Purchasing Agent

Summary

The Purchasing Agent primarily performs work to acquire supplies, services and construction by purchase, rental, or lease through delivery orders and/or small purchase procedures.

Duties

The Purchasing Agent will become a purchase card holder who fulfills acquisition requests under the federal micro purchase threshold, ensuring these purchases are procured in accordance with Federal and VA regulations, policy and procedures. Major Duties include, but are not limited to: Maintains responsibility for work leading to the purchase of a wide variety of complex and highly specialized services, supplies, equipment, and systems that support the full range of programs and activities at a VA Health Care System and supported catchment area. Performs procurement duties such as preparing, controlling, and reviewing procurement documents and reports; verify or abstract information contained in documents and reports; contact vendors to get status of orders and expedite delivery; maintain various procurement files; resolve a variety of shipment, payment, or other discrepancies; or perform other similar work in support of procurement programs and operations. Conducts purchasing for a VA Medical Center, and supported catchment area, under the micro purchase threshold and must have knowledge of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), VA Acquisition Regulations (VAAR) and other federal procurement laws. Reviews and edits purchase requests to ensure the item or service is adequately described based on the requester's need. 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. 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. Prepare and issue contract modifications for changes in delivery schedule and sends formal correspondence to a variety of customers such as inventory management specialists, other service line contacts, and contracting officers as appropriate for the purposes of auditing documents, processing receiving reports, and payments. Advises approving officials and purchase card holders on purchase card program, procurement procedures and responsibilities while conducting random reviews in accordance with established Logistics and other departmental policy. Serves as the first line of contact for medical staff and customers in regard to procured items. Performs a variety of receptionist, timekeeping, record keeping and miscellaneous duties in medical facility. All other duties as assigned, pertaining to this occupation, to meet the needs of the Agency, Department, Facility, and/or Service. Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday-Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: This position may be authorized for ad-hoc telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PD99896S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized. Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/13/2026. 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-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: 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. 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/. RESUME REQUIREMENTS - Your resume MUST include the following information: Job Title (for each position) Description of duties (be as detailed as possible) Month and year start/end dates (e.g. June 2018 to April 2020) of employment Full-time or part-time status (include average hours worked per week) Grade held (for Federal positions)

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.