Director of Carrier Relations

About Spark Advisors

We’re Spark, a mission-driven company helping independent Medicare brokers build the insurance business of their dreams. The vast majority of beneficiaries select benefits with the help of an independent broker, but technology and support for brokers is woefully antiquated. We provide workflows and services to help brokers achieve transformative growth.

In just five years, we’ve partnered with over 6,000 brokers and enrolled over 140,000 beneficiaries, making us the fastest-growing Medicare brokerage in the country. Brokers love us: during this period of intense growth, we’ve maintained an NPS of 91 and a client retention rate of 93%, and we’ve helped brokers grow on average >100% since partnering with us.

It’s an exciting time to be at Spark. Our diverse, remote-first team comes from leading technology, healthcare, and insurance companies, and has grown from 70 to 90 in the last year. Most recently, we’ve raised a Series B from leading investors who share our ambition.

Join us: we’re always on the lookout for sharp, talented, empathetic teammates.

Summary

We’re looking for a Director of Carrier Relations to take Spark to the next level by driving strategy and execution across national and local Medicare carriers. 

Working closely with the EVP of Growth, you will own revenue generation across our existing Medicare carrier partners. You will be responsible for ongoing financial negotiations with each Medicare carrier to ensure Spark is maximizing revenue for our own business along with all of our distribution partners. You will leverage your industry knowledge and relationships, cross-functional working style, financial modeling expertise, and strong negotiation skills to consistently demonstrate the Spark value proposition to carriers and secure the highest revenue-per-application each enrollment period. 

Furthermore, you will be responsible for adding new carriers to Spark’s portfolio as part of our revenue expansion strategy. Collaborating with Spark’s Sales and Account Management teams, you will negotiate direct, top-of-the-hierarchy contracts with Medicare carriers that we’re not currently contracted with. 

The ideal candidate is a true entrepreneur with exceptional sales and business development skills. You know how to work in an unstructured environment and thrive in high pressure situations. You have deep carrier relationships, a bias towards action, and a willingness to roll up your sleeves. You know what it takes to close a deal and you’re euphoric about being a key pillar of our go-to-market team. 

What you’ll do:

• Drive financial negotiations with all existing carriers 
• Negotiate with each carrier annually to secure / maintain the highest amount of override commission for Spark and its distribution partners 
• Negotiate with each carrier leading up to each enrollment period to secure / maintain the highest amount of marketing co-op for Spark and its distribution partners 
• Drive the new-to-Spark carrier sales strategy
• Research, prioritize, and outreach new carriers that have been identified by leadership as having strategic influence to Spark and its distribution partners
• Negotiate with each carrier to secure direct, top-of-the-hierarchy contracts and find alternate contracting pathways if needed 
• Drive incremental Medicare revenue across Spark’s distribution
• Collaborate with Spark’s Sales, Account Management, and Training teams by serving as a Medicare product expert 

What we’re looking for:

• +5-10 years of experience negotiating Medicare FMO contracts on the carrier or FMO side 
• Deep relationships with Medicare carriers (non-Medicare carriers are a plus!)
• Strong understanding of FMO economics and financial modeling skills 
• Creativity to negotiate and tenacity to close deals is a must
• Excellent prospecting, product demonstration, and general business development skills 
• Terrific communication and team collaboration skills 
• Comfort with ambiguity; ability to be flexible in a rapidly changing environment
• Experience working within sales engagement software and CRM
• Ability to travel 25-33% of the time 

Compensation

Our salary ranges are based on paying competitively for our company’s size and industry, and are one part of the total compensation package that also includes equity, benefits, and other opportunities at Spark. In accordance with New York City, Colorado, California, and other applicable laws, Spark is required to provide a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role. Individual pay decisions are ultimately based on a number of factors, including qualifications for the role, experience level, skillset, geography, and balancing i