Senior Director, Strategic Payer Relations

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary relationship owner for a defined portfolio of strategic payer organizations.
• Lead executive-level engagement with payer stakeholders, including Directors, Vice Presidents, and Senior Vice Presidents.
• Establish and maintain strong, credible relationships that support network access, retention, and reimbursement improvement objectives.
• Ensure consistent, coordinated communication and positioning across all payer interactions.
• Lead master account planning for assigned portfolio and conduct payer quarterly business reviews.
• Drive initiatives aimed at improving reimbursement performance and financial outcomes across assigned payer relationships.
• Partner with internal contracting, clinical effectiveness, pharmacy, and finance teams to support payer-specific strategies.
• Monitor payer performance trends, identify gaps or risks, and proactively address issues impacting access, reimbursement, or operational execution.
• Collaborate closely with peers across Clinical Effectiveness & Stars Experience, Government & Professional Affairs, Strategic Contracting, and Market Strategy.
• Align payer engagement activities with enterprise priorities, regulatory considerations, and contracting strategies.
• Support internal readiness for payer discussions by coordinating data, insights, and materials as needed.
• Support governance processes related to payer engagement, escalation, and decision-making.
• Prepare executive-level summaries, updates, and recommendations for senior leadership as required.
• Ensure disciplined follow-through on commitments made to and by payer organizations.
• Maintain accurate documentation of payer interactions, priorities, and outcomes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in payer relations, health plan engagement, healthcare strategy, contracting support, or related healthcare leadership roles at payer organizations including PBMs, Health Plans or government payer organizations.
• Demonstrated experience engaging senior-level payer stakeholders (Director, VP, SVP).
• Strong understanding of payer structures, reimbursement models, network access dynamics, and healthcare economics.
• Proven ability to operate effectively in complex, matrixed organizations.
• Strong executive communication skills, both written and verbal.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting payer strategies across national and/or regional payers.
• Background working closely with contracting, clinical, pharmacy, or reimbursement-focused teams.
• Experience contributing to new function or capability development within a healthcare organization.
• Ability to synthesize complex information into clear executive-level insights.

Key Competencies

• Executive presence and credibility with external stakeholders.
• Strategic thinking and disciplined execution.
• Strong collaboration and influence without direct authority.
• Analytical mindset with a focus on outcomes.
• Comfort operating in evolving and ambiguous environments.
• High degree of accountability and follow-through.

Working Relationships

• Internal: President & Chief Payer Relations and Market Strategy Officer, VP Strategic Payer Relations, Clinical Effectiveness & Stars Experience, Government & Professional Affairs, Strategic Contracting, Finance, Analytics, Growth, Legal, and Operations.
• External: Strategic payer organizations, including PBMs, national and regional health plans and other payer entities.

Payments, Benefits & Schedule

AnewHealth offers a comprehensive benefit package for full-time employees that includes medical/dental/vision, flexible spending, company-paid life insurance and short-term disability as well as voluntary benefits, 401(k), Paid Time Off and paid holidays. Medical, dental and vision coverage are effective 1st of the month following date of hire.

Equal Employment Opportunity

AnewHealth offers equal employment opportunity to all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, genetic information, or veteran status, or other legally protected classification in the state in which a person is seeking employment. Applicants are encouraged to confidentially self-identify when applying. Local applicants are encouraged to apply. We maintain a drug-free work environment. Applicants must be eligible to work in this country.