Purchasing Agent

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Temple (TX); On-site; USD 48,000 - 62,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Texas seeks a Purchasing Agent to provide direct medical supply purchasing and inventory management for prosthetic and sensory aids. You will initiate obligations for equipment, manage micro-purchases, and coordinate with clinicians to meet veterans' needs.

The role requires knowledge of purchasing regulations, workflow design, and vendor negotiation, with a focus on accuracy, timeliness, and audit readiness.

Qualifications

• Experience in purchasing regulations and procurement processes for medical equipment and services.
• Ability to handle micro-purchases and vendor negotiations.
• Ability to review requisitions, ensure documentation, and manage procurements.

Responsibilities

• Receives and analyzes Prosthetic Consults and prescriptions for items and home medical equipment.
• Reviews requests for completeness and makes procurement arrangements.
• Establishes workflow protocols to ensure timely execution of work.
• Advises services on requisitions for services, equipment and commodities.
• Reviews requests and makes substitutions within scope.
• Provides guidance to vendors on local vendor file requirements.
• Examines clinical records to determine eligibility for items and services.
• Advises Veterans and clinicians on entitlements for items and services.
• Procures specialized medical equipment and services for Veterans.
• Purchases with the government purchase card for micro-purchases.
• Negotiates prices with vendors and collects data for requirements.
• Authorizes and prepares complex purchase orders.

Skills

Customer Service

Quality Assurance Standards

Writing

Computer Skills

Attention to Detail

Flexibility

Integrity/Honesty

Interpersonal Skills

Reading Comprehension

Self-Management

Stress Tolerance

Teamwork

Education

Four years above high school

Job description

Summary

This position is a member of Prosthetic & Sensory Aids Service (PSAS) within the Prosthetic Service Line under the VISN and assigned to the Medical Center. Performs direct medical supply Purchasing and Inventory Management support to the administrative and clinical services of the VA to initiate the obligation for all related requirements necessary to provide prosthetic and sensory aids services - to include durable medical equipment and supplies directly to Veterans.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 10/27/2026. 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-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04. 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. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: GS-05: Experience and/or Education: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include - but are not limited to: Basic knowledge of a body of purchasing regulations - methods - procedures - and business practices to make purchasing involving specialized medical equipment - supplies - and services and works toward gaining in depth - broad knowledge in those areas; facilitation for orders under $10 -000 which includes - but not limited to: monitor - follow up with clinicians/patients - market research - create the purchase order - place the order with the vendor - validation of direct to patient deliveries and facility receipt of goods - reconciling the order - archiving all relative purchase documents electronically and hard copy - and uploading invoices for audit validation. OR have successfully completed 4 years above high school in any field for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. This education was obtained in an accredited business - secretarial or technical school - junior college - college or university. If you are qualifying on education - transcripts are required. OR an equivalent combination of specialized experience and post high school education as described above that demonstrates my ability to perform the duties of this position. For the GS-05 - only education in excess of 60 semester hours (2 years) is creditable. If you qualify by a combination - your experience must be detailed in your resume and transcripts are required. GS-06: Specialized Experience: I have at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-5 grade level in the Federal Service. Examples of specialized experience for this position would typically include - but are not limited to: Knowledge of a body of purchasing regulations - methods - procedures - and business practices to make purchasing involving specialized medical equipment - supplies - and services and works toward gaining in depth - broad knowledge in those areas; regularly and under supervision from the service Chief resolves conflicts in administering purchase orders - such as protests - claims - duplicate billing - and terminations for convenience applicably. Handles deviation from established procedures - and resolves problems that arise in accordance with agency - or local standards - previous occupational - training - and experience - established practices or precedents - or other concepts or controls as they relate to each assignment. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Customer Service Quality Assurance Standards Writing Computer Skills Attention to Detail Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Reading Comprehension Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork 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. Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Some work may require movement between offices - hospitals - warehouses - and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work. Work may also require walking/standing - in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site. Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds. 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-qualification-standards/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Duties

• At the full performance level - this position performs a variety of duties - including but not limited to the following: Receives and analyzes Prosthetic Consults - and prescriptions for items - services and home medical equipment
• Reviews requests for completeness - proper documentation and makes arrangements to procure these items
• Establishes workflow protocols to ensure the timely execution of work
• Advises other services on the policies and procedures to establish requisitions for services - equipment and commodities
• Reviews requests from various sources and makes substitutions if necessary (within scope)
• Provides general guidance to potential vendors on requirements and information needed to be entered into the VHA's local vendor file
• Examines clinical health records and claims folders to determine eligibility and entitlement for items and services
• Advises Veterans and clinicians in relation to eligibility for entitlements for items and services
• Procures specialized medical equipment - supplies and services for Veterans
• Examples include but are not limited to augmented speech devices specialized for veterans individual need such as eye tracking - custom wheelchairs built with measurements and specs unique to the veteran - vehicle modifications - specialized ramping with prep work and labor
• Procures specialized medical equipment with critical and unique characteristics and associated guidance from a variety of sources
• Purchases various equipment - supplies - and services with the government purchase card for micro purchase
• Utilizes various purchasing strategies - such as how to solicit - who to solicit - what clauses to include - which offers to accept or how much lead time
• Negotiates prices with sole source vendors - persuade reluctant vendors and collect data for requirements not previously required
• Authorizes and prepares complex purchase orders for a wide variety of devices - medical supplies and durable medical equipment
• Prepares complex purchase orders for a wide variety of devices - medical supplies and durable medical equipment
• Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory - qualification - and performance requirements are met
• Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PD0826VS Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized