Purchasing Agent
What you'd do
The Purchasing Agent for the Prosthetic & Sensory Aids (PSAS) is located within the Prosthetic Service Line at the Grand Junction, Colorado VA Medical Center. The Purchasing Agent performs direct medical supply Purchasing and Inventory Management support to the administrative and clinical services of the VA to initiate the obligation for all related requirements necessary to provide prosthetic and sensory aids services, to include durable medical equipment and supplies directly to Veterans.
Major duties
Duties include but are not limited to the following: Performs procurements within the simplified acquisition threshold through competitive open-market procedures or by placement of an order or blanket purchase agreement under a GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contract. Makes purchases of equipment, commodities and services using standard methods. Determines any additional information needed to support or complete purchase requests. Coordinates with requesting offices to obtain additional information determined necessary to support or complete purchase requests. Performs technical level purchasing support adhering to the FAR, V AAR, VHA, and Prosthetics Directives and Handbooks, VISN policy and station memorandums to acquire patient specific medical equipment, supplies and services. Determines if requests or portions thereof can be met from Government resources. Solicits competitive offers. Seeks new sources and potential vendors. Evaluates responses to bids and requests for proposal. Other duties as assigned. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PD14573A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized. Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.
What you need to qualify
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/16/2026. 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-5 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-4. For a GS-6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5.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 (GS-5): You must have one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-4 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Performing administrative duties in a healthcare setting; completing training or assisting in routine and complex specialized purchases for clinics including medical equipment and medical appliances; communicating with internal and external customers via various methods. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 4 years of successfully completed education above the high school level in any field for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university. NOTE: One year of full-time undergraduate study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business or technical school. (UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED: If you do not submit your transcript, your application may not be reviewed.) . OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education as described above. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. (UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED: If you do not submit your transcript, your application may not be reviewed.) Specialized Experience (GS-6): You must have one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level in the Federal service that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of a Purchasing Agent, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position. Specialized experience includes: Interpreting prescriptions and requests for medical equipment and services; maintaining regular contact with vendors, contractors, medical center professionals and staff; purchasing equipment, supplies and services using an agency/organization purchase card; and reconciling charges and preparing and submitting reports. (THIS EXPERIENCE MUST BE SUPPORTED BY YOUR RESUME TO BE CREDITABLE.) 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/.
Before you apply
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