Director of Payer Partnerships
$125,000–$170,000 year
On-siteBakersfield, California, United States
Job Summary
Build and maintain front-line relationships with Network Managers, provider relations reps, UM managers, case leaders, and delegated IPA/MSOs across California commercial health plans. Execute consultative sales and account development by prospecting relevant departments, delivering persuasive value messaging, and tracking referral opportunities in CRM. Position CNS as a solution for high-cost stroke and traumatic brain injury cases, explaining how we differ from SNFs and standard post-acute options. Identify and resolve barriers related to referral routing, authorizations, network status, and claims friction by coordinating the right CNS owner for each issue. Create direct working connections between payer contacts and CNS Admissions, Contracting, Clinical Leadership, and Analytics. Capture payer feedback, competitor activity, and referral trends to report actionable patterns to the Sr. Director of Payer Partnerships and Chief Strategy Officer. Increase qualified commercial referrals for stroke, TBI, and complex neuro cases from targeted payer accounts.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's Degree
- Master's degree in a related field of study
- Minimum of five years in payer relations, provider relations, network management, managed care, business development, admissions, or healthcare account management
- Commercial health plan experience or direct payer-facing provider experience
- Strong knowledge of authorizations, referrals, network status, provider directories, claims friction, and payer issue resolution
- Demonstrated sales/account development discipline, including follow-up cadence, contact mapping, opportunity tracking, and persuasive value messaging
- Consultative selling skills related to discovery, value framing, stakeholder mapping, objection handling, and disciplined follow-up
- Ability to translate clinical value into payer language of avoiding long-term care costs, functional recovery, complex case management, discharge alternatives, and member/family impact
- Must be available for travel
- Must be available for evening and weekend work
- Must be based in California
Desired Qualifications
- Master's degree in a related field of study
- Experience inside a health plan, IPA/MSO, or delegated medical group
- Experience working with both provider and payer organizations
- California commercial payer relationships, especially Network Management or Provider Relations
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