Purchasing Agent

This position is located in the Prosthetics Service, Northern Indiana Health Care System (NIHCS). The incumbent will obtain all necessary procurement information to successfully submit Acquisition Plans and Procurement Packages for stock and Veteran specific needs to the Network Contracting Office and uploads quotes, bids, invoices, consults, and other important documents to the Electronic Contract Management System (eCMS/FORCE).

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/17/2025. 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-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: independently monitors, receives, tracks, interprets, and analyzes Prosthetic Consults, and prescriptions; 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 issues, 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, verifies accountability of all prosthetics expenditures in both the purchase menu and the prosthetics program and associates all obligations to the individual Veteran record; conducts thorough market research by obtaining competitive bids/request for quotation; using the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR,) VA Acquisition Regulations (VAAR); Electronic Contract Management System (eCMS/FORCE); knowledge of supply inventory regulations, policies, procedures and instructions applicable to the specific inventory point assigned; knowledge of standard fiscal policies and procedures utilizing VHA Manual; 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: Work is primarily sedentary and is carried out in an office setting. There exist prolonged periods of working at a computer terminal. Ability to retrieve equipment from a storage room is required. Climbing associated with stocking of equipment and other items is storage areas are 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. NOTE: Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or 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. 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/.