Purchasing Agent
What you'd do
OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate care to Veterans?
Major duties
This position is located in Logistics, Supply Chain Management Service at the Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital. The primary purpose of this position is to acquire supplies, services, and construction by purchase, rental or lease through delivery orders and small purchase procedures. The position serves as a Purchasing Agent for the Logistics Service in a Veteran Affairs Health Care System (VA HCS) and supported catchment area. This position primarily performs Purchasing Agent work to acquire supplies, services, equipment and construction by purchase, rental, or lease through (a) delivery orders and/or (b) small purchase procedures. The work requires knowledge of policies and procedures for delivery orders and small purchases. This work also requires knowledge of commercial supply sources and common business practices related to sales, prices, discounts, units of measurement, deliveries, stocks, and shipments. This position 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. 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. This position 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. The work requires a practical knowledge of procurement procedures, operations, regulations, and programs. - Provides administration and oversight on orders and services. - Represents the VA in discussions with vendors/contractors to obtain agreement on micro purchases. - Monitors vendor performance through personal contact, reviewing progress reports, and discussing reasons for delays, failures, or price changes. - Tracks and monitors expenditures to support recurring budget forecasts based on procurement history and purchase trends. - Researched, reviews, develops spreadsheets and reports for procurement. - Coordinates with service representatives sources of supply substitutions when supplies are unavailable. - When problems occur develops recommended alternative or solutions. - Provides excellent customer service to medical staff, customers, vendors, and contractors. - Resolves minor disputes and informal complaints among medical staff and customers. - Communicates in a tactful and courteous manner with a variety of customers. - Supports other functions of Logistics Service as required. - Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:00am-3:30pm Monday thru Friday. Telework: Not Suitable Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PD99896S
What you need to qualify
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/29/2026. 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 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. .GS-6 SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-05) in the Federal Service, that is directly related to the work of the position and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties as Purchasing Agent. Qualifying specialized experience includes requests for medical equipment, medical supplies and services; maintaining regular contact with vendors, contractors, medical center professionals and staff; utilizing a variety of databases and computer systems; purchasing equipment, supplies and services using an agency/organization purchase card; and reconciling charges and preparing and submitting reports. 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 when conducing purchasing functions for PSAS, however while conducting inventory management functions, the incumbent may work comfortably in a warehouse environment, sitting, standing, walking, bending, lifting, carrying, retrieving and managing inventory. Prolonged periods of working at a computer terminal is required. Ability to retrieve equipment from a storage room is required. Climbing associated with stocking of equipment and other items in storage areas is necessary. Incumbent may carry/lift items weighing up to twenty-five (25) pounds. Normal safety precautions are adequate. The work involves moderate discomfort when visiting sites away from the office. At times the employee may be required to wear protective clothing when visiting the Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Fabrication Laboratory. Often, walking between the main medical center and other parts of Prosthetics to conduct professional duties. 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/.
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