Purchasing Agent

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Salisbury (NC); On-site; USD 42,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Salisbury, NC seeks a Purchasing Agent for the Logistics Service.

The role focuses on acquiring supplies, services, and construction via purchase, rental, or lease through delivery orders and small purchases, supporting a VA Health Care System and catchment area. The position requires validating time-in-grade compliance, processing procurement actions, and coordinating with medical staff and vendors to ensure timely, compliant purchases.

Qualifications

• GS-06 specialized experience: one year @ GS-05 or equivalent in purchasing/procurement
• Experience procuring supplies, services, and construction via purchase, rental, or lease
• Familiarity with MS Word and Excel for reports and data management

Responsibilities

• Provide guidance to vendors on requirements and information for VHA local vendor file
• Order items from awarded contracts using ECAT and Prime Vendor sites
• Review fund control points and ensure obligations are complete before orders are placed
• Oversee orders and services; coordinate with medical staff on procurement needs
• Monitor vendor performance and discuss delays, price changes, or issues
• Track obligations and expenditures to support budgets and identify fraud, waste, or abuse
• Coordinate with using services regarding substitutions when standard items are unavailable
• Comply with federal regulations and internal procedures for purchases
• Serve as first line of contact for staff and customers on procured items
• Prepare reports and spreadsheets for expense tracking and supply chain management

Skills

Procurement knowledge

Vendor coordination

MS Word & Excel

Tools

ECAT

Medical Surgical Prime Vendor site

MS Office

Job description

Summary

The position serves as a Purchasing Agent for the Logistics Service in a Veteran Affairs Health Care System (VA HCS) and supported catchment area. This position primarily performs Purchasing Agent work to acquire supplies - services - and construction by purchase - rental - or lease through (a) delivery orders and/or (b) small purchase procedures.

Summary

The position serves as a Purchasing Agent for the Logistics Service in a Veteran Affairs Health Care System (VA HCS) and supported catchment area. This position primarily performs Purchasing Agent 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. GS-06 GRADE REQUIREMENTS GS-06 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 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. Physical Requirements: Requires some physical effort such as standing - sitting - walking - or bending. There are no special physical demands. 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

• Duties include but are not limited to: Provide general guidance to potential vendors on requirements and information needed to be entered into the VHA's local vendor file
• Utilize various web-based portals to order items from awarded contracts to include the Department of Defense's Electronic Catalog (ECAT) and the Medical Surgical Prime Vendor's site for ordering - tracking and monitoring procurement transactions
• Reviews Fund Control Points and verifies the running balances to ensure procurement obligations are completed and approved prior to placing orders
• Provides administration and oversight on orders and services
• Represents the VA in discussions with vendors/contractors to obtain agreement on micro purchases and vendor/contractor compliance
• Monitor vendor performance through personal contact - review progress reports - and discuss reasons for delays - failures - or price changes
• 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
• Coordinates with the using services representatives regarding sources of supplies and acceptable substitutions when the standard items are in short supply or unavailable from the normal source of supply
• Applies conventional practices to solve any problems in the procurement transaction
• Develops recommended alternatives or solutions prior to completion of the procurement action for supervisory review
• Procures supplies and services to meet the purchase - rental - or lease needs of the organization
• Examines incoming requests for completeness including presence of purchase request number - accounting codes - item description estimated cost - and quantity
• Ensures all critical information is included in the solicitation package and develops unique selection criteria for each purchase
• Utilizes various web-based applications to identify required sources of supply
• Collects data to determine price reasonableness for new items - prepares detailed written solicitations - and tailors specific terms and conditions
• Uses federal and agency acquisition regulations - federal property management regulations - internal procedures and guidelines - and other references to identify possible sources and other pertinent information related to purchases
• Serves as the first line of contact for medical staff and customers in regard to procured items
• Provides clerical support and coordination to approving officials and administrators
• Performs a variety of receptionist - timekeeping - record keeping and miscellaneous duties in medical facility
• Develops reports and spreadsheets - obtains - organizes - files and retrieves reports for briefing and presentation purposes
• Utilize Microsoft Office to create - edit and aggregate data necessary for expense tracking and Supply Chain management reporting
• Work Schedule: Monday-Friday
• 7:30am-4:00pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PD99896S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized