Purchasing agent h1.location_city

Purchasing Agent

The incumbent assigned to this position description serves as a member of Prosthetic & Sensory Aids Service (PSAS) within the Prosthetic Service Line that is within VISN 2 NY/NJ. Incumbents may be assigned to work in any medical center, health care system, or associated Community Based Outpatient Clinic that is associated with VISN 2.

Help Accepting applications Open & closing dates 04/07/2026 to 04/13/2026

Salary $53,512 - $69,565 per year

Location 2 vacancies in the following location: East Orange, NJ

Work schedule Full-time

Service Competitive

This position is open to current federal employees of the hiring agency that posted the job announcement. This position is open to current East Orange VAMC employees.

PSAS has coordination responsibility of the Amputee Clinic, Rehabilitation Brace Clinic, SCI Brace Clinic, Wheelchair Evaluation Clinic, Diabetic Foot Clinic, Major Medical Equipment Committee, Specialty Bed Clinic, Prosthetics and Orthotics, and Home Respiratory Care Team Committee.

Additionally, the scope of the incumbent's duties falls to all Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) throughout the Network and specialized clinical referrals (all outside VA transfers from other facilities to VAMC from outside VISN.

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.

This is a direct patient care position, and the incumbent must work directly with the Veteran, his/her family, surgeon, or clinical provider.

Initiates procurement of all outpatient medical requirements to include; direct individual purchases to the Veteran, stock purchases for immediate availability, all medical surgical implants used during surgery, and/or rental requirements associated with continual outpatient medical equipment and supplies.

Performs technical level purchasing adhering to the FAR, VAAR, VHA, and Prosthetics Directives and Handbooks, VISN policy and station memorandums to acquire Veteran specific medical equipment, supplies and services based on a medical provider's clinical assessment and evaluation of the Veteran's medical condition.

Obtains all necessary procurement information to successfully submit Acquisition Plans and Procurement Packages for stock and Veteran specific needs to the Network Contracting Office and uploads quotes, bids, invoices, consults, and other important documents to the Electronic Contract Management System (eCMS/FORCE).

Unique Entity Identifier number (UEI) information and ensures each vendor is in the System for Award Management (SAM) and in good standing to do business with the government.

Incumbent provides Veteran care and support services to an adult population and serves as the point of contact for external customer service inventory needs and support.

The incumbent routinely reviews for discrepancies or loopholes in lengthy specifications or statements of work that are very detailed, or otherwise difficult to understand.

Rental support requires necessary care coordination follow up initiation from PSAS to requestor for additional days of rental and/or discontinued services from the VA to the Vendor.

Coordinates with appropriate vendor for device retrieval and reconciliation of acquisition days to ensure daily fund rental fiscal accountability.

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. You may be required to serve a probationary/trial period. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/13/2026. 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 GS06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS05. 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.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Customer Service (Clerical/Technical), Decision Making, Manages and Organizes Information, Manages Resources, Reasoning (Clerical/Technical), Technical Competence.

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.

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.

Work is primarily sedentary when conducting purchasing functions for PSAS. However, while conducting inventory management functions, the incumbent may work comfortably in a warehouse environment, sitting, standing, walking, bending, lifting, carrying, retrieving, and managing inventory. Prolonged periods of working at a computer terminal is required. Ability to retrieve equipment from a storage room is required. Climbing associated with stocking of equipment and other items in storage areas is necessary. Incumbent may carry/lift items weighing up to twenty-five (25) pounds. Normal safety precautions are adequate. The work involves moderate discomfort when visiting sites away from the office. At times, the employee may be required to wear protective clothing when visiting the Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Fabrication Laboratory.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.