Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this occupational series. For more information, refer to Required Documents below. This announcement is open to current permanent Federal employees of other agencies and the Public. Applicants will be referred in the following order: 1. Current permanent employees of other Federal agencies. 2. The Public - US Citizens.

This job is also open in another announcement to:

Internal to an agency

Duties and responsibilities of this position include:

• Order products based on national contract agreements or most economical product available through the prime vendor.
• Establish alternative sources of supply when products are not available from the prime vendor.
• Maintain an awareness of current clinical usage related to formulary policies and market conditions affecting supply and demand.
• Operate a system based on minimum lag time and maximum efficiency.
• Use EOQ (Economic Order Quantity) principles to determine inventory turns and appropriate stock levels.
• Assure stock is rotated to enhance medication usability and potency.
• Utilize Mobile Manager® or similar device to enhance efficiency and accuracy in ordering.
• Inventory narcotics and other items requiring more frequent intervention to ensure adequate stock is available and overstocking is avoided by adjusting min and max stock levels accordingly.
• Compile and submit theoretical turns summary report each quarter to assess effectiveness of ordering process.
• Use the assigned account number to place most purchase orders directly to the prime vendor and use credit card to make purchases through other vendors.
• Maintain ongoing record of credit card purchases.
• Assure accuracy of receipts for receiving and reconciliation of credit card purchases.
• Ensure all VA regulations and organizational guidelines are followed regarding the use of government credit card.
• When ordering and receiving narcotic orders, ensure all records are handled and processed according to DEA regulations (DEA form 222), VHA directives, and departmental guidelines.
• Decide to order an equivalent generic substitute, different strength, bottle size, or wait and reorder the next day if regular items are unavailable.
• Use the prime vendor database to determine the cost differential to purchase from a different manufacturer, as well as the expected due-in date of the unavailable product at the prime vendor.
• Estimate obligations anticipated to be incurred the next month by reviewing historical trends and projecting fiscal needs for new programs and/or national formulary changes.
• Provide effective stock arrangement to ensure optimum productivity.
• Update the VistA automation interface whenever NDC changes are needed for a given medication.
• Check for outdates, remove outdates from inventory, and store products away from working stock to avoid inadvertent dispensing or diversion.
• Routinely schedule and coordinate with third-party vendor to process and destroy outdated products.
• Train staff in the appropriate operation and maintenance of automated equipment (e.g. entering lot numbers for replenishment), policies and procedures for requesting additional inventory (using the want book), and how to process out-of-stock urgent prescriptions.
• Assist in effecting recalls of drugs, as required, by checking applicable lots and informing appropriate personnel.
• Prepare item description for new drugs and supplies added to the formulary and provide the information to the Pharmacy ADPAC for entry into the VISTA drug file.
• Keep drug prices up to date in VISTA.
• Work with Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy (CMOP) to ensure consistent and appropriate product delivery to patients.
• Provide orientation and training, as required, for staff members, pharmacy technicians, pharmacy aids, and pharmacy technician students.
• Ensure inventory received from the prime vendor is properly downloaded and verified in the VistA Drug Accountability package in a timely manner.

Pharmacy Technician: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Pharmacy-Technician-Career-Flyer.pdf

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Work Schedule: Mon - Fri, 7:00am to 3:30pm.
Recruitment/Relocation Incentive: Not Authorized.
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
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).
Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work or military service experience.
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 Available.
Virtual: This is not 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

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

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.

English Language Proficiency. Pharmacy Technician candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

GRADE DETERMINATIONS:
Pharmacy Technician, GS-08.
Experience. Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.

Certification. 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).

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs and the additional KSAs for the Procurement/Inventory position:
(a) 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.) Note: See Specialized Area.in the Definitions Section.
(b) Skill in training and orienting new and existing pharmacy facility employees and students on proper policies and procedures.
(c) Ability to evaluate, analyze and coordinate workflow and work activities within a specialized area or section of the pharmacy.

Pharmacy Technician (Procurement/Inventory). For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity and range of variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Pharmacy technicians at this level serve as an ordering officer delegated by the national acquisition center contracting officer for the purpose of ordering against the national pharmacy prime vendor (PPV) contract and national blanket purchase agreements (BPA) for pharmacy. They are responsible for ordering medications and supplies from required sources and meeting contract compliance while maintaining multiple complex accounts with the PPV. They utilize the Government purchase card program for direct orders up to the micro purchase threshold per VA financial policy. Pharmacy technicians at this level are responsible for regulatory and formulary requirements to meet patient needs within budgetary limits.

Additional Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs).
(a) Basic knowledge of pharmacy procurement, distribution and storage requirements to maintain a safe working environment. This includes not limited to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), United States Pharmacopeia (USP) and DEA requirements and regulations.
(b) Ability to assist in determining and modifying as necessary: ordering intervals, inventory levels and cost-effective ordering quantities from required sources based on current financial conditions in pharmacy, seasonal variations in drug usage, changing patterns in medical practice, delivery time requirements and urgency of medical need.

Preferred Experience:

• Two years experience as a pharmacy technician in a hospital pharmacy setting.
• Two years experience in pharmacy supply or pharmacy procurement positions at a federal facility.
• Two years experience in the ordering controlled substances in a healthcare facility.

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: Moderate lifting and carrying (15-44 pounds); reaching above the shoulder; use of fingers; standing (up to 6 hours); repeated bending (up to 2 hours); near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4; ability to distinguish basic colors; and mental and emotional stability.

Environmental Factors: Constant noise; extensive keyboard/mouse use; working closely with others and working alone.

How you will be evaluated

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

What are KSAs?
In the federal hiring process, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) are a list of special qualifications and personal attributes that you need to have for a particular job/grade level (see Qualifications section of this announcement).

• Knowledge statements refer to an organized body of information usually of a factual or procedural nature which, if applied, makes adequate performance on the job possible. A body of information applied directly to the performance of a function. Skill statements refer to the proficient manual, verbal or mental manipulation of data or things.
• Skills can be readily measured by a performance test where quantity and quality of performance are tested, usually within an established time limit.
• Ability statements refer to the power to perform an observable activity at the present time. This means that abilities have been evidenced through activities or behaviors that are similar to those required on the job. Note that abilities are different from aptitudes. Aptitude is only the potential for performing the activity.

Although not required at the time of application, we highly recommend submitting a supplemental document with your written responses to the KSAs required at each grade level you wish to be considered. If you choose not to submit KSA responses, please ensure your resume includes details of your experience that fully demonstrate the required KSAs as described in the "Qualifications" section of this announcement.

5 Tips for Writing a Federal Resume - FederalPay.org (https://www.federalpay.org/articles/5-tips-for-writing-a-federal-resume)

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:

• Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) or National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT).
• Resume

NOTE: If you are claiming Federal Employee Eligibility, you must submit a copy of your most recent (not more than 1 year old) Notification of Personnel Action, SF-50 (Not an award SF-50). Your SF-50 must include:

• Position title, pay plan/series/grade
• Tenure code
• Position Occupied - type of appointment (Competitive or Excepted)

Within Grade Increase, General Adjustments, or Promotion SF-50's are best, Award SF-50's do not include this pertinent information.

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
• License
• Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) or National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT).
• Other (2)
• Other (3)
• Performance Appraisal
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

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