Senior Director, Strategic Payer Relations

The Senior Director, Strategic Payer Relations is a senior leader responsible for managing and advancing strategic relationships with assigned payer organizations. This role serves as the primary relationship owner for designated payers and is accountable for payer access, retention, reimbursement performance, and overall relationship health.

Operating within the newly formed Payer Relations and Market Strategy organization, the Senior Director will engage routinely with Director-, Vice President-, and Senior Vice President-level payer leaders and will represent the organization in high-impact discussions related to network participation, reimbursement models, and payer performance optimization.

This role works in close collaboration with internal clinical, contracting, policy, analytic, finance and operational leaders to ensure coordinated execution of payer strategies that support enterprise revenue and margin growth.

• →Strategic Payer Relationship Management
  • →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
  • →Independently manage assigned payer relationships, developing payer strategy, priorities, engagement plans, and recommended actions with appropriate escalation to the Vice President.

• →Reimbursement & Performance Optimization
  • →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.
  • →Proactively identify payer opportunities, risks, performance gaps, and emerging issues; determine root causes; develop recommended actions; and mobilize the appropriate internal stakeholders to address them.

• →Cross-Functional Collaboration
  • →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.
  • →Lead internal readiness for payer discussions by coordinating data, insights, and materials as needed.
• →Governance, Execution & Communication
  • →Lead governance processes related to payer engagement, escalation, and decision-making.
  • →Prepare executive-level summaries, updates, and recommendations for senior leadership as required.
  • →Drive payer-related initiatives from strategy through execution, establishing clear deliverables, owners, timelines, dependencies, and escalation points, and ensuring commitments are brought to closure.
  • →Maintain accurate documentation of payer interactions, priorities, and outcomes.

• →Functional Development Support
  • →Contribute to the development of scalable processes, tools, and best practices for the evolving Strategic Payer Relations function.
  • →Support onboarding, mentoring, and collaboration with other Senior Directors as the team expands.
  • →Assist the Vice President, Strategic Payer Relations, in shaping role clarity, engagement models, and operating cadence during the function formation phase.

• →Embody AnewHealth’s Core Values in all communications and interactions.
• →Other duties as assigned.

The above essential functions are representative of major duties of positions in this job classification. Specific duties and responsibilities may vary based upon departmental needs. Other duties may be assigned similar to the above consistent with knowledge, skills and abilities required for the job.  Not all of the duties may be assigned to a position.

• 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.

• 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.

• Strong executive communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Ability to synthesize complex financial, operational, clinical, and market information into a clear strategic point of view, recommendation, and executive-level narrative.
• Executive presence and credibility with external stakeholders.
• Strategic thinking and disciplined execution at a senior level, exercising sound judgment, developing recommendations, and advancing work
• 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.

• 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