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. Open to The Public - US Citizens Veterans' Preference: Does not apply to this announcement per OCHCO Bulletin, Annual Determination of Staffing Shortages, dated September 25, 2025

This job is also open in another announcement to:

Federal employees - Competitive service

Federal employees - Excepted service

Internal to an agency

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Functions

• Independently performs complex pharmaceutical procurement duties, ensuring accurate purchasing, receiving, cost tracking, and full compliance with federal acquisition, VA policies, and government purchase card regulations.
• Evaluates product availability, contract restrictions, pricing, and clinical requirements to determine the most cost-effective procurement strategy using FSS, prime vendor, and alternate contract sources.
• Coordinates and executes all pharmacy-related drug recall activities, including identification, retrieval, documentation, hazard communication, and required follow-up actions to ensure patient safety and regulatory compliance.
• Conducts detailed verification of incoming stock, resolves discrepancies, and ensures proper storage conditions in accordance with VA, USP, TJC, and OSHA requirements.
• Manages inventory integrity through systematic identification, segregation, documentation, and third-party destruction of outdated or unusable pharmaceuticals and supplies.
• Performs specialized technical setup, calibration, troubleshooting, and maintenance of outpatient automated medication dispensing systems with minimal supervision.
• Collects, analyzes, and reports performance data for automated dispensing systems, identifying operational deviations and recommending system improvements to management.
• Serves as a technical resource and trainer for pharmacy technicians, pharmacists, and other staff on procurement procedures, inventory control systems, and automated dispensing technologies.
• Coordinates procurement and replacement of specialty medical supplies for patients, communicating directly with providers and patients to ensure clinically appropriate product selection.
• Executes special procurement assignments and projects requiring independent judgment, analytical skill, and advanced technical knowledge to support pharmacy operations, efficiency, and patient safety.

Work Schedule: Monday thru Friday, 7:30am - 4pm
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). Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience 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: AD-HOC
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 identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.
• 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

NOTE: THE 2-PAGE RESUME REQUIREMENT DOES NOT APPLY TO THIS OCCUPATIONAL SERIES. FOR MORE INFORMATION, REFER TO REQUIRED DOCUMENTS BELOW.

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.
• Education or Experience:
  1. None required.
  2. For all grade levels and positions that accept both education and experience to qualify, equivalent combinations of qualifying education and experience that total at least 100% are qualifying. The combined percentage is determined by adding total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level to the education as a percentage of the education required for the 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).
• 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 and demonstrate the KSAs below.

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. PTCB as a CPhT. OR
2. NHA as a ExCPT.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs for all GS-08 assignments and meet any additional KSAs for the assignment, if indicated:

• 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 Specialized Area: Areas within pharmacy that require advanced knowledge, skills and abilities to ensure a high level of accountability for patient safety, quality of care and/or VHA or other regulatory requirements. Examples include, but are not limited to compounding sterile products, controlled substance dispensing, research, automation, clinical informatics, quality assurance, hazardous medication compounding/management, immunizations and clinical pharmacy assignments.
• 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.

Assignments forPharmacy 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):

• 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.
• 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: At least 3 years of experience as a pharmacy technician in an inpatient, hospital, or high-volume outpatient setting. Minimum of 1 year of hands on full-time or parttime experience in pharmacy purchasing, inventory management, or a pharmacy buyer role. Experience should include ordering, receiving, returns/recalls, backorders, as well as reconciling purchase orders, invoices, and credits, and resolving discrepancies with vendors. Experience with pharmacy information systems, electronic drug dispensing technology, and inventory modules (e.g. Pyxis, Omnicell, McKesson or similar ordering platforms).

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.

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.

NOTE: THE 2-PAGE RESUME REQUIREMENT DOES NOT APPLY TO THIS OCCUPATIONAL SERIES. FOR MORE INFORMATION, SEE BELOW.

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

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)
• License
• Full Resume with no page limits
• Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) or National Healthcareer Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT)
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Resume Reminder- Your resume must include the following information for each job listed:

• Job title Duties (be as detailed as possible)
• Month & year start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008)
• Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week)
• Series and Grade, if applicable, for all Federal positions you have held

Please be aware that your answers will be verified against information provided on your resume. Be sure that your resume clearly supports your responses to all of the questions by addressing your work experience in detail. Failure to provide this information will result in resume disqualification and non- referral.

Recommended: Even though we do not require a specific resume format, your resume must be clear so that we are able to fully evaluate your qualifications. To ensure you receive appropriate consideration, please list the duties you performed under each individual job title. If we are unable to match your experiences with the positions held, you may lose consideration for this vacancy. We cannot make assumptions regarding your qualifications.

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