CMO CHIEF OF STAFF

Division of Tenncare

Nashville, TN

Closing Date: 11/9/2022

The Division of TennCare is dedicated to providing our employees with a hybrid work environment. All TennCare positions have a combination of work from home and work in the office, which varies by position, department, and business need. You may review the specific expectations with our hiring team.

This position requires a background check. Therefore, you may be required to provide information about your criminal history in order to be considered for this position.

Who we are and what we do:

TennCare is Tennessee's managed care Medicaid program that provides health insurance coverage to certain groups of low-income individuals such as pregnant women, children, caretaker relatives of young children, older adults, and adults with physical disabilities. TennCare provides coverage for approximately 1.6 million Tennesseans and operates with an annual budget of approximately $12 billion. It is run by the Division of TennCare with oversight and some funding from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

TennCare's mission is to improve the lives of Tennesseans by providing high-quality cost-effective care. To fulfill that purpose, we equip each employee for active participation and empower teams to communicate and work collaboratively to improve organizational processes in order to make a difference in the lives our members. Because of the positive impact TennCare has on the lives of the most vulnerable Tennesseans, TennCare employees report that their work provides them with a sense of meaning, purpose, and accomplishment. TennCare leadership understands that employees are our most valuable resource and ensures professional and leadership development are a priority for the agency.

Job Overview:

TennCare is committed to improving the quality of health care for its members while maximizing the value of every dollar spent. Since its founding, TennCare has been a leader in innovation through clinical care models and delivery system payment reform. TennCare's Medical Office is integral to this mission by leading clinical quality and operations and strategic clinical innovation for the agency. Operationally, the medical office is comprised of 7 teams and 160 employees. The medical office is responsible for all medical, dental, behavioral health, and pharmacy policy and operations as well as quality improvement and population health programming. It also administers all member medical appeals and oversees provider registration and engagement.

Finally, through partnerships with providers, the managed care organizations, and other stakeholders, the medical office is responsible for designing and implementing strategic clinical initiatives to improve care and health outcomes for its members. The Chief of Staff/Director of Strategy will work directly to support the Chief Medical Officer and the Medical Office leadership. The role will have high visibility across the Medical Office and TennCare executive leadership to partner and lead priority initiatives to fulfill TennCare's ultimate vision of a healthier Tennessee.

Key Responsibilities

• Coordinate & Lead Strategic TennCare Clinical Initiatives & Policy Development
• Focus on implementation, operations, and continuous improvement of key clinical programs. Ongoing programs include strategies to address the opioid epidemic, social risk factors, and improving health and educational outcomes.
• Partner closely with the managed care organizations (MCOs) to support and implement key population health and quality improvement initiatives.
• Act as a liaison between members of the CMO leadership team to support and implement key clinical initiatives and prevent redundancies.
• Support the Chief Medical Officer and Associate Medical Director in design and implementation of Payment Reform programs including Episodes of Care, Primary Care Transformation, and Health Link.
• Support annual budgeting process to identify long-term strategic initiatives for the CMO and TennCare executive leadership.
• Represent TennCare and CMO to key stakeholders including providers, legislators and elected officials, clinical organizations, and advocacy groups
• Support Data Analytics, Conduct Policy Research, and Independently Lead High-Priority CMO Projects to Develop and Implement Innovative Solutions for TennCare Members.
• Lead policy and data analysis to inform key strategic decisions for high impact clinical areas affecting TennCare members.
• Develop supporting materials to communicate key findings including PowerPoint presentations, policy memos, and data visualization.
• Lead project management of critical and high priority projects for CMO and leadership team.
• Develop solutions, ensure timely updates, and manage communications across stakeholders to solve operational issues.
• Perform literature reviews to summarize most relevant clinical evidence to inform decision making and policy discussion.
• Team Development and Staff Support Across All Medical Office Teams and Personnel
• Prepare for and facilitate key CMO and leadership team meetings. Responsibilities include setting meeting agenda, ensuring key meeting participants are informed and prepared, and capturing critical tasks.
• Work closely with Chief Medical Officer to support team development and professional development. Activities include annual team strategic planning retreats, communication training, team-based learning, and leadership development.
• Represent Medical Office at stakeholder meetings to capture and convey important information to medical leadership team. Examples include interagency collaborations with the Departments of Health and Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelors level degree and 3+ years of experience in management consulting or similar role; OR, Masters level degree (MBA, MPH, MPP) or higher
• Advanced Proficiency in Microsoft Office including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
• Highly developed interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills
• Strong organizational, time management, analytical skills

Desirable qualifications:

• Experience in management consulting or healthcare policy strongly desired
• Experience with data analytics or health services outcomes research
• Experience in project management

Pursuant to the State of Tennessee’s Workplace Discrimination and Harassment policy, the State is firmly committed to the principle of fair and equal employment opportunities for its citizens and strives to protect the rights and opportunities of all people to seek, obtain, and hold employment without being subjected to illegal discrimination and harassment in the workplace. It is the State’s policy to provide an environment free of discrimination and harassment of an individual because of that person’s race, color, national origin, age (40 and over), sex, pregnancy, religion, creed, disability, veteran’s status or any other category protected by state and/or federal civil rights laws.