Purchasing Agent

Purchasing Agent

This position serves as a Purchasing Agent for the Logistics Service at the VA Health Care System in Philadelphia, PA. The Purchasing Agent performs work to acquire supplies, services, and construction by purchase, rental, or lease through delivery orders and / or small purchase procedures.

Responsibilities :

• Purchasing Support - Conducts purchasing under the micro purchase threshold; reviews and edits purchase requests; resolves issues to ensure requests and bills are processed accurately and in a timely manner; identifies needs or problems and determines corrective action; utilizes federal and agency acquisition regulations to identify possible sources and other pertinent information related to purchases; tracks obligations / commitments and monitors expenditures to support recurring budget forecasts and identify potential fraud, waste and abuse based on procurement history and purchase trends.
• Procurement Support - Procures supplies and services to meet the purchase, rental, or lease needs of the organization; develops unique selection criteria for each purchase; prepares 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; conducting open market research and sole source small purchases for highly specialized medical items with critical product requirements.
• Administrative Support - Serves as the first line of contact for medical staff and customers in regard to procured items; develops reports and spreadsheets, obtains, organizes, files and retrieves reports for briefing and presentation purposes; performs a variety of receptionist, timekeeping, record keeping and miscellaneous duties in medical facility; and, performs other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule : Full-Time, Monday through Friday, 8 : 00am - 4 : 30pm.

Requirements :

Conditions of Employment :

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12 / 31 / 1959. 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. Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification 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 during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications :

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS : One (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level in the Federal service that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of this Purchasing Agent position. Specialized experience includes : 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.

NOTE : 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. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position : Customer Service (Clerical / Technical), Decision Making, Manages and Organizes Information, Manages Resources, Reasoning (Clerical / Technical), Technical Competence. IMPORTANT : A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start / end dates. 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. 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; religious; 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.

Physical Requirements : Requires some physical effort such as standing, sitting, walking, or bending. There are no special physical demands. The work is performed in an office setting involving everyday risks or discomforts. Normal safety precautions are adequate. 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 : Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov).

Additional Information :

Note : Per "Executive Order 14251 : Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs", this position is no longer eligible for bargaining unit participation. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. 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.