Pharmacy Technician (Procurement/Inventory)

The Pharmacy Inpatient Technician (Procurement/Inventory) will function primarily in the main inpatient pharmacy but may be assigned tasks within any area of the inpatient or outpatient pharmacy, vault, clean room, clinic, procedural area, operating room, and inpatient ward. Additionally, the technician will perform quality assurance activities including medication room inspections within the facility and at off-site clinic locations.

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

The incumbent will generally be assigned administrative working hours with the occasional need to assist with staffing through pharmacy service operational hours, including weekends and holidays.

FUNCTIONS OR SCOPE OF ASSIGNED DUTIES:
The Pharmacy Inpatient Technician (Procurement/Inventory) will be assigned as the lead procurement and inventory management specialist for the inpatient pharmacy. Duties include but are not limited to:

Customer Service

• Treat patients, team members, other facility employees and visitors with dignity and respect.
• Respond to the needs of the Veteran and staff in a courteous and timely manner.
• Demonstrate appropriate and proactive interpersonal skills to achieve the goals of the service.
• Act as a team member and support the group's efforts at all times.
• Demonstrate an ability to work under a variety of circumstances to maximize group productivity and quality of care.

Pharmacy Operations

• Maintain ordering officer designations and knowledge of VA formulary, VA policies related to procurement, and VA contractual requirements for procurement; order medications and supplies to meet anticipated patient care requirements and avoid waste. Perform all necessary reconciliation and accounting.
• Compliance with medication and supply source traceability in accordance with the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) and VHA directive.
  • Verifies product shipping invoices and information match product received, contacting vendor to investigate and reconcile discrepancies.
  • Maintains medication and supply source information in accordance with the DSCSA, VHA Directive and VHA Records Management guidelines.
• Act as a purchase card holder for pharmacy service. Complies with all federal, VA, and local procurement policies and regulations. Monitors and assures timely reconciliation of purchases. Maintains all procurement shipping invoices in accordance with VHA directive and VHA records management guidelines.
• Responsibly monitors and manages the Pharmacy medication budget fund control point and other procurement-related fund control points. Will request funds transfer for allocation as needed. Reconciles B09 reports with Fiscal service on a weekly basis for review by Chief of Pharmacy and Facility CFO. Addresses and collaborates with Fiscal service to resolve any discrepancies in a timely manner.
• Ensure new products are evaluated by a pharmacist and entered in all systems (Omnicell, Script Pro, Alaris, Codonics, VistA, iPack) and communicated to stakeholders. Use databases to efficiently manage inventory.
• Establish inventory stock levels (PAR levels) and reorder points to maintain adequate inventory to meet patient care needs with attention paid to responsible execution of resource spending and inventory control to meet or exceed inventory turn goals and minimize waste/reverse distribution. PAR levels are determined by the Lead Procurement Technician in collaboration Pharmacy Inventory Management Supervisor to establish and maintain adequate inventory based on patient care needs and historical utilization data.
• Ensure appropriate storage of all pharmaceuticals and supplies, and that items received are placed into appropriate storage locations in a timely manner.
• Perform annual wall-to-wall inventory and conduct monthly OIG count of drugs at high risk for diversion.

CUSTOMER SERVICE REQUIREMENTS:
Meets the needs of customers while supporting the medical center and service missions. Consistently communicates and treats customers (patients, visitors, volunteers, and all medical center staff) in a courteous, tactful, and respectful manner. Provides the customer with consistent information according to established policies and procedures. Handles conflict and problems in dealing with the customer constructively and appropriately.

OTHER SIGNIFICANT INFORMATION:
Travel and Driving: The incumbent may be required to travel up to 25% of the time, which would require the incumbent to drive a government owned vehicle to travel for technical or professional training and to support remote healthcare system sites, as needed and/or directed by management. Must maintain a valid driver's license and possess the driving skills necessary to operate a vehicle safely in various weather and traffic conditions, securely and safely, while adhering to all vehicle and traffic regulations. A current, valid state-issued Driver's License is required for this position. Must meet the requirements set forth in VA Handbook 5019 for incidental drivers.

Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday through Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm
Telework: Not available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

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 (Procurement/Inventory), GS-09:

• Experience. Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-08) 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 and meet any additional KSAs for the assignment, if indicated:
  • Expert knowledge serving as a key resource advising others in their particular specialty area or section of the pharmacy (such as procurement, sterile compounding (USP compounding standards),controlled substances DEA, automation, clinical pharmacy, lead tech, contact center, etc.).
  • Skill in analyzing data for self-driven (independent) performance improvement projects, workload analysis and statistical reports.
  • Skill in solving problems and implementing corrective actions to maximize outcomes in their program area.
  • Ability to maintain special accreditations and prepare for national reviews/inspections (e.g., The Joint Commission, Inspector General, American Society of Health System Pharmacists®, controlled substance inspections).
  • Ability to develop training programs and material for orientation, competency development and educational needs for regulatory requirements within the specialized pharmacy program area.
  • Knowledge of pharmaceutical and supply inventory requirements to ensure compliance with regulations and national/audit/inspections (e.g., financial regulations, The Joint Commission, Inspector General, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, DEA, USP 797/800, FDA 503A/B).
  • Knowledge of clinical specifications, characteristics and ordering processes of a wide variety of soft prosthetics and supply items (e.g., catheters, colostomy, ileostomy and urostomy supply and associated products) that technicians procure to dispense to Veterans in the outpatient pharmacy setting.
  • Skill in managing specialized programs related to inventory including, but not limited to, specialty medications and supplies, All Hazards Emergency Cache Program, recalls, reverse distribution and pharmaceutical waste.
• 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 grade level may be appointed to one of the following assignments. Supervisory pharmacy technicians are responsible for management and supervision of at least three GS-08 pharmacy technicians. These positions require significant independent technical judgement and expertise in complex areas of pharmacy practice, regulatory requirements and quality standards. They organize, coordinate and manage programs for the pharmacy service at the facility level. These pharmacy technicians will be responsible for communicating with VISN or national pharmacy leadership as well as individual facility leadership and staff.

All qualifying experience you possess must be clearly described in your application package. We will not make assumptions when reviewing applications. Failure to demonstrate your experience in your resume may result in disqualification. It is strongly recommended that you write to each KSA in your application package.

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-9.

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.

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 evaluation/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.