Pharmacy Technician Procurement Technician

VA Careers - Pharmacy: Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Major duties include but are not limited to:

• Effectively coordinates manages completes and documents the purchasing of all prescription and nonprescription drug products and pharmaceutical supplies.
• Works to ensure that inventory levels of medications and medical supplies are managed so that patient care is not impaired due to insufficient stock or the unavailability of a therapeutic alternative.
• Utilizes the prime vendor for contracted prescription drug products.
• Proceeds to open market vendors for items not available through the prime vendor. Assures that vendor delivery schedules support the needs of the Pharmacy.
• Coordinates with management when necessary concerning drug unavailability and items not received or backordered.
• Establishes processes and procedures for borrowing items from local pharmacies/hospitals and other VA pharmacies on an emergency basis and ensures their safe transport to the medical center.
• Analyzes market and delivery systems in order to assess present and future material availability and coordinates orders that support cost-effective and timely product availability.
• Investigates and resolves shipping and receiving errors from vendors and suppliers in compliance with the medical centers fiscal policies.
• Reports and resolves discrepancies and reconciles orders in a timely manner.
• Ensures compliance with all controlled substance rules and regulations as defined by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the VHA Controlled Substance Handbook.
• Serves as a Designated Government Purchase Card holder a Designated Power of Attorney for the DEAs Controlled Substance Ordering System (CSOS) and a Designated Ordering Officer for all pharmaceutical prime vendor contracts.
• Maintains documentation and accountability of daily purchases and coordinates product receipt and budget ledger/control point management.
• Independently manages pharmacy control points and accounts for purchase expenditures to ensure department budgetary compliance.
• Provides pharmacy supervisors with control point information when theyre approval is needed per policy.
• Maintains a complete and current record keeping and retrieval system.
• Routinely completes purchase card reconciliations consistent with the medical centers fiscal policies.
• Assists the pharmacys cost initiatives in drug cost analysis to assure continuing budgetary compliance and cost-effective product availability.
• Provides pharmacy supervisors cost usage analyses of high cost medications to identify the inpatient and outpatient high usage areas and prescribing trends.
• Prepares budget projections based upon usage trends affecting expenditures.
• Oversees the departments product recall procedures and works with medical center staff to coordinate product removals and alternative product purchases.
• Ensures that stock is dispersed into designated storage areas with appropriate shelf labeling and consistent with storage requirements based on VA OSHA US Pharmacopoeia and Joint Commission standards.
• Isolates and secures expired medications until processing by the departments reverse distributor.
• Routinely processes outdated controlled and non-controlled substances for reverse distribution for credit or
• Arranges for the proper disposal of outdated/damaged/unusable drugs.
• Coordinates departmental inventories as assigned including aligning inventory in various sections of the pharmacy resolving discrepancies preparing reports and submitting final reports to management for areas of responsibility.
• Makes pharmacy personnel aware of drug shortages and recalls and removes recalled items from the pharmacy and patient care areas and makes provision for their removal from the medical center.
• Reviews and updates all Pharmacy Service policies pertaining to procurement of medications medical supplies and pharmacy consumables.
• Generates budget cost analysis hazardous waste GEMS and other reports as needed.
• Assists with the training orientation and re-training of employees to Pharmacy Service procurement policies and procedures.
• Ensures all pharmaceutical and supply invoices are signed and dated to document receipt and ensures that there is a separation of duties between the individual who placed the order and the individual who checked in the order/signed the invoice for receipt.
• Assists pharmacy COR with administrative functions related to pharmacy contracting.
• Oversees and maintains VA Mandated ScriptPro Inventory Management Tool.
• Other duties as assigned by the supervisor based on staffing and workload.
• Performs all the duties of lower graded technicians if required.

• 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 ( Effective May 7 2025 drivers 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.

• 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.

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).

• Experience: One year of progressively complex experience equivalent to the 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:
  • PTCB as a CPhT. OR
  • NHA as a ExCPT.
• Knowledge Skills and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience and certification 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.