Key DSO Dental Account Manager

Guardian Life; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 69,000 - 113,000; Full time

Job summary

Guardian Life seeks a Key DSO Dental Account Manager to lead recruitment, onboarding, retention, and management of national, regional, and mid-sized DSOs. You will be the primary relationship owner for DSOs, coordinating with internal teams to deliver compliant, high‑quality service and a strong dental network.

You will negotiate contracts, present Guardian's value proposition to executives, and drive partner satisfaction while balancing growth and financial objectives.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in dental network recruitment, provider relations, provider contracting, or direct sales.
• Experience in managed care with dental providers.
• Strong negotiation and relationship management skills.

Responsibilities

• Recruit and develop relationships with national, regional, and mid-sized DSOs to strengthen Guardian's dental network.
• Negotiate provider contracts, reimbursement arrangements, and network participation agreements.
• Serve as the primary contact for assigned DSOs and ensure excellent service and issue resolution.
• Present Guardian's value proposition to executive leadership within DSO organizations.
• Collaborate with internal teams to deliver a seamless DSO experience.
• Lead onboarding and relationship management to improve partner satisfaction and retention.
• Monitor network performance, compliance, and utilization trends to identify opportunities.
• Support credentialing, audits, and strategic network projects.
• Identify market trends and opportunities to support network growth.
• Maintain records and CRM documentation.

Skills

Dental network recruitment

Provider relations

Provider contracting

Executive presentation

Sales & relationship management

Negotiation

CRM experience

Travel flexibility

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent related business experience

Tools

Salesforce CRM

Job description

Do you enjoy building strategic partnerships and influencing executive-level decision makers? Are you passionate about expanding provider networks and creating meaningful relationships that drive growth and improve member access to care? Guardian is seeking a Key DSO Dental Account Manager to lead the recruitment, onboarding, retention, and management of national, regional, and mid‑sized Dental Support Organizations (DSOs). In this role, you will serve as the primary relationship owner for assigned DSOs while collaborating internally to deliver exceptional service, maintain compliance, and strengthen Guardian’s dental network. You are an experienced dental network recruiter or provider relations professional with a strong sales and relationship management background. Skilled at building partnerships with large group dental practices and Dental Support Organizations. An effective communicator who is comfortable presenting to executives and influencing key decision makers. A strong negotiator who can successfully manage provider contracting discussions and reimbursement conversations. Customer‑focused and proactive, with the ability to resolve issues quickly while maintaining strong provider relationships. Knowledgeable about dental benefit products, including PPO and DHMO plans. Organized and self‑directed, capable of handling multiple priorities in a fast‑paced environment.

Responsibilities

• You will Recruit and develop relationships with national, regional, and mid‑sized Dental Support Organizations to strengthen Guardian's dental network.
• Negotiate provider contracts, reimbursement arrangements, and network participation agreements while balancing growth and financial objectives.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for assigned DSOs, ensuring excellent service, issue resolution, and ongoing partnership development.
• Present Guardian's value proposition, products, and network opportunities to executive leadership within DSO organizations.
• Partner with internal teams including provider relations, credentialing, compliance, operations, and network management to deliver a seamless DSO experience.
• Lead onboarding and relationship management initiatives that improve partner satisfaction, retention, and operational efficiency.
• Monitor provider network performance, directory accuracy, compliance requirements, and utilization trends to identify opportunities and mitigate risks.
• Support re‑credentialing, delegated credentialing, quality review activities, audits, and other strategic network projects.
• Identify market trends, competitive challenges, and emerging DSO opportunities, providing recommendations to leadership to support network growth.
• Maintain accurate records, reporting, and account documentation within CRM systems and internal databases.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in dental network recruitment, provider relations, provider contracting, or direct sales.
• 5+ years of experience within a managed care environment working with dental providers.
• Experience negotiating provider contracts and reimbursement arrangements.
• Experience managing relationships with large dental groups, DSOs, or provider organizations.
• Strong presentation, communication, negotiation, and relationship management skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite including Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.
• Ability to travel occasionally based on business needs.
• An experienced dental network recruiter or provider relations professional with a strong sales and relationship management background.
• Skilled at building partnerships with large group dental practices and Dental Support Organizations.
• An effective communicator who is comfortable presenting to executives and influencing key decision makers.
• A strong negotiator who can successfully manage provider contracting discussions and reimbursement conversations.
• Customer‑focused and proactive, with the ability to resolve issues quickly while maintaining strong provider relationships.
• Knowledgeable about dental benefit products, including PPO and DHMO plans.
• Organized and self‑directed, capable of handling multiple priorities in a fast‑paced environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent related business experience.
• Direct DSO recruitment and account management experience.
• Salesforce CRM experience.
• Knowledge of dental network operations, credentialing, re‑credentialing, and regulatory requirements.
• Experience analyzing provider utilization trends and developing action plans.

Location

This role is remote. Occasional travel required based on business needs.

Salary Range

Salary Range: $68,970.00 - $113,310.00 The salary range reflected above is a good faith estimate of base pay for the primary location of the position. The salary for this position ultimately will be determined based on the education, experience, knowledge, and abilities of the successful candidate. In addition to salary, this role may also be eligible for annual, sales, or other incentive compensation.

Benefits

• Through skill-building, leadership development and philanthropic opportunities, we provide opportunities to build communities and grow your career, surrounded by diverse colleagues with high ethical standards.
• We are committed to offering contemporary, supportive, flexible, and inclusive benefits and resources to our colleagues.

Explore our company benefits at www.guardianlife.com/careers/corporate/benefits. Benefits apply to full‑time eligible employees. Interns are not eligible for most Company benefits.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Guardian is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to age, race, color, creed, religion, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, marital status, disability, military or veteran status, or any other classification protected by applicable law.

Accommodations

Guardian is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. Guardian also provides reasonable accommodations to qualified job applicants (and employees) to accommodate the individual's known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless doing so would create an undue hardship. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact [e-mail]. Please note: this resource is for accommodation requests only. For all other inquires related to your application and careers at Guardian, refer to the Guardian Careers site.

Visa Sponsorship

Guardian Life is not currently or in the foreseeable future sponsoring employment-based visas (e.g. such as an H-1B). In order to be a successful applicant, you must be legally authorized to work in the United States, without the need for employer sponsorship/support now or at any time in the future.

Notice Regarding Guardian’s Use of Artificial Intelligence in Recruitment

As part of Guardian’s job application process, Guardian may use artificial intelligence tools (“AI Tools”) to automate the sorting and filtering of information provided by applicants as part of its preliminary screening. This preliminary screening may be used to help identify applicant materials and resumes relative to their indication that the applicant meets the requirements for the specific job for which they are applying, as specified in the listing posted on Guardian’s jobs website (Careers at Guardian at https://www.guardianlife.com/careers). At Guardian, we do not use AI Tools to substantially assist or replace human judgment or discretionary decision making in our hiring process. All hiring decisions will be made by Guardian colleagues. Please be aware that if you apply for a specific position with Guardian, you will have the choice of opting out of Guardian’s use of AI Tools during the job application process. If you would like to request an alternative process that does not utilize AI Tools or would like to request a reasonable accommodation, within ten business days of your position application, you must email your request to [e-mail], making sure to provide your name and job requisition identification number. Guardian will retain your applicant materials and resume and all information therefrom in accordance with Guardian’s document retention policy, a copy of which you may request via [e-mail]. Additionally, at applicable times, Guardian will make public the most recent bias audit results for such AI tools, which may be found here.

Current Guardian Colleagues

Please apply through the internal Jobs Hub in Workday. Every day, Guardian helps our 29 million customers realize their dreams through a range of insurance and financial products and services. As one of the largest mutual insurance companies, we put our customers first. Behind every bright future is a GuardianTM. Learn more about Guardian at guardianlife.com.