What are the responsibilities and job description for the Vice President, Payor Account Management position at Blue Shield of California?
The Vice President of Payor Account Management leads Stellarus’ payor portfolio end to end—driving relationships from initial client targeting and selling, through implementation, expansion, and long term strategic partnership. This executive is responsible for deepening relationships with health plans, ensuring Stellarus delivers measurable value, and achieving best in class satisfaction across all payor clients. Acting as the senior executive steward for Stellarus’ health plan partnerships, the VP ensures mutual ROI, multi threaded engagement, and a consistently exceptional client experience across health plan payors. This leader establishes a scalable account management operating rhythm, champions the voice of the customer internally, and drives renewal, growth, and long term success across Stellarus’ payor ecosystem.
Our leadership model is about developing great leaders at all levels and creating opportunities for our people to grow – personally, professionally, and financially. We are looking for leaders that are energized by creative and critical thinking, building and sustaining high-performing teams, getting results the right way, and fostering continuous learning.
Your Work
In this role, you will:
Lead Stellarus’ payor relationships across the full lifecycle—from targeting and positioning through contracting, implementation, and multi year account growth.
Serve as the primary executive point of contact for all health plan clients.
Build and maintain deep, multi threaded relationships across operational, network, quality, finance, IT, and C suite leaders within each health plan.
Ensure each payor achieves measurable ROI and clear, outcomes based value from Stellarus’ solutions.
Drive best in class client satisfaction through proactive engagement, structured governance, executive level communication, and rapid issue resolution.
Develop and oversee client health scoring, including value realization, adoption, sentiment, and risk.
Own renewal strategy, pricing, and negotiation to ensure strong retention across Stellarus’ payor portfolio.
Identify and execute expansion and cross sell opportunities within each health plan, aligned to client priorities and Stellarus’ strategic goals.
Lead commercial discussions and contract negotiations in partnership with Legal and Finance.
Provide executive oversight for payor implementations, ensuring successful, timely go lives and accelerated time to value.
Align internal teams and client stakeholders around timelines, dependencies, risks, and success measures.
Ensure implementation design meets payor requirements, including data exchange, security, and operational workflows.
Establish and maintain a rigorous operating rhythm across all payors: Executive Business Reviews (EBRs), QBRs, roadmap reviews, and performance reporting.
Develop and maintain comprehensive account plans, renewal forecasts, and multi year growth strategies for each payor.
Create standardized playbooks, templates, and tools to deliver consistent excellence across all Stellarus payor relationships.
Champion the voice of the payor across Stellarus, influencing product direction, implementation strategies, and operational priorities.
Partner deeply with Product and Engineering teams to ensure Stellarus consistently meets health plan expectations.
Drive clear communication, alignment, and accountability across all internal stakeholders supporting payor relationships.
Your Knowledge and Experience
12 years of experience with deep knowledge of healthcare and health plans, including extensive experience working with Blue plans.
8 years in an executive leadership role with strategic oversight and people leadership.
Track record of executive level relationship management, including building multi-layered partnerships across complex health plan organizations.
Strong commercial acumen with hands on experience in negotiation, pricing, renewals, expansions, and contract structuring.
Deep understanding of health plan operations: utilization management, care management, network management, quality, claims, analytics, and regulatory drivers.
Experience influencing Product and Engineering through clear articulation of client needs and market dynamics.
Exceptional executive presence, communication skills, and ability to lead high stakes conversations with health plan executives.
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required; MBA, MPH, MHA, or relevant advanced degree preferred.
ABOUT THE TEAM
About Stellarus and the Ascendiun Family of Companies
Stellarus, launched in January 2025, is designed to scale innovative healthcare solutions that support customers in creating a health care experience deserving of their family, friends, and neighbors.
Stellarus is part of a family of organizations that is overseen by a nonprofit corporate entity named Ascendiun. The Ascendiun Family of Companies also includes Blue Shield of California and its subsidiary, Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan and Altais, a clinical services company.
Stellarus’ vision is to empower its customers to create a healthcare experience that is worthy of their family, friends, and neighbors. Stellarus’ objective is to offer innovative, modern, scalable solutions that challenge the health care status quo. This very closely aligns with Blue Shield of California’s vision by using innovation to improve quality, affordability, and experience for members.
To achieve our mission, we foster an environment where all employees can thrive and contribute fully to address the needs of the various communities we serve. We are committed to creating and maintaining a supportive workplace that upholds our values and advances our goals.
Our Values:
At Stellarus, our core values of agility, trust, drive, courage and service shape our approach to developing innovative product offerings.
Our Workplace Model:
We believe in fostering a workplace environment that balances purposeful in-person collaboration with flexibility - providing clear expectations while respecting the diverse needs of our workforce. Our workplace model is designed around intentional in-person interaction, collaboration, connection, creativity and flexibility:
For most teams, this means coming into the office two days per week.
Employees living more than 50 miles from an office location, out of state employees, and employees in certain member-facing roles should work with their manager to determine in-office time based on business need.
For employees with medical conditions that may impact their ability to work in-office, we are committed to engaging in an interactive process and providing reasonable accommodations to ensure their work environment is conducive to their success and well-being.
The Company reserves the right to require more presence in the office based on business needs, and requirements are subject to change with periodic reviews.
Physical Requirements:
Office Environment - roles involving part to full time schedule in Office Environment. Based in our physical offices and work from home office/deskwork - Activity level: Sedentary, frequency most of work day.
Equal Employment Opportunity:
External hires must pass a background check/drug screen. Qualified applicants with arrest records and/or conviction records will be considered for employment in a manner consistent with Federal, State and local laws, including but not limited to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regards to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status or disability status and any other classification protected by Federal, State and local laws.