Lead Purchasing Agent

Veterans Health Administration • Northport, NY

3d • Onsite

About The Position

This position serves as a Lead Purchasing Agent within Logistics Service at the Northport VA Medical Center. The incumbent leads Purchasing Agents responsible for procuring supplies, services, and equipment to support Veteran care and Medical Center operations. Duties include distributing and balancing workload, monitoring work progress, providing guidance, resolving purchasing issues, and ensuring procurement activities comply with VA and Federal requirements. This position serves as a Lead Purchasing Agent for the Logistics Service within the VA Health Care System and supported catchment area. The Lead Purchasing Agent is responsible for issuing, reviewing and or procuring prescribed items to Veterans in compliance with VHA guidelines and directives. As a purchase card holder, fulfills acquisition requests under the federal micro-purchase threshold, ensuring purchases are procured in accordance with federal and VA regulations, policy and procedures with responsibility for work leading to the purchase of a wide variety of complex and highly specialized services, supplies, equipment, and systems.

Requirements

• Must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements.
• Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest.
• To qualify for this position at the GS-7 level, you must have: At least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-6 level in the Federal service that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of this Lead Purchasing Agent position.
• Specialized experience includes: procuring supplies and services to meet the purchase, rental, or lease needs of an organization; assisting in training new employees and answering questions on purchasing/procurement procedures, policies, etc.; purchasing various equipment, supplies, and services through the use of a purchase card; 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; 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.
• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Reading Comprehension
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

Nice To Haves

• Experience serving as a Government Purchase Card (GPC) holder, including purchasing supplies and services, maintaining required documentation, and ensuring compliance with applicable purchasing policies and procedures.

Responsibilities

• Leads three or more Purchasing Agents performing work at or below the GS-6 level.
• Serves as first respondent to any staff concerns related to procurement or purchase orders and is expected to work independently to resolve those issues, only escalating unresolvable issues.
• Distributes and balances the workload among employees.
• Assures timely accomplishment of assignments.
• Reviews completed work for compliance.
• Instructs Purchasing Agents in specific tasks and job techniques.
• Identifies training needs and provides on the job training to new Purchasing Agents.
• Conducts purchasing for the VA HCS and supported catchment area under the micro purchase threshold.
• Purchases various equipment, supplies, and services using the government purchase card for micro purchases.
• Utilizes different ordering, reporting procedures, and purchasing methods depending on the type quantity, dollar value, and urgency of the requirement.
• Provides administration and oversight on orders and services.
• Advises approving officials and purchase card holders on purchase card program, procurement procedures and responsibilities.
• Serves as the first line of contact for medical staff and customers in regard to procured items.
• Provides clerical support and coordination to approving officials and administrators.
• Utilizes a variety of automated systems to enter, update, revise, sort, and calculate data.
• Develops reports and spreadsheets.
• Obtains, organizes, files and retrieves reports for briefing and presentation purposes.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Benefits

• A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package.
• As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding.
• Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed