Pharmacist (Pharmacy Supervisor)

The Inpatient Pharmacy Supervisor is responsible for the daily professional and administrative/personnel management of the Inpatient Pharmacy section. This position requires knowledge and experience in operating various types of pharmacy equipment. The Pharmacy Supervisor will be involved in the independent practice of pharmacy. The Pharmacy Supervisor is responsible for the professional and administrative management of the Pharmacy personnel and programs.

This position functions in Pharmacy Service to support timely access to quality health care for our Veterans at the Michael E DeBakey Medical Center outpatient setting.

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Serves as an advanced drug information support and expert to other pharmacists and health professionals in all areas of patient care in the medical center.
• Advises and supports the Associate Chief, Pharmacy in planning program resource needs and assists in the growth and development of the Pharmacy Department in all areas of practice.
• Effectively anticipates problems, develops solutions, and formulates plans to meet workload demands, patient needs, and patient expectations.
• Uses a systems approach to continuous quality improvement and focuses on value-added processes that produce positive outcomes.
• Assesses, plans, and evaluates the Inpatient Pharmacy to ensure the proper coordination between the delivery of Inpatient Pharmacy services and the overall delivery of health care to the patients. This includes proper knowledge and management of various types of pharmacy equipment (ScripPro, Pyxis, unit dose packager, etc.), as well as knowledge and management of USP 795, 797, and 800 standards.
• Organizes workload, directs clinical activities, plans short-and long- term objectives/goals, solves problems, and achieves established goals within budget and staffing constraints.
• Tracks and trends workload within assigned areas through proper clinic set up and proper use of encounter coding, etc.
• Assists the Associate Chief in providing leadership and vision to the staff to promote the advancement of pharmaceutical care and services in the medical center.
• Plans, develops, implements, coordinates, and evaluates regular formal and informal training and education of clinical pharmacy practitioners, clinical pharmacists, pharmacy residents, pharmacy students, nursing, medical and allied health care professional staff and students.
• Supervises pharmacy staff within assigned areas.
• Conducts appraisals as well as develops and issues performance standards.
• Participates in planning, forecasting, and in administering budgetary and fiscal requirements.
• Maintains the security and accountability of controlled substance medications by ensuring all applicable Pharmacy Department policies and procedures, VHA/DoD/DEA regulations, and state and federal laws governing the use of controlled substances are followed as they pertain to Inpatient Pharmacy services.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 2:30pm - 11:00pm (subject to change based on facility need)
Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (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: ADHOC basis (based on supervisory approval)
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 01373-F
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

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 (1) Graduate of an Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) accredited College or School of Pharmacy with a baccalaureate degree in pharmacy (BS Pharmacy) and/or a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree. Verification of approved degree programs may be obtained from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, 20 North Clark Street, Suite 2500, Chicago, Illinois 60602-5109; phone: (312) 664-3575, or through their Web site at: http://www.acpe-accredit.org/.(2) Graduates of foreign pharmacy degree programs meet the educational requirement if the graduate is able to provide proof of achieving the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Commission (FPGEC) Certification, which includes passing the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination (FPGEE) and the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet- Based Test (TOEFL iBT).
• Licensure. Full, current and unrestricted license to practice pharmacy in a State, Territory, Commonwealth of the United States (i.e., Puerto Rico), or the District of Columbia. The pharmacist must maintain current registration if this is a requirement for maintaining full, current, and unrestricted licensure. A pharmacist who has, or has ever had, any license(s) revoked, suspended, denied, restricted, limited, or issued/placed in a probationary status may be appointed only in accordance with the provisions in VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, section B, paragraph 16.
  • (1) Exception. Non-licensed pharmacists who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given a temporary appointment at the entry level as a Graduate Pharmacist under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405(c)(2)(B). The appointing official may waive the requirement of licensure for a period not to exceed 2 years for a pharmacist that provides care under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist. For grade levels above the GS-11, the candidate must be licensed.
• English Language Proficiency. Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d).

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:

GS-13 Pharmacy Supervisor

In addition to the GS-12 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.
Responsible for the professional and administrative management of an assigned area in pharmacy service, to include budgetary execution. Such individuals have responsibilities for supervising multiple pharmacists and technicians. Manages people, maintains effective interdepartmental relations, and cooperates with other services to accomplish the medical facility's mission and goals. Develops performance standards, assures that the program area is compliant with all regulatory and accrediting body requirements, designs and implements orientation and training programs for staff, and develops and maintains systems to monitor the performance of staff activities. Develops policies and procedures relative to their assigned area.

Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following KSAs:
a. Ability to effectively supervise subordinate staff.
b. Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions.
c. Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards pertaining to pharmacy.
d. Skill in managing people or programs.

Preferred Experience:

• Demonstrated ability to effectively supervise pharmacy staff, establish clear expectations, support professional development, and address performance and conduct concerns.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate professionally and effectively, both orally and in writing, to present recommendations, build consensus, and influence clinical, operational, and executive leadership decisions.
• Expert understanding and application of regulatory, accreditation, medication safety, and quality standards relevant to inpatient pharmacy, including sterile compounding and controlled substance management.
• Demonstrated skill in managing people, programs, and pharmacy operations, including coordinating staffing, allocating resources, and implementing process improvements.
• Demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities, adapt to changing operational demands, and make timely decisions while maintaining patient safety and continuity of services.
• Completion of a PGY1 pharmacy residency, with additional preference for completion of a combined PGY1/PGY2 Health-System Pharmacy Administration and Leadership (HSPAL) residency or a PGY1 residency followed by a PGY2 HSPAL residency.

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is 13.

Physical Requirements: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation, see Duties section for essential job duties of the position. May require standing, lifting, carrying, sitting, stooping, bending, puling, and pushing. May be required to wear personal protective equipment and undergo annual TB screening or testing as conditions of employment.

Work Environment: Work is performed in an office/clinic setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions; the area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. However, the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

• 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 examination.
• 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.