Pharmacy Technician Supervisor - Inpatient

Veterans Health Administration; Iowa City (IA); On-site; USD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

Veterans Health Administration in the United States is seeking an Inpatient Pharmacy Technician Supervisor to oversee pharmacy operations, staff, and compliance. This role emphasizes supervisory duties, inventory control, and maintenance of automation equipment within a federal healthcare setting.

The position requires national certification and will involve ensuring regulatory standards and quality assurance are met, with opportunities to develop training and lead program initiatives.

Qualifications

• No specific education required; experience and KSAs determine qualification.
• Equivalent combinations of qualifying education and experience total at least 100%.
• Active national certification required (PTCB or ExCPT) for higher grade levels.

Responsibilities

• Oversee supervisory functions for pharmacy staff (at least 25% of time).
• Manage inventory, database maintenance and automation equipment; ensure QA standards.

Skills

Pharmacy knowledge

Leadership

Regulatory compliance

Data analysis

Job description

The Inpatient Pharmacy Technician Supervisor will spend at least 25% of their time performing supervisory functions. The Technician Supervisor will also be responsible for inventory management, database maintenance, maintenance and care of automation equipment and adherence to operational, regulatory, and quality assurance standards. All requirements must be met at the time of the announcement closing.

Basic Requirements

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Education or Experience.
  • None required.
  • For all grade levels and positions that accept both education and experience to qualify, equivalent combinations of qualifying education and experience that total at least 100% are qualifying. The combined percentage is determined by adding total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level to the education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level.
• Certification. For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either:
  • Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT). OR
  • National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT).
• Grandfathering Provision.
  • Employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level or changed to lower grade within the occupation but may not be promoted beyond the journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
  • Employees in an occupation that requires a licensure/certification/ registration only at higher grade levels must meet the licensure/ certification/registration requirement before they can be promoted to those higher grade levels.
  • Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
  • Employees who are converted to title 38 hybrid status under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation.
  • Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.
• Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials.
• English Language Proficiency. Pharmacy Technician candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grade Determinations

Supervisory Pharmacy Technician, GS-09

• Experience. Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-08) and demonstrate the KSAs below.
• Certification. For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either:
  • PTCB as a CPhT. OR
  • NHA as a ExCPT.

• Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs and meet any additional KSAs for the assignment, if indicated:
  • Expert knowledge serving as a key resource advising others in their particular specialty area or section of the pharmacy (such as procurement, sterile compounding (USP compounding standards),controlled substances DEA, automation, clinical pharmacy, lead tech, contact center, etc.).
  • Skill in analyzing data for self-driven (independent) performance improvement projects, workload analysis and statistical reports.
  • Skill in solving problems and implementing corrective actions to maximize outcomes in their program area.
  • Ability to maintain special accreditations and prepare for national reviews/inspections (e.g., The Joint Commission, Inspector General, American Society of Health System Pharmacists®, controlled substance inspections).
  • Ability to develop training programs and material for orientation, competency development and educational needs for regulatory requirements within the specialized pharmacy program area.
  • Skill in interpersonal relationships in dealing with employees, team leaders and managers.
  • Ability to utilize staffing methodology principles to determine adequate staffing to coordinate and manage workflow and work activities within pharmacy.
• Assignments. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity and range of variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Pharmacy technicians at this grade level may be appointed to one of the following assignments. Supervisory pharmacy technicians are responsible for management and supervision of at least three GS-08 pharmacy technicians. These positions require significant independent technical judgement and expertise in complex areas of pharmacy practice, regulatory requirements and quality standards. They organize, coordinate and manage programs for the pharmacy service at the facility level. These pharmacy technicians will be responsible for communicating with VISN or national pharmacy leadership as well as individual facility leadership and staff.

Reference:

For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-9.

Physical Requirements

See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.1.You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.