Summary The incumbent will serve as a Lead Purchasing Agent aligned to the Prosthetics and Sensory Aids Service (PSAS) at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VAMC. As a Lead Purchasing Agent, the incumbent will provide the same level of direct patient care as Purchasing Agents, but will also assist the Supervisory Prosthetic Representative with daily operations. Responsibilities Leads a team of employees performing work at the GS-05/06 level. Provides guidance and technical direction for accomplishing the work of the unit or team. Ensures the work assignments of employees are carried out. Works with the supervisor in the assignment of functions to team members in order to meet routine and unusual deadlines and priorities. Serves as work leader, ensuring the work assignments of employees in the unit are carried out. Distributes and balances workload and tasks among employees in accordance with established workflow and/or job specialization. In case of shortage of personnel due to scheduled or unscheduled leave, the incumbent will be responsible for filing in and for distributing the workload to other team members to ensure smooth workflow. Ensures timely accomplishment of assigned tasks, and ensures that each employee has enough work to keep busy. Monitors the status and progress of work and makes day-to-day adjustments in accordance with established priorities. Maintains a current knowledge and answers questions of other employees procedures, policies and directives. Trains or arranges for the training of team members in the accomplishment of tasks or projects. Gives on-the-job training to new employees in accordance with established procedures and practices. Monitors and reports on the status and progress of work, checking on work in progress and reviewing completed work to see that the supervisor's instructions on work priorities, methods, deadlines and quality have been met. Obtains assistance and/or needed information from the supervisor on problems that may arise or backlogs that cannot be disposed of promptly. Checks work in progress or spot checks work not requiring review, and reviews completed work Knowledge: Supervisory Control: Guidelines: Complexity: to see that the supervisor's instruction on work sequence, procedures, methods and deadlines have been met. Amends or rejects work not meeting established standards; refers questions or matters not covered by standards and problems in meeting performance standards to the supervisor. Performs the following limited administrative personnel management functions: a. Monitors working conditions such as seating, ventilation, lighting, safety. b. Provides information to the supervisor concerning promotions, reassignment, recognition of outstanding performance, and personnel needs. c. Reports to the supervisor on performance, progress and training needs of employees, and on behavior problems. Resolves simple, informal complaints of employees and refers others, such as formal grievances and appeals, to the supervisor or an appropriate management official. Work Schedule: Full-time, Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: Not eligible Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Lead Purchasing Agent - Prosthetics/PD94421-0 Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required. 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) As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/14/2026. 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-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: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-6 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: The in-depth or broad knowledge of a body of purchasing regulations, methods, procedures, and business practices to make purchases involving (1) specialized requirements and/or (2) commercial requirements that have unstable price or product characteristics, hard to locate sources, many critical characteristics, or similar complicating factors.. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: 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: Work is primarily sedentary with some walking, bending, stooping, and utilizing step stools in time of inventory management. 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. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information 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. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.
