BHDAP/HSP Subject Matter Expert (SME)

About the role

The BHDAP/HSP Subject Matter Expert (SME) provides high-level expertise, strategic guidance, and technical leadership across projects supporting the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), specifically within the Behavioral Health, Disability, and Aging Policy (BHDAP) and Health System Policy (HSP) offices.

Responsibilities

• Provide authoritative subject-matter expertise on behavioral health, disability, aging, Medicare/Medicaid policy, delivery-system reform, and cross-cutting human services issues.
• Advise ASPE/BHDAP and ASPE/HSP leadership on emerging trends, policy implications, and strategic opportunities.
• Review and validate analytic approaches, research designs, and policy recommendations to ensure methodological rigor and policy relevance.
• Guide the development of research studies, evaluation frameworks, and analytic plans.
• Interpret complex datasets, program evaluations, and evidence syntheses to inform federal decision-making.
• Provide expert consultation to federal partners, grantees, and stakeholders on behavioral health, disability, aging, and health-system policy topics.
• Support the design and implementation of pilot programs, demonstration models, and policy initiatives.
• Assist in developing logic models, performance measures, and evaluation strategies.
• Participate in high-level meetings, listening sessions, and working groups with federal agencies, states, providers, researchers, and advocacy organizations.
• Synthesize stakeholder perspectives and integrate them into policy analyses and recommendations.
• Prepare expert briefings, talking points, and presentations for senior federal leadership.
• Contribute to high-quality policy briefs, technical reports, memos, and issue analyses.
• Ensure deliverables meet ASPE’s standards for clarity, accuracy, and policy relevance.
• Provide expert review and quality assurance for project outputs.
• Ensure all work adheres to federal confidentiality requirements, including the Privacy Act, CIPSEA, HIPAA-aligned safeguards, and Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) rules.
• Maintain documentation of analytic decisions, sources, and methodologies.
• Support internal and external quality-assurance processes.

Requirements

• Master's Degree or higher in Public Policy, Public Health, Health Services Research, Behavioral Health, Disability Studies, or related field.
• 10+ years of experience in federal health or human services policy, including work with ASPE, HHS, CMS, SAMHSA, ACL, or related agencies.
• Demonstrated expertise in behavioral health, disability, aging, or health-system policy (e.g., Medicare, Medicaid, LTSS, delivery-system reform).
• Proven ability to provide expert consultation and strategic policy guidance.
• Strong analytical skills and experience interpreting complex research and administrative data.
• Exceptional communication skills, including the ability to brief senior federal leadership.

Qualifications

• Education: Master’s degree or higher in Public Policy, Public Health, Health Services Research, Behavioral Health, Disability Studies, or related field.
• Experience: 10+ years of experience in federal health or human services policy, including work with ASPE, HHS, CMS, SAMHSA, ACL, or related agencies.
• Demonstrated expertise in behavioral health, disability, aging, or health-system policy (e.g., Medicare, Medicaid, LTSS, delivery-system reform).
• Proven ability to provide expert consultation and strategic policy guidance.
• Strong analytical skills and experience interpreting complex research and administrative data.
• Exceptional communication skills, including the ability to brief senior federal leadership.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience supporting ASPE/BHDAP or ASPE/HSP.
• Experience leading federal research, evaluation, or policy-development projects.
• Familiarity with federal evidence-based policy frameworks and evaluation standards.
• Experience with qualitative and quantitative research methods.
• Knowledge of federal data systems and administrative datasets.