Purchasing Agent

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Salem (VA); On-site; USD 43,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Salem, VA seeks a Purchasing Agent within the Logistics Service to acquire supplies, services, and construction by purchase, rental, or lease.

The role supports a medical facility and requires handling delivery orders and small purchases in a fast-paced environment. Responsibilities include reviewing requests, resolving billing issues, and ensuring compliant processing while monitoring budgets and procurement histories.

Qualifications

• Time-In-Grade requirements for current federal employees (GS-05 to GS-06) must be met by closing date.
• One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least GS-05 in purchasing supplies, services, and/or construction for a medical facility.

Responsibilities

• Utilizes knowledge of delivery orders and small purchases.
• Purchases a wide variety of services, supplies, equipment, and systems.
• Conducts purchasing under the micro purchase threshold and reviews purchase requests.

Skills

Purchasing

Procurement

Govt contracts

Job description

Summary

This position serves as a Purchasing Agent for the Logistics Service within the VA Health Care System Salem -VA performing work to acquire supplies - services - and construction by purchase - rental - or lease through (a) delivery orders and/or (b) small purchase procedures.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 10/26/2026. 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education 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: acquiring supplies - services - and construction by purchase - rental - or lease through delivery orders and/or small purchase procedures; applying knowledge of commercial supply sources and common business practices related to sales - prices - discounts - units of measurement - deliveries - stocks - and shipments for a medical facility. 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/

Duties

• This position utilizes knowledge of policies and procedures for delivery orders and small purchases and knowledge of commercial supply sources and common business practices related to sales - prices - discounts - units of measurement - deliveries - stocks - and shipments
• The Purchasing Agent maintains responsibility for work leading to the purchase of a wide variety of complex and highly specialized services - supplies - equipment - and systems that support the full range of programs and activities
• Major duties and responsibilities include: 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
• and - Procurement Support - Procures supplies and services to meet the purchase - rental - or lease needs of the organization
• develops unique selection criteria for each purchase
• Prepare 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
• and - 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 - Friday - 7:45am-4:30pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PD99896S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized