Summary The position serves as a Lead Purchasing Agent for the Logistics Service at the White River Junction, VT VA Healthcare System. Responsibilities This position serves as a Lead Purchasing Agent for the Logistics Service within the VA Health Care System and supported catchment area. The Lead Purchasing Agent is responsible for issuing, reviewing and or procuring prescribed items to Veterans in compliance with VHA guidelines and directives. As a purchase card holder, fulfills acquisition requests under the federal micro-purchase threshold, ensuring purchases are procured in accordance with federal and VA regulations, policy and procedures with responsibility for work leading to the purchase of a wide variety of complex and highly specialized services, supplies, equipment, and systems. Duties include, but may not be limited to the following: Lead Duties - Leads three or more Purchasing Agents performing work at or below the GS-6 level; serves as first respondent to any staff concerns related to procurement or purchase orders and is expected to work independently to resolve those issues, only escalating unresolvable issues; distributes and balances the workload among employees; assures timely accomplishment of assignments; and reviews completed work for compliance; instructs Purchasing Agents in specific tasks and job techniques; and, identifies training needs and provides on the job training to new Purchasing Agents. Purchasing and Procurement Support - Conducts purchasing for the VA HCS and supported catchment area under the micro purchase threshold; purchases various equipment, supplies, and services using the government purchase card for micro purchases; utilizes different ordering, reporting procedures, and purchasing methods depending on the @type quantity, dollar value, and urgency of the requirement; provides administration and oversight on orders and services; advises approving officials and purchase card holders on purchase card program, procurement procedures and responsibilities. Administrative Support - Serves as the first line of contact for medical staff and customers in regard to procured items; provides clerical support and coordination to approving officials and administrators; utilizes a variety of automated systems to enter, update, revise, sort, and calculate data; develops reports and spreadsheets, obtains, organizes, files and retrieves reports for briefing and presentation purposes. Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8am-4:30pm Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Lead Purchasing Agent/PD99879S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized. Financial Disclosure Report: Not require. Notifications: Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees. This position is in the Competitive Service. Time-in-Grade Restriction: Applicants must also meet time-in-grade requirements. The grade may have been in any occupation but must have been held in the Federal service. Veterans' preference does not apply for other current permanent Federal agency employees. Interchange Agreements with Other Merit System: Employees who occupy medical or medical-related positions and were appointed under 38 U.S.C. 4701(1) or (3) [formerly 38 U.S.C. 4104 (1) and (3)] must be serving in a full-time position without time limit and have served continuously for at least one year in this other merit system to be eligible to convert to the Title 5 System. Some exceptions to this rule may apply if you have previously acquired tenure under a Title 5 appointment. This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay of Rest of U.S. This position is not a Bargaining Unit position 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, 09/26/2025. 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-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6. 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 and/or education as described below: To qualify for this position at the GS-7 level, you must have: At least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-6 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 Lead Purchasing Agent position. Specialized experience includes: procuring supplies and services to the purchase, rental, or lease needs of an organization; assisting in training new employees and answering questions on purchasing/procurement procedures, policies, ect.; purchasing various equipment, supplies, and services through the use of a purchase card; 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; 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 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. 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.
