Manager, Managed Care

Unlockhealth; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive Salary

Health, Dental and Vision

Life, Disability Insurance

401(K) with company match

Flexible Paid Time Off

Parental Leave

Hybrid and Remote work schedules

Employee Assistance Program

Employee Referral Program

Job summary

Unlock Health is seeking a seasoned healthcare consulting professional to lead managed care engagements, shaping contract negotiations, payer mix analysis, and network strategy. You will guide cross-functional teams, translate complex data into actionable plans, and drive executive-facing communications.

The role emphasizes relationship management, strategic growth, and responsibility across analytics, communications, and client delivery, with hybrid and remote work options available.

Qualifications

• Equivalent of 5 to 7 years of experience in healthcare consulting or managed care is a must, ideally within a consulting environment or health system.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic insight and recommendations on contract negotiation positioning, payor mix, rate benchmarking, operational efficiencies, and network strategy.

Skills

Healthcare consulting

Managed care

Client relationship management

Excel analysis

Presentation storytelling

Cross-functional leadership

Project management

Strategic thinking

Market insights

Communication development

Education

Bachelor's degree

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Who You Are

You’re a strategic thinker, trusted advisor, and collaborative partner who sees opportunity in complexity. You know how to turn challenging managed care issues into smart, actionable strategies that create meaningful results for hospitals, health systems, and physician groups.

Whether you're uncovering insights in financial data, shaping a payor negotiation strategy, advising senior leaders, or crafting communications that build alignment and momentum, you understand that the strongest managed care strategies go beyond the numbers- combining insight, leverage, relationships, and compelling communication to drive meaningful results.

In this role, you'll lead high-impact client engagements and help healthcare organizations navigate their most complex managed care challenges. Working at the intersection of strategy, analytics, relationships, and communication, you'll lead complex initiatives, influence critical decisions, and see the tangible impact of your work.

What You'll Do:

• Managed Care Consulting
  • Provide strategic insight and recommendations on contract negotiation positioning, payor mix, rate benchmarking, operational efficiencies, and network strategy.
  • Interpret client claims data, revenue cycle metrics, price transparency data, and market trends to inform managed care strategies.
  • Translate complex reimbursement and contracting concepts into clear, actionable strategies and communications for audiences (patients, employers, brokers, and providers).
  • Identify and assess risks, scenarios, and potential impacts of contract terminations or out-of-network situations for clients.
  • Support the creation and implementation of organizational change management initiatives, including governance structures, executive decision-making, risk mitigation, and cross-functional coordination.
• Project Management
  • Serve as manager for managed care clients, overseeing strategic consulting engagements and ensuring high-quality deliverables across all workstreams.
  • Develop and manage project timelines, ensuring milestones and deliverables are met while maintaining alignment across client and internal teams.
  • Build and maintain strong client relationships by understanding their business objectives, identifying opportunities for strategic growth, and providing proactive counsel.
  • Manage internal cross-functional teams (analytics, creative, media, and communications) to ensure alignment and on-time delivery.
  • Oversee vendor and partner relationships (research firms, data vendors, call centers) to support client programs.
  • Lead client presentations and facilitate executive-level discussions.
• Communications Development:
  • Lead the creation of strategic communication plans supporting managed care negotiations, issues management, and stakeholder engagement.
  • Oversee message development, creative concepting, and asset production across paid, earned, owned, and internal channels.
  • Review and refine all materials for clarity, tone, and alignment with client and regulatory standards.
  • Collaborate closely with internal creative and media teams to ensure communications are data-informed and audience-targeted.
• Team Development and Collaboration:
  • Develop junior team members, providing feedback and professional growth opportunities.
  • Collaborate across Unlock's Managed Care, Strategic Communications, and Analytics teams to develop best practices and enhance integrated client delivery.
  • Contribute to internal training, client workflows and processes and methodologies.
• Market Insights:
  • Stay ahead of healthcare industry trends, including reimbursement policy, payor performance, and regulatory changes impacting provider-payor dynamics.
  • Translate insights into actionable strategies for clients and contribute to Unlock Health's managed care knowledge base.

Ideal Qualifications:

• Equivalent of 5 to 7 years of experience in healthcare consulting or managed care is a must, ideally within a consulting environment or health system.
• Proven success leading managed care or reimbursement strategy projects — such as benchmarking, negotiation preparation, or contract modeling.
• Strong understanding of managed care models, provider reimbursement methodologies, and healthcare market dynamics.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including experience with data analysis, and translating findings into actionable insights.
• Excellent writing, presentation, and storytelling skills — capable of translating financial and strategic insights into compelling communications.
• Demonstrated experience managing multiple clients, projects, and cross-functional teams simultaneously.
• Experience with client-facing facilitation including running meetings, presenting analyses, and conducting stakeholder interviews.
• Proficiency in analyzing data and metrics to inform strategy and measure impact.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with a drive to innovate and grow the managed care consulting practice.
• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree in health administration, business, or public policy preferred.

Perks and Benefits

• Competitive Salary
• Health, Dental and Vision benefit packages to fit all types of lifestyles
• Life, Short- and Long-Term Disability Insurance paid 100% by the company
• FSA / HSA Options
• 401(K) with a generous company match program
• Flexible Paid Time Off (aka- unlimited)
• Paid Parental Leave
• Hybrid and Remote work schedules available
• Employee Assistance Program (unlimited free telephonic counseling for a variety of issues such as mental health, financial support, and legal advice)
• Employee Referral Program

About Us:

Unlock Health is a full-service marketing communication agency, grounded in technology, built for healthcare - and integrated with a managed care consultancy with deep revenue strategy expertise. We brought together leading healthcare firms to solve a core challenge: aligning brand, marketing, technology, and revenue strategy so healthcare organizations can attract and retain patients, grow brand equity, and protect their margins. We help our clients do everything from patient acquisition and brand building, to simplifying complex martech ecosystems, and creating digital experiences. Our work is rooted in clarity, authenticity, and a deep understanding of what moves healthcare forward.

Equality Opportunity Employer Statement
Unlock, and its affiliate companies, is an equal opportunity employer dedicated to building an inclusive and diverse workforce. We provide equal employment opportunities without regard to an applicant's race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.