U.S. Embassy in the
Philippines

Vacancy Announcement no.: 2024-04

Position Title: Staff Pharmacist

Opening Period: 11/21/2023 to 12/05/2023

Series/Grade: LS-0660-09

Salary: Php833,292.00 per annum

Appointment Type: Permanent (One or more full-time permanent positions)

Location: Professional Services Division, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Manila Regional Office & Outpatient Clinic

Work Schedule: Full-time (40 hours/week) schedule; Monday – Friday

Open to: All Interested Candidates (Philippine Residents Only)

OUR MISSION: “To fulfill President Lincoln’s promise to care for those who have served in our nation’s military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors.”

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The Staff Pharmacist position in Manila Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic (Manila VA OPC) under the Professional Services Division, Pharmacy section, is responsible for the complete spectrum of pharmacy work, which includes interacting clinically and professionally with other health care providers; providing patient and family education; and dispensing of pharmaceuticals. Incumbent has extensive knowledge and experience in pharmacy and a broad knowledge of the various aspects of the total pharmacy operation.

The duties of the Staff Pharmacist position include, but are not limited to the following:

1. Customer Service: Incumbent will emulate the Customer Service Standards set forth by the VA Manila Outpatient Clinic during the performance of assigned duties. This includes but is not limited to treating patients with respect and kindness and working cooperatively with other VA and U.S. Embassy employees to facilitate patient care.
2. Drug Dispensing: Enters and/or edits new prescription orders from providers accurately. Pharmacist processes refills and renewal prescription requests in a timely manner. Accurately dispenses medication orders and supplies. The Pharmacist checks technician-prepared orders when necessary.
3. Clinical:
   1. Performs patient medication profile reviews upon entering orders and utilizes knowledge of pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and pharmacotherapeutics to evaluate orders for appropriateness. Ensures appropriate laboratory monitoring of drug therapy and provides pharmacotherapeutic services. The Pharmacist follows guidelines, protocols, and policies in performing these services.
   2. Along with using prudent clinical judgment, the incumbent utilizes available resources including laboratory and other diagnostic data to communicate questionable therapy, non-formulary therapy or therapy outside of established criteria to prescribers and offers reasonable alternatives, responding to requests in a timely manner.
   3. Provides medication and disease state management information and participates in other educational endeavors including patient and family education and medical/nursing staff education.
   4. Participates in Drug Utilization Evaluations and actively documents and reports Adverse Drug Events in addition to medication errors.
   5. Renews expired chronic medications to stable patients with future primary care appointments. Pharmacist follows applicable policy and procedures when renewing prescriptions.
   6. Follows infection control and VA Manila Clinic Policy.
4. Administrative
   1. The incumbent is knowledgeable of, adheres to, and applies established policies and procedures during the performance of duties. This includes knowledge and support of the facility’s EEO programs and OWCP procedures concerning work related injuries or illnesses. In the performance of official duties, the incumbent has regular access to sensitive data which is protected under the Privacy Act of 1974. The employee is responsible for protecting the data from unauthorized release, loss, alteration, or deletion.
   2. The incumbent is responsible for being cognizant of workload situations which may require his/her direct intervention to maintain Customer Service Standards and is a willing participant of the Pharmacy Team to assist colleagues in handling these workload situations when necessary.
   3. Incumbent provides administrative consultations to patients and other employees concerning pharmacy policies, and regulations to resolve problems and/or concerns in a caring, professional manner. Incumbent practices multidisciplinary team approach to solving problems and assumes the responsibility for solving problems to his/her best ability during the tour of duty.
   4. Incumbent recognizes that communication is vital for the effective and efficient operation of the pharmacy and is responsible for communicating problems and concerns incurred on tour of duty daily through use of electronic mail to help solve problems within processes for continuous quality improvement.
   5. Incumbent serves as pharmacy liaison on treatment teams and communicates effectively with multidisciplinary team members.
   6. Patient Safety: The incumbent will be responsible for promoting a culture of safety and will fully cooperate in efforts to improve patient safety and eradicate potential events including the reporting of events resulting in actual or potential injury to a patient. Incumbent must demonstrate knowledge of the reporting procedures involving safety issues relating to patients.

Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level, LS-10, without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met.  Selection at LS-09 grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.  The grade progression for this position is LS-09/10.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

To qualify for the Staff Pharmacist position, applicants must address the required qualifications listed below by the closing date of this announcement (12/05/2023):

• Must have a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy degree from an accredited college or university.
  (Copies of transcript of records must be submitted for the education requirement.  Education cannot be credited without documentation.)
• Must possess a current and valid Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) license to practice pharmacy in the Philippines.
• Must have two (2) to three (3) years specialized experience in a hospital/clinic pharmacy that is directly related to this position that equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the duties of this position.

  Examples of experience include, but are not limited to:

  • interpret doctor’s orders for appropriate dosage, route and quantity,
  • dispense prescriptions to patients,
  • provide counselling on respective patient’s active medications,
  • answer queries from patients and other healthcare workers regarding medication concerns both via phone and face-to-face,
  • analyze and maintain patient medication profiles,
  • operate and troubleshoot Pharmacy Automated Dispensing Equipment, and
  • maintain and upkeep the Pharmacy Automated Dispensing Equipment.

    (Applicants must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment in their resume.)

HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED

Applicants will be evaluated for this job based on how well they meet the qualifications above.  Applicants also need to fully address their specialized work experience and the following competencies needed for this position in their resumes. In describing your experience, please be clear and specific. We will not make assumptions regarding your experience.  

Competency 1:  Professional knowledge of principles, concepts and accepted standards in pharmacy practice.

Competency 2:  A broad working knowledge of Philippine Pharmacy Law, Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Philippines rules and regulations.

Competency 3:  Ability to understand and manage patient treatment plans.

Competency 4:  Ability to apply a working knowledge of drug cautions and side effects of all medications dispensed.

Competency 5:  Ability to communicate effectively and professionally, both orally and in writing, with patients, their families and other health professionals.

Competency 6:  Ability to set priorities, organize workload and accomplish tasks requiring high degree of accuracy and attention-to-detail timely.

HOW TO APPLY

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete application package to include the documents detailed under the “Required Documents” section. Your resume and supporting documentation will be verified; errors, omissions, or failure to submit the documents and follow the instructions as specified will affect your rating or may result in loss of consideration for this vacancy announcement.

Required Documents:

1. Cover letter describing the applicant’s eligibility, qualifications, knowledge, skills, and abilities the applicant possesses.
2. DS-174 – Application for Employment as a Locally Employed Staff (available from the internet, download the most recent version which expires on 02-28-2023 or click on this link https://eforms.state.gov/Forms/ds174.PDF to download the form.)
3. Resume detailing your specialized experience and competencies as they relate to this position.
   1. For each position, in your resume, you must also specify the start and end dates (month/year) and a description of duties, and whether the duties were performed full-time or part-time.
   2. If the position was with the Mission, you must also indicate the Foreign Service National (FSN) grade level.

      Note:  Resumes containing a general summary of all positions held, not specifying start/end dates, full time/part time, and/or including Foreign Service National (FSN) grade levels) are insufficient to determine basic qualifications, therefore, will not be given consideration for this position.

4. A copy of your diploma and/or transcript of records.
5. Copies of your professional licenses and certificates, training, awards, etc., that address the qualification requirements of this position.
6. A copy of your most recent mid-year performance appraisal JF-50D Merit Based Compensation (MBC) Employee Performance Report (EPR) (applicable to Mission employees only).
7. For dual citizen, U.S. Citizen and Third Country National (TCN), please note that this position requires submission of necessary working permit (e.g., dual citizenship certificate/Alien Certificate of Registration/Immigrant Certificate of Residence or Re-acquisition of Filipino Citizenship).  Failure to submit the necessary documents may result to your application not being considered for the position you have applied for.

Instructions:

1. Applicants must submit the “Required Documents” in MS Word or PDF file format via email to vamanilahrm@va.gov to be considered.
2. The vacancy announcement number and position must be indicated in the subject line of the email submission.
3. Applications must be received by the VA Human Resource Office no later than December 5, 2023, 11:59PM.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure appropriate documents are submitted prior to the closing date.  You will not be contacted for additional information.

For more details pertaining to this announcement, please call 8396-3778/ 8550-3901.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

PLACEMENT POLICY

The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

EVALUATION AND SELECTION

After the vacancy announcement closes, basic qualifications are determined and a referral certificate is issued. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job-related information, which may include, but not limited to; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Only applicants who were interviewed for the position will receive notification regarding their application.

Management may consider any of the following when determining successful candidacy:  nepotism, conflicts of interest, budget, and residency status.

Current Locally Employed Staff (LES) employees serving a probationary period are not eligible to apply.

Current LES employees who are on Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) are not eligible to apply.

Applicant/s selected for the position must be able to obtain valid medical and security clearances.  Instructions on how to obtain these clearances will be given by the Human Resources Office.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

The Department of Veterans Affairs is an equal opportunity employer.  Actions to fill this position will not be based on discriminatory factors that are prohibited by law.  Selection will be made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, physical handicap, age, membership or non-membership in an employing organization, personal favoritism or other non-merit factors.