Director Strategic Parnerships

The Director of Strategic Partnerships is responsible for developing, negotiating, implementing, and managing strategic partnerships that advance South Side Healthy Community Organization's (SSHCO) mission, population health goals, and long-term financial sustainability. Reporting to the Vice President of Population Health, this role serves as the primary lead for value-based care partnerships, managed care relationships, and collaborative initiatives with healthcare organizations, community-based organizations, health systems, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), and Managed Care Organizations (MCOs).

The Director of Strategic Partnerships plays a critical role in expanding SSHCO's value-based care portfolio, identifying new revenue opportunities, strengthening payer and provider relationships, and ensuring that partnership agreements support improved health outcomes for Medicaid populations. This position requires a highly skilled negotiator who can effectively represent SSHCO's interests while building collaborative, mutually beneficial relationships with external partners and internal stakeholders.

The Director of Strategic Partnerships is expected to model and promote SSHCO's mission, vision, and values through collaborative leadership, commitment to health equity, community engagement, innovation, and excellence in service to South Side residents and healthcare partners.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Partnership Development & Management

• Lead the development, cultivation, and management of strategic partnerships that support SSHCO's population health and value-based care objectives.
• Identify, evaluate, and pursue new partnership opportunities with MCOs, FQHCs, ACOs, health systems, provider groups, community-based organizations, and other stakeholders.
• Develop business cases, partnership proposals, scopes of work, and service models that align organizational capabilities with partner needs.
• Serve as the primary relationship manager for assigned strategic partners and payer organizations.
• Establish and maintain trusted relationships with executive leaders, healthcare partners, and community stakeholders.

Value-Based Care & Contract Management

• Lead negotiation and implementation of value-based agreements, including pay-for-performance arrangements, shared savings programs, care coordination partnerships, and other alternative payment models.
• Collaborate with organizational leadership to develop partnership strategies that support sustainable reimbursement for care coordination, community health worker services, population health initiatives, and health-related social needs interventions.
• Monitor contractual obligations, performance metrics, and reporting requirements to ensure compliance and maximize partnership success.
• Work closely with finance, quality, care coordination, and data teams to evaluate partnership performance and identify opportunities for improvement.

Negotiation & Business Development

• Lead contract negotiations with health plans, provider organizations, and strategic partners.
• Utilize financial, operational, and quality performance data to support negotiations and partnership relationship management.
• Negotiate reimbursement structures, performance expectations, service delivery models, and partnership responsibilities.
• Facilitate discussions among internal and external stakeholders to align priorities and achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.
• Support organizational growth through the identification and development of new revenue-generating opportunities.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Care Coordination, Quality Improvement, Data Analytics, Finance, and Operations teams to ensure successful implementation of partnership agreements.
• Collaborate with organizational leaders to align partnership strategies with programmatic goals and operational capabilities.
• Support development of workflows, reporting structures, and performance improvement initiatives required to achieve partnership objectives.
• Translate complex contractual and partnership requirements into actionable operational plans.

Performance Monitoring & Reporting

• Develop and maintain systems for tracking partnership performance, financial outcomes, and contractual deliverables.
• Prepare and present regular reports to leadership regarding partnership performance, growth opportunities, risks, and recommendations.
• Utilize data analytics and performance metrics to support decision-making and continuous improvement efforts.
• Monitor industry trends, policy developments, and emerging value-based care opportunities to inform organizational strategy.

Supervisory Responsibilities: May supervise Program Managers, Analysts, Coordinators, or other staff supporting partnership and value-based care initiatives.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, Public Health, Finance, or a related field.
• Master's degree (MBA, MHA, MPH, or related discipline) preferred.
• Minimum of five (5) years of progressive experience in healthcare partnerships, managed care, value-based care, business development, healthcare contracting, or population health.
• Demonstrated experience negotiating contracts, partnership agreements, or payer arrangements.
• Experience working with Medicaid populations, managed care organizations, healthcare providers, or community-based organizations.

Preferred Knowledge and Skills

• Strong understanding of value-based care models, managed care contracting, population health strategies, and healthcare reimbursement methodologies.
• Knowledge of Medicaid programs, quality performance measures, care coordination models, and health-related social needs interventions.
• Exceptional negotiation, relationship-building, and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong business acumen and ability to analyze financial, operational, and performance data.
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple complex projects and partnerships simultaneously.
• Proven ability to influence decision-making and build consensus across diverse stakeholder groups.

Leadership Competencies

• Strategic thinking and problem-solving.
• Relationship-centered leadership.
• Strong negotiation and conflict-resolution skills.
• Accountability and results orientation.
• Adaptability and continuous improvement mindset.
• Commitment to health equity and community impact.