Purchasing Agent

Purchasing Agent

This position serves as a Purchasing Agent for the Logistics Service within the VA Health Care System performing work to acquire supplies, services, and construction by purchase, rental, or lease through delivery orders and / or small purchase procedures. Responsibilities include conducting purchasing under the micro purchase threshold, reviewing and editing purchase requests, resolving issues to ensure requests and bills are processed accurately and in a timely manner, utilizing federal and agency acquisition regulations to identify possible sources and other pertinent information related to purchases, tracking obligations / commitments and monitoring expenditures to support recurring budget forecasts and identify potential fraud, waste and abuse based on procurement history and purchase trends, procuring supplies and services to meet the purchase, rental, or lease needs of the organization, developing unique selection criteria for each purchase, preparing and issuing contract modifications for changes in delivery schedule, conducting open market research and sole source small purchases for highly specialized medical items with critical product requirements, serving as the first line of contact for medical staff and customers in regard to procured items, developing reports and spreadsheets, performing a variety of receptionist, timekeeping, record keeping and miscellaneous duties in medical facility. Work Schedule : Monday-Friday, 8 : 00am to 4 : 30pm.

Requirements include being a U.S. Citizen, subject to background / security investigation, selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process, and participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest.

To qualify for this position at the GS-6 level, you must meet the following : 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 a Purchasing Agent, including 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. You will be rated on the following competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position : Customer Service (Clerical / Technical), Decision Making, Manages and Organizes Information, Manages Resources, Reasoning (Clerical / Technical), Technical Competence.

Physical Requirements : 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. For more information on these qualification standards, you can visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website.