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U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs · 1 day ago

Purchasing Agent

Lexington, KY

Full-time

Onsite

Entry Level

$45K/yr - $59K/yr

1+ years exp

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking a Purchasing Agent in Supply Chain Management to acquire supplies, services, and construction. The role involves utilizing knowledge of policies and procedures for delivery orders and small purchases, and managing procurement processes to support the organization's needs.

GovernmentMedicalNational SecurityPublic Safety

Comp. & Benefits

No H1B

U.S. Citizen Only

Responsibilities

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

Qualification

PurchasingProcurementMicrosoft OfficeSupply Chain ManagementCustomer ServiceTechnical CompetenceDecision MakingOrganizational Skills

Required

Applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 01/15/2026

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-6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5

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-5 in the Federal service that equipped you with the particular knowledge - skills - and abilities to perform successfully the duties of a Purchasing Agent - and that is typically in or related to the work of this position

Specialized experience is defined as: 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

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)

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

Basis for Selection: Selections for positions will be based on the objective evaluation of the candidates' total qualifications for the position

Physical Requirements: Requires some physical effort such as standing - sitting - walking - or bending

There are no special physical demands

The work is performed in an office setting involving everyday risks or discomforts

Normal safety precautions are adequate