The Health Initiative- Senior Policy Director

About The Health Initiative (THI):

The U.S. spends ~$14 billion every day on healthcare, even though ~80% of health outcomes are tied to drivers of health like access to healthy food, safe homes, and well-paying jobs. THI works to unlock existing healthcare dollars to invest in these basics that people need to be healthy.

We work intensively with state, federal, and private healthcare institutions that control billions of dollars and impact millions of lives to spur them to invest in health – and, at the same time, mobilize stakeholders (many historically excluded from financial/policy pathways) to challenge these institutions to act.

THI’s work reflects a potential win-win-win: people and communities secure the resources necessary to be healthy; taxpayers and the government save on healthcare costs; and private health plans improve their bottom line.

THI’s efforts have unlocked $650M+ in healthcare dollars to pay for healthy food, rent, and other basics; secured $50M+ in annual wage increases for frontline healthcare workers; and spurred policy changes ensuring that 35M+ Americans are asked annually by their healthcare providers whether they are struggling with food, housing, or other basics.

THI’s team has dedicated our lives to creating productive change and to disrupting the healthcare system. We have led and worked in federal healthcare agencies, health policy organizations, community-based clinics, healthcare delivery systems, and quality improvement organizations.

About the Position:

THI seeks a results-oriented, seasoned Senior Policy Director who is passionate about THI’s aim of increasing investments in healthy food, safe housing, and other drivers of health; has significant experience in healthcare payment policy at the state or federal level and/or at a private health plan; and excels at translating technical information into practical opportunities for action.

This role will be creative in re-imagining how healthcare mechanisms can be leveraged to pay for and invest in the drivers of health and persuasive in communicating this approach to others. A successful candidate will thrive in the fast-paced context of issue-based campaigns and/or start-up environments.

The position reports to the Chief Campaign Officer, Christina Gunther-Murphy, who oversees THI’s programmatic work, and will be a close collaborator with Rocco Perla and Rebecca Onie, THI’s co-CEOs. THI’s Research Associates are dotted-line reports to the position. All staff at THI work collaboratively and across functions to deliver on our aim.

Responsibilities:

• Support the Chief Campaign Officer and co-CEOs in identifying, developing, and executing on technically accurate and creative policy ideas to achieve THI’s aim of unlocking healthcare dollars to increase investments in the drivers of health;

• Analyze and synthesize state and federal regulations, legislation, white papers, research, and other sources to identify opportunities and inform THI’s tactics and strategies;

• Lead and/or support the development of high-quality, compelling content and communications (e.g., briefings, articles, public comments, presentations, reports) for diversity of stakeholders (e.g., federal and state policymakers, health plan executives, think tanks, researchers, funders);

• Direct, oversee, and provide feedback on technical content prepared internally (by THI’s Research Associates or other staff) or externally (by THI’s partners/sub-contractors) to ensure it is accurate, complete, and clear; and

• Develop systems to regularly monitor the policy environment for information relevant to THI’s work.

Given the dynamic nature of the organization, the responsibilities above are reflective but not exhaustive of what to expect in the role.

Who We’re Looking For:

There are innumerable ways to learn, grow, and excel professionally. We are most likely to be interested in your candidacy if you can demonstrate the majority of the qualifications, experiences, and behaviors listed below.

• 10+ years of experience in healthcare payment policy at the state or federal level and/or at a private health plan (consulting experience may be applicable if focused on healthcare payment policy);

• Strong understanding and knowledge of Medicare (e.g., Medicare Advantage), Medicaid (e.g., Medicaid Managed Care), and Marketplace (e.g., Exchange), as well as familiarity with