Job Summary

This position is located in the Prosthetics & Sensory Aid Service within the Prosthetic Service Line at the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center. The purpose of this position is to perform direct medical supply purchasing and inventory management support to the administrative and clinical services of the VA to initiate the obligation for all related requirements necessary to provide prosthetic and sensory aids services, to include durable medical equipment and supplies directly to Veterans.

Job Description

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/22/2026. 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-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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 as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Interpreting prescriptions and requests for medical equipment and services. Maintaining regular contact with vendors, contractors, medical center professionals and staff. Utilizing a variety of databases and computer systems. Purchasing equipment, supplies and services using an agency/organization purchase card. Reconciling charges and preparing and submitting reports. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Technical Competence: Review request for completeness and proper medical justification. Prioritizes workload to meet mandated timelines standards. Ensures funding allocations for the Prosthetic Service line reflect correct expenditures and balances utilizing Fiscal polices and procedures. Contracting/Procurement: Examines clinical health records and claims folders to determine legal eligibility and medical entitlement for prosthetic items and services based on criteria. Authorizes and prepares complex purchase orders for a wide variety of prosthetic & sensory aids, medical supplies, orthotic devices, surgical implants durable medical equipment and repairs. Reconciles all invoices for certification of payment while ensuring accurate prices are charged for services and/or items. Communication: Maintains continuous liaison with vendors, medical center professionals and staff to ensure timely acquisition and provision of items and services to Veterans. Communicates effectively with Veterans and family members in-person, on the telephone. and written responses. Researches information on prosthetic appliances, services and medical equipment from local and national sources by contacting various vendors. Computer Skills: Operates prosthetic software package to maintain detailed and accurate accounting of all actions taken for Veterans. Tracks request for quotes, purchase orders by creating an excel document. Researches national contracts, policies , directives and regulations and emerging technology to keep current. Documents electronically all records thoroughly. Adheres to regulations and instructions regarding computer security and access to files. 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. There may be frequent walks between the main medical center and other parts of Prosthetics to conduct professional duties. Work Environment: The incumbent works in a health care office with the possibility of contact with ill and diseased patients. Normal duties are performed in an office setting, which has adequate heat, light, and ventilation; however, the incumbent must retrieve prosthetic items from various storage areas daily. The incumbent may on occasion, accompany the Site Manager and/or Prosthetic Representative on visits to the patients' homes or to a vendor for shop inspections. Incumbent has direct daily contact with patients and may handle equipment returned from Veterans with contagious diseases; hence, the incumbent is required to practice universal precautions in observance of normal safety practices with office equipment, prosthetics equipment & supplies; avoidance of trips and falls, and observance of fire regulations is required. The area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. 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/.