trades within a VA medical center
• The incumbent - as the subject matter expert (SME) - will advise other services on the policies and procedures to establish 2237 requisitions for services - equipment and commodities
• Administrative Support: Serves as the first line of contact for medical staff and customers in regard to procured items
• Performs a variety of receptionist - timekeeping - record keeping and miscellaneous duties in medical facility
• Incumbent will utilize Microsoft Office to create - edit and aggregate data necessary for expense tracking and Supply Chain management reporting
• Develops reports and spreadsheets - obtains - organizes - files and retrieves reports for briefing and presentation purposes
• Work Schedule: Full time - Monday-Friday - Rotating Schedule Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PD99896S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized