Senior Medicaid Policy & Strategy Leader

Aurrera Health Group; United States; Hybrid; USD 155,000 - 185,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, vision, dental insurance

401(k) retirement plan

Home office stipend

Generous leave

Job summary

Aurrera Health Group is a fully remote national policy and communications firm. We seek a Managing Principal to lead Medicaid and health policy work, manage major client relationships, and drive growth.

You will guide senior teams, shape strategy, and help expand services across CMS, state agencies, and partners with a focus on impact and value. The role emphasizes executive leadership, cross-functional collaboration, and fostering talent while maintaining client satisfaction and responsible

Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive health policy experience.
• Experience advising senior clients and leading major policy initiatives.
• Ability to lead large portfolios and cross-functional teams.
• Strong business-development and client relationship track record.
• Excellent written, verbal, presentation, and facilitation skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead complex Medicaid and health policy work across engagements.
• Own senior client relationships and portfolio leadership.
• Grow the business through renewals, new work, and proposals.
• Lead strategic communications connected to policy and implementation.
• Develop other leaders and coach senior staff.
• Contribute to firm-wide decisions and cross-team collaboration.

Skills

Leadership

Client relations

Business development

Policy expertise

Strategic thinking

Communication

Team development

Decision making

Job description

Fully Remote • Medicaid, Policy and Programs

Job Type

Full-time

Description

Who We Are

Aurrera Health is a mission-driven national health policy consulting firm focused on improving health coverage and the quality of care. We help clients translate complex policy ideas into practical strategies, programs, communications, and implementation approaches.

Our work includes Medicaid policy, analysis, and operations; stakeholder engagement; program implementation and assessment; strategic advisory services; technical assistance; and communications that help clients successfully navigate complex policy and program changes.

What You’ll Do

Lead Complex Medicaid and Health Policy Work

You will provide senior strategic direction across major Medicaid policy, implementation, technical assistance, and strategic communications engagements. You will serve as a trusted subject matter advisor to sophisticated clients and help translate changing federal and state policy into practical strategies and solutions.

Our current need includes substantial work related to Medicaid eligibility and enrollment, , state Medicaid work, and strategic communications. The specific portfolio will evolve as client and organizational needs change.

Own Senior Client and Portfolio Leadership

You will:

• Lead major client relationships and complex portfolios.
• Work directly with senior government officials, clients, funders, partners, and project leaders.
• Anticipate risks and opportunities and make sound decisions when information is incomplete.
• Ensure high-quality client deliverables and strategically valuable work.
• Oversee portfolio scope, staffing, budgets, quality, and priorities.
• Create clear roles and accountability so senior team members can lead effectively.

Grow and Sustain the Business

Business development is a core part of this role.

You will:

• Protect and deepen existing client relationships.
• Identify renewals, follow-on work, and opportunities to expand successful engagements.
• Develop and pursue new work based on emerging policy needs.
• Shape proposals, partnerships, and positioning strategies.
• Build relationships with complementary organizations and senior stakeholders.
• Help identify areas where Aurrera Health can credibly expand its expertise and market presence.
• Evaluate opportunities thoughtfully based on mission, expertise, client need, capacity, financial sustainability, and risk.

Lead Strategic Communications

Strategic communications is an important part of the current portfolio.

You will help clients translate complex policy and implementation work into communications strategies that reach the right audiences at the right time. This may include audience analysis, messaging, stakeholder engagement, education and outreach strategies, rollout planning, and collaboration with communications professionals and subject matter experts.

Develop Other Leaders

At this level, success is not about personally doing all of the firm’s hardest work.

You will manage and coach Directors and potentially other senior staff, delegate meaningful authority, establish clear performance expectations, and help develop the next generation of client leaders, managers, and subject matter experts.

We are looking for a leader who can provide candid and constructive feedback, address difficult issues directly, create psychological safety and accountability, and build teams that can succeed without unnecessary dependence on the Managing Principal.

Contribute Beyond Your Initial Portfolio

Managing Principals are senior organizational leaders.

You will participate in broader decisions about clients, staffing, growth, risk, and organizational priorities and will work across teams and functions to advance Aurrera Health’s goals.

The portfolio described in this posting represents our current business need, not necessarily the permanent boundary of the role. Over time, you may lead different clients, subject matter areas, teams, or strategic priorities. We are looking for someone who sees that flexibility as part of senior leadership and who can continue adding value as the firm evolves.

What We’re Looking For

Successful candidates will demonstrate:

• At least 15 years of progressively responsible health policy experience.
• Extensive and recent experience in at least one of the following:
• Experience working on Medicaid policy and program implementation within CMS, at a state Medicaid agency leadership level, or as a senior-level consultant at a firm or association
• Deep and current Medicaid policy, program, operations, and implementation expertise.
• Experience advising senior clients and leading major policy initiatives, consulting engagements, or executive-level projects.
• Experience managing multiple significant clients, projects, contracts, or workstreams.
• A track record of building and maintaining senior client relationships.
• Meaningful business development experience, including expanding client relationships, developing new work, supporting successful proposals, and/or contributing to revenue growth.
• Experience managing and developing senior staff through delegation, coaching, feedback, and accountability.
• Strong independent judgment and the ability to make consequential decisions in ambiguous or high-stakes situations.
• Excellent written, verbal, presentation, and facilitation skills.
• A collaborative and inclusive leadership approach that supports psychological safety, healthy disagreement, accountability, and professional growth.
• The flexibility to adapt responsibilities and priorities as client and organizational needs evolve.
• Established relationships across CMS, state Medicaid agencies, foundations, health plans, consulting firms, or other relevant organizations.

Please include the month and year as well as whether jobs were part- or full-time (and hours per week for part-time roles) for relevant positions on your resume so we can assess required experience consistently.

Preferred Qualifications

In addition to the required qualifications, we welcome candidates who bring experience and expertise that complement our Medicaid work and help Aurrera Health broaden its capabilities.

Areas of additional expertise may include:

• Developing and leading strategic communications connected to complex federal or state health policy or implementation efforts.
• Federal Medicaid eligibility and enrollment.
• CHIP.
• Rural health.
• Health information technology.
• Value-based care.
• Alternative payment and delivery system reform.
• Medicaid managed care.
• Medicaid waivers and major program implementation.

Candidates are not expected to have experience across all of these areas. Additional expertise is additive and does not replace the requirement for extensive, recent CMS, state Medicaid, or Medicaid consulting experience.

Location

Aurrera Health is a remote-first organization headquartered in Sacramento, California. This position may require occasional travel for client meetings, conferences, organizational meetings, retreats, or other business needs.Clients will include organizations from coast to coast and the Managing Principal may need to demonstrate some flexibility to accommodate meeting with clients based on their time zones, within reason.

Compensation and Benefits

Aurrera Health Group offers competitive salaries based on industry standards and experience, skills, and responsibility. We maintain equitable pay bands for employees based on these factors. The starting pay range for this position is $$170,000 – $190,000 per year. This position is also eligible for both an annual performance bonus and an annual profit-sharing bonus.

Additionally, Aurrera Health Group offers a comprehensive benefit package, including:

• Generous leave program, including company holidays, vacation, sick, parental, and volunteer leave.
• Employer-matching 401(k) retirement plan.
• Health, vision, dental insurance with generous employer premium contributions, and Flexible Spending Account plans.
• Short and long-term disability insurance plans.
• Home office and cell phone stipends, charitable donation matching, and other benefits

Ready to Apply

A complete application must include:

• A current resume that includes the month and year for each relevant position as well as whether jobs were part- or full-time (and hours per week for part-time roles). We use this information to verify the required 15 years of health policy experience consistently across applicants.
• A cover letter written by you that:
• Explains why you are interested in the Managing Principal role;
• Describes how your experience prepares you to succeed in the position; and
• Explains why you are specifically interested in working at Aurrera Health.

Please follow the application instructions carefully. Applications that are incomplete or do not follow the stated submission requirements will be rejected.

A Note About AI and Your Application

Aurrera Health reviews application materials directly and carefully. Communication is an important part of our work, and your application is one way we assess a candidate’s ability to communicate clearly, thoughtfully, and effectively in writing.

For that reason, we ask applicants not to use generative AI to write or develop any component of their application. We want to hear directly from you, in your own words, about your experience, your interest in this role, and why you want to work at Aurrera Health.

Candidates should not submit confidential, proprietary, or client-sensitive information as part of their application.