Career Center

Summary

The certified Procurement Pharmacy Technician is responsible for all prescription and nonprescription medications and supply purchasing and inventory in a highly complex area of Pharmacy Service at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System. This responsibility mandates compliance with all Veterans Health Administration - Drug Enforcement Agency - Food and Drug Agency and all federal rules and regulations regarding contract compliance - and purchase card policies and procedures.

Qualifications

All requirements must be met at the time of the announcement closing.

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
• None required
• 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: Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) - Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT)
• OR National Healthcareer Association (NHA) - Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT)
• Grandfathering Provision
• Pharmacy technicians employed in VHA on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title - series and grade held - including positive education and licensure/certification/registration that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation
• For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements in this standard but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it - the following provisions apply: Employees may be reassigned - promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level or changed to lower grade within the occupation but may not be promoted beyond the journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions
• Employees in an occupation that requires a licensure/certification/ registration only at higher grade levels must meet the licensure/ certification/registration requirement before they can be promoted to those higher grade levels
• Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard
• Employees who are converted to title 38 hybrid status under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation
• Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation
• Foreign Education
• To be creditable - education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials
• 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)
• 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)
• Grade Determinations: Pharmacy Technician - GS-08: Experience
• Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-07) 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: PTCB as a CPhT
• OR 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: See Specialized Area.in the Definitions Section
• 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
• 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 have a higher level of responsibility for specialized areas of pharmacy and are expected to independently carry out assigned tasks of considerable difficulty
• Pharmacy technicians at this grade level may be appointed to one of the following assignments: 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 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: VA procurement experience - other procurement experience Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.1
• You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position
• Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.

Duties

• Primary duties consist of pharmaceutical and supply order initiation - proper receipt of shipments - compliance with product and storage requirements
• Incumbent has independent purchase responsibilities
• The incumbent functions as staffing requirements dictate assisting the pharmacy management team in providing optimal pharmaceutical care and timely customer service in accordance with the mission - vision and goals of the Pharmacy and the Medical Center
• 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
• This position requires significant independent decision making and utilizing technical judgement with minimal supervision
• The incumbent will review or prepare documents and reports regarding procurement - inventory - reverse distributor - Government Purchase Card Audits and recall issues
• The incumbent's work is complex - involves problem solving and providing timely and accurate drug availability and medication shortage data
• FUNCTIONS OR SCOPE OF ASSIGNED DUTIES: The duties and responsibilities of the Procurement Pharmacy Technician include but are not limited to the following: Serve as ordering officer for pharmacy service - delegated by the VA National Acquisition Center (NAC) while maintaining annual training requirements
• Initiates ordering requirements of pharmaceuticals - specialty - and supply items through pharmacy prime vendors multi complex accounts or other mandatory sources
• Responsible for adherence to federal contracts and compliance with federal regulations regarding open market - ensuring inventory control through perpetual evaluation
• Assists in determining ordering intervals and stock levels appropriate to meet changes in formulary - brand to AB rated generic drugs - contract changes - conversions - new drug indications including backorders and seasonal changes
• Procures all types of pharmaceuticals including controlled and non-controlled drugs within established VA ordering guidelines - policies - and procedures within inventory management specialized area with the understanding of proper budget utilization
• Purchases using National contracts (NAT) - Federal supply schedules (FSS) - Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) and open market etc
• to ensure compliance with federal acquisition regulations - and policy - understanding the contracting hierarchy of all purchases
• Incumbent will download invoices daily as part of the drug accountability process or other inventory management system
• Incumbent may be required to obtain necessary certification to order narcotic medications through pharmacy prime vendor
• Purchases using government issued credit cards for micro purchase limits with understanding of when to use
• while maintaining required proper documentation - and reconciliation of receipt of all orders for auditing and accountability purposes - training - etc
• Reconciles all credit card purchases in a timely manner
• Possesses technical knowledge of VA and regulatory agency requirements for drug storage and special requirements for procurement - storage - distribution - and handling of various hazardous and non-hazardous drug classes
• Maintains knowledge of principles - policies and state and federal laws and regulations related to controlled substances
• Utilizes proper inventory management to ensure sufficient stock of medications and supply are available to meet the needs of the pharmacy and patient care
• Removes expired medications from stock and processes them for safe removal - according to VHA Directives and standard operating procedures
• Maintains a clean working environment and updates shelf labels as contracts dictate
• Enters pharmacy procurement requests and documents as required
• Enters data for all orders in the appropriate record
• This includes information from initial procurement requests - fund control data - receiving reports - B09 reports - etc
• Reconciles accounts and maintains required procurement documents for future audits
• Assists in training and orients new personnel - volunteers - students - etc. - in the technical phases of operations
• Work Schedule: Full-time - Monday - Friday - 07:00am - 3:30pm Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized