Vice President of IT Health Plan Systems

HealthPartners is hiring a Vice President of IT Health Plan Systems - a transformative leadership opportunity to shape the future of health plan technology. This newly created executive role will unify and optimize HealthPartners' health plan technology landscape. The Vice President will lead the consolidation of applications, teams, and leadership under one strategic vision, driving innovation and operational excellence across all health plan systems.

As both a strategic architect and operational leader, the VP will:

• Oversee all health plan system initiatives.
• Maintain and evolve the health plan technology roadmap.
• Align IT capabilities with business strategy and operational goals.

This role requires close collaboration with internal technology and business stakeholders, external partners, and state and federal regulatory agencies to deliver secure, scalable, and compliant IT solutions that meet evolving business needs. This is a rare opportunity to lead a pivotal transformation and define the next chapter of health plan technology at HealthPartners.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent years of professional experience.
• Fifteen (15) years of management experience in Information Technology, with a demonstrated progression of competencies and responsibilities preferably in health care related organizations
• Ten (10) years of IT systems/operations leadership within a health plan or payer environment
• Deep understanding of health plan payer operations, value-based care models, and healthcare regulatory environments
• Proven record in leading enterprise system implementations and IT transformation initiatives
• Proven record of leading the development of complex software - preferably in the health care field.
• Strong analytical, negotiation, and communication skills
• Experience using process improvement methods to enhance efficiency and quality.
• Strong collaboration, consulting as well as written and verbal communication skills
• Demonstrated success in process improvement and business transformation.
• Experience leading multi-million-dollar system modernization projects.
• Strong ability to lead interdisciplinary teams to meet business needs.
• Ability to effectively communicate with business and technology audiences in writing and verbally.
• Exceptional understanding of system development (including Agile methods), architecture, and underlying infrastructure.
• Expertise with development methodologies, systems implementation, and operational efficiencies
• Excellent analysis and critical thinking skills, able to assess problems as part of a larger system.
• Excellent organizational skills and ability to work independently.
• Demonstrated team building and team leadership capabilities.
• Knowledge of compliance and regulatory requirements e.g., HIPAA, ICD standards, Sarbanes Oxley, SOC2 Audit requirements, etc.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's Degree in Computer Information Systems (CIS) or Management Information Systems (MIS)

Hours/Location:

• Monday - Friday; core business hours
• This position requires a regular on-site presence at HealthPartners' Bloomington, MN corporate office, with a standard expectation of four days per week.

Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership & Planning

• Collaborate with executive leadership to align systems initiatives with organizational goals, compliance standards, and emerging market trends.
• Identifies, initiates, and coordinates major strategic initiatives that grow our business, improve our stakeholder experience, and advance our cost-effectiveness.
• Responsible for strategic planning and development of health plan roadmaps and capabilities that address longer term health plan and enterprise technology needs.
• Acts as advisor to internal leadership and business partners on opportunities for healthcare industry technological direction
• Leads prioritization of Health Plan IT investments with leaders across the Health Plan
• Provides leadership and direction to strategic projects.
  • Ensures budget, process and scope are consistent with business needs.
  • Provides management leadership in the areas of personnel, budget, software development and procurement.
  • Scope of projects includes major & midsize related to enhancing business functionality and operations, technology infrastructure, data integrity, compliance, and security.

Systems Oversight & Optimization

• Oversee the lifecycle of health plan systems including eligibility, enrollment, billing, claims adjudication, provider data management, sales and underwriting systems and care management platforms.
• Ensure interoperability across platforms and seamless data exchange with external partners (e.g., providers, payors, regulators).
• Drive automation and process improvements to enhance operational efficiency and reduce administrative costs. Provides oversight and direction to software development and support processes.
• Drives adoption of current software development and management methods including Agile, DevOps, and test automation.
• Ensures continuity and availability of the Health Plan Systems through application management and support (24X7), disaster recovery planning as well as cybersecurity planning.
• Gathers, reports, and provides assessments and interpretation of health plan operations system metrics to make strategic and operational decisions.
• Ensures our health plan operations systems applications meet regulatory and customer audit criteria.

Vendor & Contract Management

• Manage relationships with technology vendors, consultants, and third-party administrators.
• Lead contract negotiations and performance evaluations for system-related services and platforms.
• Monitors, at a high level, vendor performance, escalates and mediates issues.
• Monitors vendor community and stays aware of new offerings, product & service developments, strategic direction, vision, and technologies.
• Negotiates high impact contracts.
• Facilitates vendor participation in other areas of the organization.

Compliance & Risk Management

• Ensure systems meet all regulatory requirements including HIPAA, CMS, NCQA, and state-specific mandates.
• Implement robust data governance and cybersecurity protocols to protect member information and ensure system integrity.

Team Leadership & Development

• Build and lead a high-performing team of IT and operations professionals.
• Foster a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Assure department's effective management of operational and capital budgets.
• Provides leadership and direction to management team, including mentoring/coaching, performance evaluations and personnel adjustment opportunities.
• Leads a team of 150-200 staff and contracted professionals.
• Ensure compliance with organizational, departmental, and regulatory policies, procedures, and rules.
• Responsible for operating and capital spend of $25M+ annually.

*Job description rankings/percentages are intended to reflect normal averages over an extended period of time and are subject to daily variances. Quality and efficiency standards should at no time be compromised to meet the average expectations expressed above. Job descriptions are subject to change to accommodate organization or department needs.