Director of Health Plan Business Development

BetterHelp is on a mission to remove the traditional barriers to therapy and make mental health care more accessible to everyone. Founded in 2013, we are now the world’s largest online therapy service, providing affordable and convenient therapy across the globe. Our network of over 30,000 licensed therapists has helped millions of people take ownership of their mental health and change their lives forever. And we’re not stopping there – as the unmet need for mental health services continues to grow, BetterHelp is committed to being part of the solution.

As the Director of Health Plan Business Development at BetterHelp, you’ll join a diverse team of licensed clinicians, engineers, product pros, creatives, marketers, and business leaders who share a passion for expanding access to therapy. And as a mental health company, we take employee mental health just as seriously as we do our mission. We deeply invest in our team’s well-being and professional development, because we know that business and individual growth go hand-in-hand. At BetterHelp, you’ll carve your own path, make an immediate impact, and be challenged every day – with a supportive community behind you the whole way.

BetterHelp is looking for a Director of Health Plan Partnerships & Business Development to expand and deepen our health plan business by developing strategic payer relationships, optimizing our existing health plan partnerships, and selectively pursuing new contracting opportunities that expand access to BetterHelp.

In this role, you will help shape the next phase of BetterHelp's health plan strategy. You will own and develop relationships with health plan partners, identify opportunities to improve and expand existing agreements, negotiate strategic and economic terms, and pursue new partnerships where they meaningfully advance BetterHelp's insurance strategy. You will work closely with internal teams across Network Operations, Revenue Cycle Management, Finance, Legal, Product, Marketing and Clinical to translate payer relationships into greater member access and sustainable growth.

The ideal candidate combines deep health plan expertise with strong commercial judgment and executive relationship management. You understand how health plan networks operate, including provider contracting, reimbursement, credentialing and delegated arrangements, and can translate operational challenges into strategic opportunities with payer partners.

• Own and advance strategic relationships with priority health plan partners, identifying opportunities to deepen existing partnerships while selectively pursuing new payer contracts that meaningfully expand BetterHelp's network or strategic capabilities.
• Identify and negotiate opportunities to improve existing payer arrangements, including delegated or streamlined credentialing models, provider onboarding and roster processes, reimbursement, network terms, and other mechanisms that improve the scalability of BetterHelp's insurance offering.
• Develop new strategic models with health plan partners beyond traditional network participation, including member engagement and distribution, preferred provider relationships, care navigation, value-based arrangements, and other opportunities that increase access, utilization and value for members.
• Establish, build and maintain relationships with health plans and other strategic partners.
• Partner with internal teams to identify the highest-impact barriers and opportunities within priority payer relationships, using data on provider network activation, reimbursement, member access, utilization and financial performance to inform payer strategy and negotiations.
• Lead payer relationships from initial strategy and contracting through launch and early-stage optimization, establishing clear objectives and transition plans for ongoing partnership management.
• Identify and develop new payer partnership models and commercial structures that can accelerate BetterHelp's insurance growth, including opportunities related to reimbursement, network design, member acquisition, value-based care and strategic distribution.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams:
  • Network Operations / Credentialing: understand provider onboarding and network activation performance, identify payer-specific bottlenecks, and develop payer strategies to address systemic barriers.
  • Revenue Cycle Management: identify and address payer-level claims, reimbursement and operational issues.
  • Legal & Compliance: structure and negotiate payer agreements, amendments and strategic partnership terms.
  • Data: develop payer-level insights on network activation, utilization, access and financial performance.
  • Product & Marketing: develop opportunities with payer partners to improve member discovery, engagement and utilization of BetterHelp.
  • Clinical: support payer conversations related to quality, outcomes, network strategy and new care models.

• You will NOT worry about "runway", "cash left", or "how much time we have until the next round". We have the startup DNA but we're fully backed and funded, all the way to success.
• You will NOT be confined to your "job". You will get involved in product, marketing, business strategy, and almost everything we do.
• You will NOT be bogged down by office politics, ego, or bad attitude. Only positive, pleasure-to-work-with people are allowed here!
• You will NOT get yourself burned out. We work hard but we believe in maintaining a sustainable work/life balance. Really.

Yes. We operate on PST and candidates in any time zone are welcome to apply. We ask employees to travel to our San Jose, CA office up to three times per year plus one company-wide offsite to collaborate in person and strengthen working relationships. Travel expenses are covered and reasonable accommodations are made for those under unique circumstances who cannot travel.

• 5-7 years of experience in health plan partnerships, provider/network contracting, payer strategy, business development, or related healthcare roles, with a demonstrated track record working directly with health plans.
• Experience negotiating or working with delegated credentialing, roster-based provider onboarding, or other scalable health plan network models strongly preferred.
• Experience working with national health plans, Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, and/or Medicare Advantage networks preferred.
• Demonstrated track record of successfully prospecting, closing deals, and onboarding high value and high quality partners and/or affiliates. 
• Deep understanding of health plan network strategy and operations, including provider contracting, reimbursement, credentialing, provider loading, delegated vs. non-delegated arrangements, claims and network adequacy.
• Knowledge of how to identify and classify top opportunities for growth and expansion.
• Strong negotiation skills and experience managing vendors and partners.
• Creative, entrepreneurial and enthusiastic deal closer who thrives in a startup environment and is able to pivot priorities quickly and balance multiple projects. 
• Exceptional communication (oral and written), presentation, interpersonal and negotiation skills, as well as the ability to close deals and campaigns with partners on all levels.
• Ability to create strong rapport and build and foster long term impactful relationships.
• Diligent, thorough and uncompromising in respect to maintaining excellent partner relationships, brand safety and any legal compliance.