Purchasing Agent

Veterans Health Administration; Brockton (MA); On-site; USD 52,000 - 68,000; Full time

Job summary

VA Boston Healthcare System in Brockton, MA seeks a Purchasing Agent for the Supply Management Service. The role is full-time (40 hours/week) with GS-6 level responsibilities and federal qualification requirements.

Applicants must meet all standards by 10/16/2026, including time-in-grade rules for current federal employees. Specialized experience includes clerical duties in purchasing, procuring supplies and services, collaborating with medical staff, and handling procurement discrepancies using

Qualifications

• At least one full year of specialized experience at the GS-5 level in purchasing and procurement.
• Experience procuring supplies and services to meet organizational needs.
• Experience working with medical staff to determine procurement needs and priorities.
• Resolving shipment, payment, or discrepancy issues in procurement operations.
• Experience purchasing equipment and services using a purchase card; reporting with MS Word/Excel.

Skills

Clerical experience in purchasing

Procurement

Procurement with medical staff

Discrepancy resolution in procurement

Report creation

MS Word

Excel

Tools

Purchase Card (GPC)

Job description

The Purchasing Agent position is in the Supply Management Service at the VA Boston Healthcare System located at the Brockton, MA location. This position is full time at 40 hours per week.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/16/2026. 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 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 as described below:

To qualify for this position at the GS-6 level, you must have: At least 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 a Purchasing Agent, and that is typically in or related to the work of this 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.

Preferred Experience

Knowledge of Government Purchase Card.

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.

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/.

Physical Requirements

Requires some physical effort such as standing, sitting, walking, or bending. There are no special physical demands.

Working Environment

The work is performed in an office setting involving everyday risks or discomforts. Normal safety precautions are adequate.