Remote Purchasing Agent Jobs in Indiana (NOW HIRING)

Summary
This position is located at the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center (VAMC) in Indianapolis and serves as the Purchasing Agent for the Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Services. Performs direct medical supply purchasing and inventory management support to the administrative and clinical services of the VA to include medical equipment and supplies directly to Veterans.
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Duties
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This is a critical direct patient care, Veteran facing position. The incumbent must work directly with the Veteran, his/her family, surgeon or clinical provider, and community care discharge planning staff. 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.
Duties include but are not limited to the following:

• Performs technical level purchasing adhering to the FAR, VAAR, VHA, and Prosthetics Directives and Handbooks, VISN policy and station memorandums to acquire Veterans 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)
• Performs the process of vetting following VHA Prosthetics guidelines to complete purchases for items that aren't available through established vendor networks.
• 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.
• Routinely reviews for discrepancies or loopholes in lengthy specifications or statements of work that are very detailed, or otherwise difficult to understand. These situations often come up for custom in home installation of complex pieces of medical equipment.
• Coordinates with appropriate vendor for device retrieval and reconciliation of acquisition days to ensure daily fund rental fiscal accountability.
• Independently responsible for utilizing PSAS reporting tools to monitor and track PSAS open purchase card orders, to ensure timely service is provided to Veterans.
• The incumbent has the authority to obligate the Government in procurement actions up to the single micro-purchase threshold for open market and under established contracts for all types of goods and services.
• conducts thorough market research by obtaining competitive bids/ Request for Quotation (RFQ) to determine fair and reasonable pricing.
• Verifies adherence to training and other contractual agreements. Follow up action on the status of all these orders is required weekly until purchased and direct patient care is completed.
• Independently monitors, receives, tracks, interprets, and analyzes Prosthetic Consults, and prescriptions (VAF 10-2431) for items, services and home medical equipment from physicians, therapists, medical center personnel, Veterans, or their representatives.
• Examines clinical health records and claims folders to determine eligibility and entitlement for items and services based on adopted criteria and advises Veteran of the same.
• Identify, verify and ensure eligibility of all services and durable medical equipment (DME) requested on Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) consult request by an authorized requester per the area of responsibility and training is addressed before issuing DME.
• Responsible for successfully completing the mandatory purchase card training, allowing the incumbent to be a government purchase card holder and obligate funds on behalf of the government.

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
Telework: Not eligible
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Purchasing Agent/PD91628S and PD91727VS
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Requirements
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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment.
• 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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). 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. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
Qualifications
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/04/2026.
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 5 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS 4. 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.
You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:
Qualifications for a GS-5

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS 4 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Submitting acquisition plans and procurement packages for stock; using data entry systems to monitor, receive, track, interpret, and analyze items, services, and home medical equipment requested by physicians, therapists, and medical center personnel; and reconciling all invoices for certification of payment.
• OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 4 years above high school.
• OR,
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education.

Qualifications for a GS 6
Specialized Experience: You must have one 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: Submitting acquisition plans and procurement packages for stock; using data entry systems to monitor, receive, track, interpret, and analyze items, services, and home medical equipment requested by physicians, therapists, and medical center personnel; and reconciling all invoices for certification of payment.
There is no educational substitute at this level.
Preferred experience: Data Entry
For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.
Education
A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.
Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.
Additional information
Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.
Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.
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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.
Benefits
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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