Strategic Planning and Performance, Principal - Health Plan Strategy

Blue Shield of CA; Redding (CA); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Blue Shield of California is seeking a Health Plan Strategist, Principal to lead strategy-to-execution efforts across the organization. This role provides decision support to business and executive leaders, using data-driven insights, stakeholder management, and project management to shape and implement initiatives that transform healthcare.

Reporting to the Director of Strategic Planning and Performance, the role emphasizes leadership development, cross-functional collaboration, and designing

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or GED with 4 years of relevant experience; graduate degree preferred.
• At least 10 years of prior relevant experience.
• Experience in healthcare industry environment, health plan/insurance or provider.
• Experience leading enterprise-level programs, strategic planning processes, or cross-functional initiatives in a highly matrixed organization.
• Strong strategic thinking; ability to translate insights into actionable strategies.
• Management consulting capabilities: client management, workshop facilitation, structured problem-solving, data analysis, process design, change management.
• Clear and persuasive communication, verbal and written.
• Ability to influence effectively and gain buy-in from leaders and peers.
• Excellent project management; Agile experience preferred.
• Design thinking or Agile certification preferred.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Executive stakeholder management

Data analysis

Project management

Change management

Workshop facilitation

Communication

Agile methodology

Design thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher

Graduate degree (MBA/MPH/MHA) preferred

Job description

Your Role

The Health Plan Strategist, Principal is responsible for supporting the improvement and maintenance of our integrated health plan strategy to execution process and supporting initiatives designed to provide strategic thought leadership to business leaders across the organization to address specific strategic initiatives. This role will serve as a change agent, leveraging a consistent and disciplined approach to strategy to design dynamic yet enduring strategies and implementation plans. Under the guidance of leadership, this role will use data-driven insights, executive stakeholder management, strategy design, development and implementation, and project and program management to provide decision support to business and executive leaders. The Health Plan Strategist, Principal will have a pivotal role in supporting the ongoing building and executing of organization and business-unit level strategies to strengthen Blue Shield of California's ability to transform healthcare. This role will report to the Director, Strategic Planning and Performance.

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 Knowledge and Experience

• Requires a bachelor's degree or high school diploma/GED and 4 years of additional relevant experience in lieu of a degree; graduate degree (e.g., MBA, MPH or MHA) strongly preferred
• Requires at least 10 years of prior relevant experience
• Requires experience in healthcare industry environment, health plan/insurance or healthcare provider
• Requires experience leading enterprise-level programs, strategic planning processes, or cross-functional initiatives in highly matrixed organization
• Demonstrate strong strategic thinking with the ability to synthesize complex concepts, align enterprise priorities, and translate insights into actionable strategies
• Requires core management consulting capabilities including client management, workshop facilitation, structured problem-solving, data analysis, process design, and change management
• Ability to communicate clearly and persuasively, simplifying complex information for diverse audiences both verbal and written
• Ability to influence effectively by combining logic and empathy to build alignment, navigate complex organizations and drive change; ability to gain buy-in from leaders and peers
• Excellent project management skills, Agile methodology experience preferred
• Design thinking certification preferred; Agile or similar certification preferred

Hybrid

This role requires employees to be in-office based on our hybrid workplace model, balancing purposeful in-person collaboration with flexibility. For most teams, this means coming into the office two days each week.

Employees living more than 50 miles from an office location will work with their manager to determine in-office time based on business need.