Clarification from the agency

Open to All U.S. Citizens & Current, Permanent, VISN 22 & Veterans Health Administration Employees. Due to provisions of 38 U.S.C. 7412, Annual Determination of Staffing Shortages. Veterans' Preference DOES NOT apply. First Area of Consideration: Current, VISN 22 Employees. Second Area of Consideration: Other VHA Employees & Public. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this occupational series. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

*The salary range listed on this announcement only reflects the General Schedule incorporating Rest of U.S. Basic pay. Upon selection, the salary will be adjusted to include the locality adjustment for the specific location.

VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://youtube.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws

The Lead Pharmacy Technician, is a nationally certified pharmacy technician who is efficient, motivated, and is focused on customer satisfaction. The Lead Pharmacy Technician will consistency demonstrate independent technical judgement and a working knowledge of associated VA policies and procedures. All assigned activities and functions shall be completed in accordance with approved pharmacy protocols, and under the supervision of the appropriate VISN Clinical Contact Center Pharmacy Supervisor.

Major duties include, but are not limited to:

• Works collaboratively with VISN programs, services, and interdisciplinary coordinated care team members to provide access to care.
• Routinely reviews computer medication profiles for therapeutic duplication, prescription noncompliance and allergies/drug reactions.
• Processes and submits patient requests for new prescription orders and renewals (including controlled substances) into the computer accurately, thoroughly and in a timely manner.
• Professionally handles issues escalated from team members and follows guidelines to address the issue appropriately.
• Leads the training of new staff.
• Assists with the training, orientation and re-training of employees to Pharmacy Service policies and procedures.
• Responsible for reviewing each subordinate's competencies within applicable areas of assignment on an annual basis.
• Assist in maintaining workflow patterns to ensure patient calls are answered in less than 30 seconds and that less than 5% of calls are abandoned by the patient while ensuring accurate record keeping.
• Assists other pharmacy managers and staff to identify areas of duplication of efforts and develops solutions to streamline processes, reduce waste, save costs and improve patient care.
• Completes additional duties as assigned.

Preferred Experience: Minimum of Two (2) years of Leadership/Management Experience, but not required.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, Rotational Shift Schedule Range from 6:00 a.m. PST to 9:00 p.m. PST, including Nights and Weekends.
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized.
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized.
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Telework: Not Applicable. This is a 100% Remote position.
Virtual: This is a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• 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 dentification 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).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 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 trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Certification. Certification by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) OR; National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT).

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

GS-08 Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements, the following criteria must be met for this position:

a. Experience: One (1) year of experience equivalent to the GS-07 grade level. The experience for this position includes the following, but not limited to:

• Performs full range of duties in the pharmacy using independent judgement.
• Processes computerized prescription and input of prescriptions and medication orders or electronic equivalent.
• Mentors and trains developmental pharmacy technicians in the practice setting.
• Resolves pharmacy/medication issues with other members of the healthcare team and external customers.
• Assists advanced/specialized pharmacy technicians.
• Participates in performance improvement initiatives.
• Dispenses medication or sterile products following all regulations, policies and procedures to ensure safe medication distribution.
• Troubleshoots automated dispensing equipment (ADE) or technology platforms/databases.

b. Demonstrated Knowledge Skills and Abilities (KSA's). (Must demonstrate [all of] of 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.

Preferred Experience: Minimum of Two (2) years of Leadership/Management Experience.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-8.

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. A pre-placement physical examination is not required

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

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.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Professional Certification
• Resume

Special Note for Applications: To complete your application, please use the following link https://vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Resume.docx to download the standard Clinical Resume Document. This one-page document does not need to be modified and must be uploaded into the two-page restricted 'Resume' document upload field.

Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the 'Other' document upload field.

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (VA)
• Resume (Optional - If Resume is longer than Two Pages)
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

Next steps