Sr. Director, Public Programs & Stakeholder Engagement

Your Role

The Blue Shield Promise Medi-Cal Growth team is responsible for the development and execution of the business strategy to drive market expansion and sustainable growth. The Senior Director of Public Programs and Stakeholder Engagement will report to the Vice President of Medi-Cal Growth. In this role you will be the lead strategist for Medi-Cal stakeholder engagement. You will be responsible for shaping and advancing Blue Shield Promise’s external relations strategy, cultivating high-impact relationships across health care, government and public sectors and serving as the organization’s senior authority on community affairs.

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:

• Build strong relationships with critical decision makers, influencers, and supporters to pursue new business opportunities that enable Blue Shield Promise to grow market share in existing and new markets. Collaborate on proposals and projects that enable Blue Shield Promise market share expansion, often acting as the primary liaison with prospective clients
• Hold executive accountability for multi-stakeholder Medi-Cal collaboratives that coordinate how managed care plans, county agencies, providers and community partners work together to deliver care. Collaboratives include Healthy San Diego, Live Well San Diego, LA Access to Health Coverage Coalition, and the Los Angeles Managed Care Plan-Local Health Jurisdiction Collaborative
• Oversee and ensure compliance with Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) requirements for memorandums of understanding (MOU) and memorandums of agreement (MOA) with local government agencies and health departments, supporting the coordinated delivery of medically necessary care for Medi-Cal members. This includes, but is not limited to public health services, behavioral health services, child welfare services, Regional Center services, school-based services administered by local education agencies, and home and community-based services
• Strengthen policy influence, expand cross-sector collaboration, support membership growth, identify business opportunities and advance organizational priorities by developing and leading a comprehensive external relations strategy in consultation with corporate government relations, to engage elected officials, public agencies, trade associations, community organizations, and other key stakeholders
• Direct the strategy, governance and day-to-day operations to fulfill the DHCS requirements for Community Advisory Committees (CAC) and Provider Advisory Councils (PAC) and position Blue Shield Promise as a statewide benchmark for advisory committee excellence. This role will ensure meaningful member, provider and stakeholder participation in organizational decision-making that inform policies and programs to advance health equity, quality, cultural and linguistic services, member engagement, and provider partnerships
• Lead the strategic management of Blue Shield Promise’s sponsorships and community investments, including the development of the DHCS required multi-year community reinvestment plan, to enhance community impact, deepen partnerships, and elevate Blue Shield Promise’s brand visibility. Oversee the outreach and events teams to build repeatable frameworks for event execution, partnerships, and local engagement activation to ensure a unified, scalable presence across all markets
• Provide executive leadership in defining the strategic direction for organizational reputation to advance growth and cultivate new business opportunities. This includes: 1) guiding cross functional teams in marketing, brand, corporate communications, and business development to ensure aligned messaging across all channels and stakeholders; 2) shaping the development of a comprehensive ethnic communications strategy and representing the organization as one of its principal spokespersons; and 3) ensuring all acquisition marketing activities and spend match with Blue Shield Promise’s immediate and long-term growth strategies
• Lead the development of high-impact stakeholder partnerships and community-based initiatives that differentiate Blue Shield Promise that focus on health equity, community-clinical linkages, health access, and addressing social drivers of health
• Serve as a principal representative at local, state, and national events to bring awareness and actively promote Blue Shield Promise’s programs, services and market differentiators. Demonstrate exceptional skills in communication, leadership, client engagement, and strategic thinking
• Provide executive-level guidance on community and local healthcare trends, opportunities and risks that inform broader growth and engagement strategies

Your Knowledge and Experience

• Requires a college degree or equivalent experience
• Requires at least 12 years of prior experience in public affairs, external relations, or related field
• Requires at least 6 years of people management experience
• Requires in-depth knowledge of the Medi-Cal market and be recognized as a leader/influencer among external stakeholders at the local and state level
• Requires the ability to build consensus, work in a team environment, and coordinate across multiple groups within a large organization
• Requires the ability to process complex, technical, abstract verbal and written information for purposes of establishing strategy, direction and action plans
• Bilingual English/Spanish preferred

**ABOUT THE TEAM

About Blue Shield of California**

As of January 2025, Blue Shield of California became a subsidiary of Ascendiun. Ascendiun is a nonprofit corporate entity that is the parent to a family of organizations including Blue Shield of California and its subsidiary, Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan; Altais, a clinical services company; and Stellarus, a company designed to scale healthcare solutions. Together, these organizations are referred to as the Ascendiun Family of Companies.

At Blue Shield of California, our mission is to create a healthcare system worthy of our family and friends and sustainably affordable. We are transforming health care in a way that genuinely serves our nonprofit mission by lowering costs, improving quality, and enhancing the member and physician experience.

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.

Blue Shield is a U.S. News Best Company to work for, a Deloitte U.S. Best Managed Company and a Top 100 Inspiring Workplace. We were recognized by Fair360 as a Top Regional Company, and one of the 50 most community-minded companies in the United States by Points of Light. Here at Blue Shield, we strive to make a positive change across our industry and communities – join us!

Our Values:

• Honest. We hold ourselves to the highest ethical and integrity standards. We build trust by doing what we say we're going to do and by acknowledging and correcting where we fall short.
• Human. We strive to listen and communicate effectively, showing empathy by understanding others' perspectives.
• Courageous. We stand up for what we believe in and are committed to the hard work necessary to achieve our ambitious goals.

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.