Summary The position serves as a Purchasing Agent for the Logistics Service at the Veteran Affairs Health Care System and catchment area in Bay Pines. The Purchasing Agent primarily performs 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 practical knowledge of procurement procedures, operations, regulations and programs. Responsibilities Major duties include but are not limited to: Purchases various equipment, supplies, and services using the government purchase card for micro purchases. Knowledge of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), VA Acquisition Regulations (VAAR) and other federal procurement laws. Ensures all information has been provided and the request is consistent with legal requirements, ensuring all product information is obtained. Provides administration and oversight into orders and services, while representing the VA in discussions with vendors/contractors to obtain agreement on micro purchases and compliance. Monitor vendor performance through personal contact, review progress reports, and discuss reasons for delays, failures and price changes. Tracks obligations/commitments and monitors expenditures to support recurring budget forecast and identify potential, fraud waste and abuse on procurement history and purchase history. Conducts open-market research for purchases of routine equipment, supplies, and services; prepare and issue contract modifications for changes in delivery schedule and send formal correspondence to a variety of customers. Performs a variety of administrative duties, using Outlook Mail features to respond to Medical Center inquiries and calendar set up manage and organize meetings, and provide clerical support and coordination to the approving officials and administrators. Reviews policies and regulations related to time and leave, prepares staffing and overtime reports, creates, edits, and aggregate data necessary for expense tracking and Supply Management reporting. Utilizes a variety of automated systems, to enter, update, revise, sort and calculate data and develop reports and spreadsheets, organizes, files and retrieves reports for briefing and presentation purposes. Work Schedule: Full Time, 8:00am -4:30pm Telework: Not Eligible. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PD99896A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary/trial period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/04/2025. 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. 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-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Purchase various equipment, supplies, and services using the government purchase card for micro purchases; reviews and edits purchase requests; obtain necessary product information, price information and procedures for written or verbal purchase orders; orders, track and monitor procurement transactions; reviews Fund Control Points and verify the running balances to ensure procurement obligations are complete and approved prior to placing orders; monitor vendor performance through personal contact, review progress reports, and discuss reasons for delays, failures, or price changes; procures supplies and services to meet the purchase, rental, or lease needs of the organization; monitors purchase and reconcile credit card billing statements, purchase requests, process receipts, and monitors active and delinquent invoices; provides administration and oversights into orders and services, as well as timekeeping, and record keeping; utilizes a variety of automated systems to enter, update, revise, sort, calculate data; and provides excellent customer service to both internal and external customers, across various methods of communication. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Decision Making Manages and Organizes Information Manages Resources Reasoning (Clerical/Technical) 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. 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, 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/. Education There is no educational substitution at this grade level. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
