Chief Operating Officer Full Time

The mission of Washington Health Benefit Exchange (Exchange) is to radically improve how Washington residents secure health insurance through innovative and practical solutions, an easy-to-use customer experience, our values of integrity, respect, equity and transparency, and by providing undeniable value to the health care community.

The Exchange is a public-private partnership that operates Washington Healthplanfinder, the eligibility and enrollment portal used by one in four Washington residents to obtain health and dental coverage. Through this platform, and with support from a Customer Support Center and statewide network of in-person navigators and brokers, individuals and families can shop, compare and enroll in private, qualified health plans (as defined in the Affordable Care Act) or enroll in Washington Apple Health, the state Medicaid program.

The Exchange embraces the following equity statement adopted by our Board of Directors:

Equity is fundamental to the mission of the Washington Health Benefit Exchange. The process of advancing toward equity and becoming anti-racist is disruptive and demands vigilance to dismantle deeply entrenched systems of privilege and oppression. While systemic racism is a root cause of many societal inequities, we must also use an intersectional approach to address all forms of bias and oppression, which interact with and often exacerbate racial inequities. To be successful, we must recognize the socioeconomic drivers of health and focus on people and places where needs are greatest. As we listen to community, we must hold ourselves accountable to responding to recommendations to remedy inequitable policies, systems, or practices within the Exchange’s area of influence. Our goal is that all Washingtonians have full and equal access to opportunities, power and resources to achieve their full potential.

Duties

SUMMARY
The Chief Operating Officer (COO) is an executive level leader who provides strategic oversight to ensure high quality customer experience operations and serves as the business owner of the HPF product.

The COO is responsible for strategic planning, implementation oversight and resource allocation of customer experience operations including eligibility and enrollment processes, appeals, correspondence, carrier relations, and the contracted Customer Support Center. As the HPF business owner, the COO also provide oversight over the product group which includes cross-functional delivery and human-centered design teams who manage and implement a quarterly road map guiding HPF maintenance and enhancements. This position reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer, is a member of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT), contributes to enterprise-wide leadership of the Exchange, represents the organization externally with state agency partners, vendors, and stakeholders and presents to the Exchange Board of Directors.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead, set direction, monitor outcomes and motivate staff of the Operations Department (currently approx. 70 FTE total, with five direct reports), while leading cross-functional initiatives, and contributing to enterprise-wide strategy as a member of Exchange Executive Leadership Team.
• Manage teams who manage the contracted Customer Support Center; digital design and research; support for enrollment and carriers; technology operations; training and business process improvement; and eligibility and appeals.
• Collaborate with a broad range of external stakeholders including vendors, state agency partners (DSHS, HCA, WaTech), federal agencies, carriers, and consumer advocates.
• Provide leadership and oversight in the development of short and long-term strategic operational objectives and evaluate program success through operational metrics.
• Provide executive oversight of the Customer Support Center, a contracted service that provides phone and chat support for Washington Healthplanfinder customers.
• Help set strategic priorities for projects and initiatives, in alignment with the Exchange Biennial plan.
• Provide oversight to Request for Change (RFC) processes.
• Provide oversight and guidance on the plan management process.
• Ensure operational processes and procedures maintain compliance with federal and state regulations.
• Develop and manage the Department’s multi-million-dollar budget, monitors vendor compliance with performance metrics and outcomes for large and complex contracts.
• Present to the Exchange Board and provides reports as requested; lead the operations sub-committee of the Exchange Board.

Qualifications

Required:

• Ten years of progressively responsible, senior management-level experience in the public and/or private sector, in health care, social service, customer service, technology, or a closely related field, including five years of supervising professional level staff.
• Five years or more years of experience leading programs in a complex environment and managing at least 25+ staff and a $10M+ budget
• Mission driven, proven commitment to ensuring high quality, human-centered service for customers, and motivating individuals and groups to action.
• Familiarity with Agile and Lean practices to enhance efficiency and innovation.
• Demonstrated experience in problem-solving, making recommendations for key business decisions, and guiding or directing stakeholders or business partners to successfully perform their duties.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex business improvement initiatives, through system implementations or enhancements.
• Exceptional interpersonal, problem-solving and ability to adapt to change.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, regarding complex or sensitive information or issues.
• Ability to manage multiple, diverse, complex projects, balance multiple priorities and provide strong technical insight.
• Demonstrated analytical capabilities, including the implementation of metrics.

Desired:

• Extensive product experience: Proven track record in product management and development, with a deep understanding of market trends and customer needs.
• System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Expertise: In-depth knowledge of SDLC phases, including planning, analysis, design, implementation, testing, deployment and maintenance.
• Proficiency in human-centered design principles to create products that meet user needs, improves user experience and takes an approach to problem solving from an end-to-end user-centered perspective
• Experience in the health care, health insurance or social service sector, familiarity with health policy, and the Affordable Care Act.
• Understanding of federal and state government authorizing environments.
• Master’s degree in related field.

Supplemental Information

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
This position will be open until we find a suitable number of candidates to review.
If interested, please submit an application with a cover letter as soon as possible.

Note: A cover letter is a required component for this recruitment!

SALARY INFORMATION
Full Salary Range: $148,320.00 to $222,481.00 annually, with midpoint at $185,401.00.

Hiring Range: $170,569.00 and $185,401.00 annually. This is an estimate of where a qualified candidate can expect to receive an offer.

The actual salary offer will consider candidate experience, skills, qualifications, internal equity, and the market. Our compensation policy reserves the salary range above the midpoint for employees who are meeting and exceeding expectations and for growth and development, up to the maximum.

BENEFITS
Take a peek at our benefits package (Download PDF reader).

WORKING CONDITIONS
Core business hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. There are times where irregular hours will be required. The duty station is our Olympia, Washington headquarters. The nature of this role relies heavily on remote and in-person collaboration. While a hybrid remote and on-site schedule may be considered, the position will require flexibility to allow for in-office availability for a minimum of two days per week and as business needs dictate. Travel requirements will be limited, however there may be occasions where an employee is required to travel and work irregular hours to attend meetings or trainings. Duties of this position require the use of standard office furniture and equipment, including setup for remote work. The employee is responsible for providing and maintaining a safe, ergonomic, and secure workspace at their remote location.

The working conditions and physical demands are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS
A criminal background screen will be conducted for candidates under final consideration, and if hired, every five years of employment where highly sensitive data is processed or maintained by the position. The result of this background screen must meet the Exchange’s eligibility standards.

OTHER INFORMATION
Please note that the composition of the Operations department is likely to be refreshed to improve cross functional alignment. The individual hired for this position will be consulted and will help to inform structural changes to maximize effectiveness.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and levels of work being performed. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties and skills of personnel so classified.

This is not an employment agreement or contract. Management has the exclusive right to alter this job description at any time without notice.

The Washington Health Benefit Exchange is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.

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