Medica is a nonprofit health plan with more than a million members that serves communities in Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Missouri, and beyond. We deliver personalized health care experiences and partner closely with providers to ensure members are genuinely cared for.
We're a team that owns our work with accountability, makes data-driven decisions, embraces continuous learning, and celebrates collaboration — because success is a team sport. It's our mission to be there in the moments that matter most for our members and employees. Join us in creating a community of connected care, where coordinated, quality service is the norm and every member feels valued.
The Senior Pharmacy Strategy & Operations Project Lead plays a critical role in shaping the future of Medica's pharmacy business. This position provides the opportunity to lead highly visible, enterprise-wide initiatives that drive strategic priorities, improve operational performance, and enhance the member experience. As a trusted partner to pharmacy and business leaders, you will bring together cross-functional teams to solve complex challenges, implement innovative solutions, and deliver measurable business outcomes in a rapidly evolving healthcare environment.
This role is ideal for a strategic thinker who thrives at the intersection of pharmacy operations, business transformation, and project leadership. You will have significant autonomy to identify opportunities, influence decisions, and lead initiatives from concept through execution while collaborating with stakeholders across clinical, compliance, product, technology, operations, and vendor organizations. Success in this position requires a combination of deep pharmacy expertise, strong analytical and problem-solving skills, and the ability to build relationships, drive accountability, and deliver results that support both organizational goals and member health outcomes.
Key Responsibilities
Lead Complex, Cross-Functional Project Initiatives
- Direct planning and participate in the execution of high‑impact Pharmacy projects.
- Manage complex dependencies across departments and stakeholders.
- Align project objectives with strategic and operational priorities.
- Oversee and contribute directly to the delivery of outcomes that support organizational goals.
Influence Stakeholders & Executive Communication
- Serve as a strategic partner and liaison between project teams and leadership.
- Communicate risks, progress, and recommendations to senior stakeholders.
- Resolve escalated issues requiring cross‑functional coordination.
- Build alignment and accountability across diverse teams.
Govern Project Management Practices
- Establish and enforce standards for complex project execution.
- Monitor portfolio‑level risks and interdependencies.
- Drive and contribute to consistency and quality in project reporting and controls.
- Apply advanced methodologies to enhance delivery effectiveness.
Guide Decision-Making & Risk Management
- Analyze scenarios and tradeoffs to support leadership decisions.
- Proactively identify and mitigate enterprise‑level project risks.
- Adjust strategies to support evolving priorities.
- Influence outcomes through expert judgment and insight.
Advance Project Management Maturity
- Lead improvements to processes, tools, and governance models.
- Mentor less experienced project managers.
- Share lessons learned to strengthen organizational capability.
- Support long‑term project delivery excellence.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in a related field or equivalent combination of education and experience.
- 7+ years of relevant professional experience leading complex, cross-functional projects or business initiatives from planning through implementation.
- Experience collaboration with and influencing stakeholders across multiple business functions and organizational levels when delivering of projects or operational initiatives within a regulated healthcare environment.
Preferred Qualifications
- Background in pharmacy operations, pharmacy benefit management (PBM), managed care, health plans, or related healthcare settings.
- Success leading complex pharmacy initiatives across Commercial, Medicare, Medicaid, and Individual/Marketplace lines of business.
- Knowledge of pharmacy benefit administration, claims operations, formulary management, benefit implementation, regulatory compliance, and PBM partnerships.
- Proven ability to independently lead cross-functional initiatives, influence stakeholders, and drive operational improvements from strategy through implementation.
- Proficiency with data analysis, reporting, and executive communications, including the use of Excel, PowerPoint, automation, and data visualization tools including AI-enabled business solutions
This position is an Office role, which requires an employee to work onsite at our Minnetonka, MN office, on average, 3 days per week.
The full salary grade for this position is $100,300 - $172,000. While the full salary grade is provided, the typical hiring salary range for this role is expected to be between $100,300 - $150,465. Annual salary range placement will depend on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, education, work experience, applicable certifications and/or licensure, the position's scope and responsibility, internal pay equity and external market salary data. In addition to base compensation, this position may be eligible for incentive plan compensation in addition to base salary. Medica offers a generous total rewards package that includes competitive medical, dental, vision, PTO, Holidays, paid volunteer time off, 401K contributions, caregiver services and many other benefits to support our employees.
The compensation and benefits information is provided as of the date of this posting. Medica’s compensation and benefits are subject to change at any time, with or without notice, subject to applicable law.
Eligibility to work in the US: Medica does not offer work visa sponsorship for this role. All candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of application. Employment is contingent on verification of identity and eligibility to work in the United States.
We are an Equal Opportunity employer, where all qualified candidates receive consideration for employment indiscriminate of race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or any other protected characteristic.