Senior Manager of Behavioral Health Policy

MassHealth is seeking qualified applicants for the position of Senior Manager of Behavioral Health Policy. The Senior Manager will drive behavioral health policy for the Office of Accountable Care and Behavioral Health (ACBH) and design, develop and implement high-priority policy initiatives, working cross-functionally across ACBH, MassHealth, and agencies within the Executive Office of Health and Human Services.

MassHealth’s Behavioral Health Strategy & Policy team within ACBH is driving a cutting-edge innovative agenda to support MassHealth members with behavioral health needs in an evolving policy and industry space. For example, the Behavioral Health Strategy & Policy team has been instrumental in implementing the Commonwealth’s multi-year Roadmap for Behavioral Health Reform which aims to expand access to effective treatment and build a more robust community-based crisis system to divert members from requiring care in an emergency department. The team drives strategy and policy design, development, and implementation across the behavioral health service, age, and diagnostic continuums.

The Senior Manager of Behavioral Health Policy will report to the Deputy Director of Behavioral Health Policy and will drive policy and strategic work to ensure MassHealth members receive high-quality, outcome-oriented behavioral health care from a diverse and sustainable behavioral health care provider network.

Duties and Responsibilities (these duties are a general summary and not all inclusive):

• Lead policy workstreams and strategic projects across ACBH that require holistic considerations, cross functional alignment, and breaking down ambiguous problems into addressable components to drive to a strategic solution and successful policy implementation.
• Identify workstream scope, develop work plans, and lead day-to-day efforts in developing strategic policy recommendations and owning behavioral health policies from design through implementation.
• Identify potential risks to strategic priorities and policy initiatives and designs strategies to mitigate or avoid risks and escalate issues as appropriate.
• Work with ACBH leadership to set strategic vision, goals and priority initiatives that align with MassHealth’s strategic priorities, strengthen the behavioral health service continuum, and bolster member outcomes.
• Collaborate with teams across MassHealth and agencies within the Executive Office of Health and Human Services to drive forward Behavioral Health policies and priorities aimed at addressing key challenges or opportunities. 
• Engage internal and external stakeholders (e.g., members, advocates, providers) on relevant strategic initiatives and policy changes to collect feedback on proposed recommendations.
• Conduct qualitative and quantitative analysis to identify and prioritize opportunities for improvement and develop policy and strategic recommendations.
• Prepare and present formal recommendations to ACBH and MassHealth leadership.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Knowledge of behavioral health care policy and programs, including Medicaid and Managed Care programs.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Excellent MS Excel and PowerPoint skills.
• Comfort with working under high pressure and tight time constraints.
• Comfort with ambiguity and providing structure to ambiguous problems.
• Ability to take ownership of workstreams with high-level direc