U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs · 16 hours ago
Pharmacy Technician - Procurement / Inventory
Philadelphia, PA
Full-time
Onsite
Entry, Mid Level
$65K/yr - $85K/yr
1+ years expThe U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is committed to providing compassionate healthcare to America's Veterans. The Pharmacy Technician in Procurement/Inventory will manage pharmaceutical purchasing and distribution, ensuring compliance with federal regulations and maintaining inventory control.
GovernmentMedicalNational SecurityPublic Safety
No H1B
U.S. Citizen Only
Responsibilities
Serve as ordering officer for pharmacy service, delegated by the VA National Acquisition Center (NAC) while maintaining annual training requirements
Initiates ordering requirements of pharmaceuticals, specialty, and supply items through pharmacy prime vendors multi complex accounts or other mandatory sources
Responsible for adherence to federal contracts and compliance with federal regulations regarding open market, ensuring inventory control through perpetual evaluation
Assists in determining ordering intervals and stock levels appropriate to meet changes in formulary, brand to AB rated generic drugs, contract changes, conversions, new drug indications including backorders and seasonal changes
Procures all types of pharmaceuticals including controlled and non-controlled drugs within established VA ordering guidelines, policies, and procedures within inventory management specialized area with the understanding of proper budget utilization
Purchases using National contracts (NAT), Federal supply schedules (FSS), Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) and open market etc to ensure compliance with federal acquisition regulations, and policy, understanding the contracting hierarchy of all purchases
Incumbent will download invoices daily as part of the drug accountability process or other inventory management system
Incumbent may be required to obtain necessary certification to order narcotic medications through pharmacy prime vendor
Purchases using government issued credit cards for micro purchase limits with understanding of when to use while maintaining required proper documentation, and reconciliation of receipt of all orders for auditing and accountability purposes, training, etc
Reconciles all credit card purchases in a timely manner
Possesses technical knowledge of VA and regulatory agency requirements for drug storage and special requirements for procurement, storage, distribution, and handling of various hazardous and non-hazardous drug classes
Maintains knowledge of principles, policies and state and federal laws and regulations related to controlled substances
Utilizes proper inventory management to ensure sufficient stock of medications and supply are available to meet the needs of the pharmacy and patient care
Removes expired medications from stock and processes them for safe removal, according to VHA Directives and standard operating procedures
Maintains a clean working environment and updates shelf labels as contracts dictate
Assists in training and orients new personnel, volunteers, students, etc., in the technical phases of operations
Possesses technical working knowledge and follows established policies and procedures of usage rates, stock levels, inventory maintenance concepts including just-in-time inventory and assist in annual or semiannual pharmacy wall-to-wall inventory
Possesses technical knowledge of all aspects of drug characteristics and nomenclature for procurement and stock maintenance including: Generic and brand names, Dosage forms, Various systems of weights and measures, Drug product codes, Drug AB rating equivalence
Incumbent must maintain training requirements, national pharmacy technician certification and meet annual competencies required for this position
The employee's work will involve performing various procurement support duties involved in the use of different and unrelated procedures and methods
The incumbent(s) will spend the majority of time (over 80%) correlating transactions that are not completely standardized, dealing with continually changing deadlines and priorities, completing assigned functions that are relatively broad and varied
The employee will use different established procedures to screen incoming purchase request item descriptions for accuracy and adequacy, and will then monitor the status of the associated purchase order
The employee will review and reconcile various documents and records and resolve a variety of problems through the coordination with vendors and personnel in receiving, supply and check-in areas
The incumbent will monitor the status of deliveries, reconciling invoices to ensure quantities invoiced are accounted and received
The employee will work one on one with vendors and suppliers to resolve regular problems and discuss with lead or management as indicated
These problems include (but not limited to) billing issues, delivery dates, the quantity of items ordered
The employee makes decisions independently with vendors, contractors, and suppliers using prescribed guidelines set forth for the position
Qualification
Required
Be a citizen of the United States
For all grade levels and positions that accept both education and experience to qualify - equivalent combinations of qualifying education and experience that total at least 100% are qualifying
The combined percentage is determined by adding total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level to the education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level
For positions above the full performance level - the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either: (1) Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) - Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) OR (2) National Healthcareer Association (NHA) - Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT)
Pharmacy Technician candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f)
Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level and demonstrate the KSAs below
Comprehensive knowledge of concepts - principles - methodology and policies in a specialized area or section of pharmacy (such as sterile compounding - controlled substances - automation - clinical pharmacy - contact center - etc.)
Skill in training and orienting new and existing pharmacy facility employees and students on proper policies and procedures
Ability to evaluate - analyze and coordinate workflow and work activities within a specialized area or section of the pharmacy
Possesses technical knowledge of VA and regulatory agency requirements for drug storage and special requirements for procurement - storage - distribution - and handling of various hazardous and non-hazardous drug classes
Maintains knowledge of principles - policies and state and federal laws and regulations related to controlled substances
Utilizes proper inventory management to ensure sufficient stock of medications and supply are available to meet the needs of the pharmacy and patient care
Removes expired medications from stock and processes them for safe removal - according to VHA Directives and standard operating procedures
Possesses technical working knowledge and follows established policies and procedures of usage rates - stock levels - inventory maintenance concepts including just-in-time inventory and assist in annual or semiannual pharmacy wall-to-wall inventory
Possesses technical knowledge of all aspects of drug characteristics and nomenclature for procurement and stock maintenance including: Generic and brand names, Dosage forms, Various systems of weights and measures, Drug product codes, Drug AB rating equivalence
Incumbent must maintain training requirements - national pharmacy technician certification and meet annual competencies required for this position
The employee's work will involve performing various procurement support duties involved in the use of different and unrelated procedures and methods
The incumbent(s) will spend the majority of time (over 80%) correlating transactions that are not completely standardized
The employee will use different established procedures to screen incoming purchase request item descriptions for accuracy and adequacy
The employee will review and reconcile various documents and records and resolve a variety of problems through the coordination with vendors and personnel in receiving - supply and check-in areas
The incumbent will monitor the status of deliveries - reconciling invoices to ensure quantities invoiced are accounted and received
The employee will work one on one with vendors and suppliers to resolve regular problems and discuss with lead or management as indicated
The employee makes decisions independently with vendors - contractors - and suppliers using prescribed guidelines set forth for the position
Company
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Welcome to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Official LinkedIn page.
10001+ employees
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageLeadership Team
Charles Worthington
Chief Technology Officer
Helga Rippen
Chief Interoperability and Veteran Access Officer
Recent News
Alaska VA Healthcare System
2025-12-31
2025-12-21
Dayton Daily News
2025-12-17
Company data provided by crunchbase