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U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs · 14 hours ago

Purchasing Agent- Prosthetics

Houston, TX

Full-time

Onsite

Entry, Mid Level

$47K/yr - $68K/yr

1+ years exp

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking a Purchasing Agent for the Prosthetic & Sensory Aids Service. The role involves performing medical supply purchasing and inventory management to support VA services for Veterans, ensuring the availability of necessary medical equipment and supplies.

GovernmentMedicalNational SecurityPublic Safety

Comp. & Benefits

H1B Sponsor Likely

Responsibilities

Performs independent technical level purchasing support adhering to the FAR - VAAR - all applicable VHA Directives and Memorandums - Prosthetics Directives and Handbooks - VISN policy and station memorandums to acquire Veteran-specific medical equipment - supplies and services based on a medical providers clinical assessment and evaluation of the Veteran's medical condition

Obtain 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)

Performs research to find alternate vendor resources not available in SAM to meet the needs of specific purchase situations

Performs the process of vetting and vendorizing following VHA Prosthetics guidelines to complete purchases for items that aren't available through established vendor networks

Provides patient care and support services to an adult population and serves as the point of contact for external customer service inventory needs and support Reviews for discrepancies or loopholes in lengthy specifications or statements of work that are very detailed - or otherwise difficult to understand Coordinates with appropriate vendor for device retrieval and reconciliation of acquisition days to ensure daily fund rental fiscal accountability Utilizing PSAS reporting tools to monitor and track PSAS open purchase card orders - to ensure timely service is provided to Veterans Researches the use of different solicitation methods - ordering or reporting procedures in both the purchase card menu and the prosthetics program for both complex and simplified purchases

Act on emergent situations with knowledge of up-to-date practices - procedures - and products

Justifies actions to include sole source justification 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 (Subject to change based on needs of the facility) Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent- Prosthetics/PDS0102A and PDS0101A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Qualification

Purchasing supportInventory managementAutomated systemsMicrosoft OfficeVendor managementAnalytical reasoningTechnical credibilityOral communication

Required

Applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 01/20/2026

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

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-05 Specialized Experience: 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: Perform a variety of receptionist - timekeeping - record keeping and miscellaneous duties; Procure supplies and services to meet the purchase - rental - or lease needs of an organization; Purchasing various equipment - supplies - and services through the use of a purchase card; Utilizing a variety of automated systems to enter - update - revise - sort - and calculate data; and utilizing different ordering - reporting procedures - and purchasing methods

OR Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience

To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed four (4) years of education above the high school level in any field which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite

NOTE: Transcripts Required

OR - Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level

You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond the second year and specialized experience as described above - which meet the total experience requirements for this grade level

NOTE: Transcripts Required

GS-06 Specialized Experience: You must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-5 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; Procure supplies and services to meet the purchase - rental - or lease needs of an organization; Experience working with medical staff to determine procurement needs and priorities; Resolve a variety of shipment - payment - or other discrepancies in support of procurement programs and operations; Experience purchasing various equipment - supplies - and services through the use of a purchase card; Experience 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: Acquisition Strategy, Analytical Reasoning, Computer Skills, Oral Communication, Technical Credibility

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: 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

Often - walking between the main medical center and other parts of Prosthetics to conduct professional duties

Company

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

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H1B Sponsorship

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)

Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship

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Trends of Total Sponsorships

2025 (7)

2024 (1)

2023 (3)

2022 (2)

2021 (3)

2020 (1)