Purchasing Agent

Veterans Health Administration; North Little Rock (AR); On-site; USD 42,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

Veterans Health Administration in North Little Rock, Arkansas, is seeking a Purchasing Agent to manage procurement for the Logistics Service. The role involves obtaining supplies, services, and construction through purchase, rental, or lease using delivery orders and small purchases.

Applicants must meet time-in-grade requirements and have specialized experience in procurement, supporting medical staff, and resolving purchase-related issues. SF-50 documentation is required.

Qualifications

• Experience with purchasing and procurement processes.
• Familiarity with delivery orders and small purchase procedures.
• Understanding of commerce and logistics practices.

Responsibilities

• Acquire supplies, services, and construction via purchase, rental, or lease.
• Follow delivery orders and small purchase procedures according to policy.
• Coordinate with medical staff to determine procurement needs and priorities.

Skills

Procurement knowledge

Federal procurement

Purchasing procedures

Job description

The position serves as a Purchasing Agent for the Logistics Service in a Veteran Affairs Health Care System (VA HCS) and supported catchment area. Work to acquire supplies, services, 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, and knowledge of common business practices related to commerce and logistics.

Applicant Requirements

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/31/2026.

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-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.

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:

• 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 supplies and services through the use of a purchase card

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/.