Summary The Lead Pharmacy Technician serves as a VISN Clinical Contact Center (CCC) team member as part of an interprofessional healthcare team support within VISN 10 VA Health Connect mission. Responsibilities VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://youtube.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws The Lead Pharmacy Technician functions independently under the supervision of the Pharmacy Contact Center Technician Supervisor and/or Senior Lead Technician. This position will provide and support clinical and pharmacoeconomic activities as assigned. This position will provide support to the Pharmacy Contact Center Technician Supervisor and/or Senior Lead Technician by leading a minimum of three pharmacy technician team members for the Pharmacy Contact Center in the day-to-day operations. The duty of the position includes but is not limited to the following: Works collaboratively with VISN programs, services, and interdisciplinary coordinated care team members to provide access to care and meet the needs of Veterans, their family member and/or legal representatives via various available contact modalities to include but not limited to telephone calls, VA Health chat messages, and secure messages, regarding a broad range of topics, including medication refills/renewals, basic billing inquiries, and procedural pharmacy activities. Routinely reviews computer medication profiles for therapeutic duplication, prescription non-compliance and allegories/drug reactions. Transfers identified patients to a pharmacist or supervisor, for further evaluation, if needed. Reviews patient medical records and medication profiles to identify situations of polypharmacy and/or abnormal laboratory findings. Reports identified patients to a pharmacist. Processes and submits patient requests for new prescription orders and renewals (including controlled substances) into the computer accurately, thoroughly and in a timely manner. Uses approved Pharmacy Service protocols when appropriate to satisfy patient medication requests. When appropriate, handles all refills, return-to-stock, and partial fill patient needs. Under the supervision of a pharmacist, it provides supplemental information concerning operational issues or the need for therapy compliance. Maintains National Pharmacy Technician Certification, PTCB or ExCPT. Leads the training of new staff. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 11am-7.30pm with rotating weekends and holidays. Occasional travel up to 25%. Remote: This position is designated as remote. Remote work is defined as full-time employment conducted outside of a VA facility or in VA-leased spaces. The option for remote work will be assessed continuously, and the selected individual may need to return to a VA office if required. The selectee must live within 50 miles of a VA Medical Center. Functional Statement #: 91485-A Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. You may be required to serve a 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 Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f). Certification. For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either: Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT); OR National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT). May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Grandfathering Provision. Pharmacy technicians employed in VHA on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure/certification/registration that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements in this standard but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: Employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level or changed to lower grade within the occupation but may not be promoted beyond the journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. Employees in an occupation that requires a licensure/certification/ registration only at higher grade levels must meet the licensure/ certification/registration requirement before they can be promoted to those higher grade levels. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. Employees who are converted to title 38 hybrid status under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. Grade Determinations: Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs for all GS-08 assignments and meet any additional KSAs for the assignment, if indicated: (a) Comprehensive knowledge of concepts, principles, methodology and policies in a specialized area or section of pharmacy (such as sterile compounding, controlled substances, automation, clinical pharmacy, contact center, etc.) Note: See Specialized Area in the Definitions Section. (b) Skill in training and orienting new and existing pharmacy facility employees and students on proper policies and procedures. (c) Ability to evaluate, analyze and coordinate workflow and work activities within a specialized area or section of the pharmacy. Specialized Experience. Experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) to successfully perform the duties of the position and is typically in, or related to, the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level. Applicants who have one year of appropriate specialized experience are not required to have general experience, education above the high school level or any additional specialized experience to meet the minimum qualification requirements. Successful completion of pertinent specialized training courses in pharmaceutical and pharmacy practices while serving in the Armed Forces is creditable on a month-for-month basis up to the one year of specialized experience. Assignments. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity and range of variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Pharmacy technicians at this level have a higher level of responsibility for specialized areas of pharmacy and are expected to independently carry out assigned tasks of considerable difficulty. Pharmacy technicians at this grade level may be appointed to one of the following assignments: Lead Pharmacy Technician Assignments. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity and range of variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Lead pharmacy technicians perform duties independently, which consist of significant scope and complexity and will assist with technician oversight. Lead pharmacy technicians lead three GS-07 or more pharmacy technicians/employees/staff members, provide direction for daily operations and assume responsibility for integrating and monitoring standard pharmacy policies to maintain continuous workflow and quality within the service. Lead pharmacy technicians must do a combination of at least three of the following duties: prepare work schedules and assign tasks to ensure timely completion of duties; ensure pharmacy resources are in optimal working condition and address workflow needs; provide guidance and support of the work unit in supervisory absence; train personnel (including students) in methods, procedures and use of equipment and instruments specific to the assigned area; provide input to supervisor on performance and training needs of employees; adjust work assignments due to absences, emergencies or changes in priorities; resolve simple informal complaints of employees and patients, refer more difficult problems to the supervisor; or recommend approval and/or disapproval of leave requests. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-08. Physical Requirements: Work is primarily sedentary. The employee will be required to sit at a computer monitor for long periods of time to complete the duties of the position. Education Not applicable. 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. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. 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.
