Vice President Government Affairs

Heartland Dental LLC; Effingham (IL); Hybrid; USD 200,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Heartland Dental LLC is seeking a senior government affairs professional to advance the company’s nationwide policy and advocacy initiatives. The role reports to the SVP, General Counsel and sits within the Legal, Compliance and Regulatory Team.

The ideal candidate will drive strategy, monitor legislative developments, and build relationships with regulators, associations and internal partners to support Heartland Dental’s growth and mission.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 10 years of experience with primary focus on state or federal government relations.
• Experience supporting a multi-state region strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated senior-level knowledge of legislative and political processes and the roles and functions of government branches.
• Strong political acumen and analytical skills.
• Demonstrated leadership in managing government relations initiatives and external partners.
• Ability to develop tactical strategies that support company vision and goals.

Responsibilities

• Advance Heartland Dental’s nationwide government affairs through forward thinking and strong relationships.
• Monitor, analyze and report legislative, regulatory, political and industry developments affecting Heartland Dental.
• Collaborate with ADSO, other DSOs and internal partners to push advocacy objectives.
• Develop advocacy materials, policy communications and educational resources to support efforts.
• Represent Heartland Dental at key industry and regulatory meetings and events.
• Ensure compliance with lobbying, ethics, registration and reporting requirements.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the SVP, General Counsel.

Skills

Government relations

Policy analysis

Stakeholder engagement

Leadership

Strategic planning

Negotiation

Communication

Job description

About Heartland Dental:

With more than 1,900 dental offices supported across 39 states and Washington, D.C. and over 3,100 supported doctors, Heartland Dental is the largest dental support organization (DSO) in the United States. Founded in 1997, Heartland Dental has a proven track record of growth and success. Quite simply, Heartland Dental’s vision and mission are the reason the Company exists, and the mission/vision bring to life all that we do. Heartland Dental’s vision is to be a world-class company and the leader in dentistry. Our mission is to support dentists and their teams as they deliver the highest quality dental care and experiences to the communities they serve while providing exceptional careers and creating value for our stakeholders.

In a Nutshell:

If you’re an energetic and government affairs professional with 10 plus years of experience, and ready to advance your career with the nation’s leading DSO in the healthcare field, keep reading. Yes, a dynamic personality is important – we need someone who is open, positive, and mentally flexible and has an interest in new challenges, building your leadership skills, and participating in the rapid growth of our Company. It is a roll-up your sleeves job. The successful candidate will have the thinking ability and experience to strategically identify opportunities; the drive, grit and common sense to execute tactical tasks; and the personality and executive presence to build relationships and lead initiatives with multiple stakeholders. This individual will act as a primary government affairs liaison between the Company and the Association of Dental Support Organizations (ADSO). This position will report directly to the SVP, General Counsel and will be part of the Company’s Legal, Compliance and Regulatory Team.

Working Environment:

Remote. Support offices are available in St. Louis, MO or Effingham, IL with other Heartland Dental team members if you live in one of those areas. Moderate travel (10-20%) is required as part of this government affairs work and to attend company related events, leadership trainings, goals meetings, and team offsites. Occasional weekend or evening work may be needed for critical deadline periods or urgent matters.

Position Description and Expectations

We are looking for an individual that can advance Heartland Dental’s nationwide government affairs presence through forward thinking, a strong commitment to communicating the Heartland Dental story and a willingness to roll up sleeves, execute and make things happen.

Here’s what you could expect to fill your time during Year One with our Company:

• First and foremost, working to build yourself and the role through ongoing leadership opportunities;
• Extensive onboarding to learn about Heartland Dental, how we support doctors and offices, and to develop a wide range of relationships, both internally and externally, to successfully advance the government relations activities;
• Monitor, analyze and report on legislative, regulatory, political and industry developments affecting Heartland Dental, supported doctors and supported offices. Assess the business impact of those developments, identify risks and opportunities, and provide practical recommendations to stakeholders;
• Review enacted laws identified through legislative monitoring resources; determine which laws potentially affect Heartland Dental, supported doctors and offices; and timely communicate the relevant legal changes in easy-to-understand language to the appropriate internal stakeholders;
• Collaborate with ADSO, other DSOs, trade associations, government affairs professionals and internal business partners to advance Heartland Dental’s government affairs and public policy objectives;
• Collaborate with ADSO to help develop advocacy materials, policy communications and educational resources to support those efforts;
• Collaborate with ADSOs to identify opportunities for supported providers who are interested in serving on state dental boards and provide guidance and support throughout the application and selection process;
• Attend and represent Heartland Dental at key industry, regulatory, legislative, and professional association meetings, conferences, and events to advance advocacy priorities, build relationships, and monitor developments affecting the practice of dentistry and/or the dental support organization industry;
• Ensure compliance with applicable lobbying, advocacy, ethics, registration and reporting requirements; and
• Perform other duties, projects and responsibilities as assigned by the SVP, General Counsel or as business needs require.

Beyond Year One: As the function matures, this role is expected to grow in scope, deepening Heartland Dental's presence/involvement in priority states, developing internal reporting and advocacy infrastructure, mentoring or building out additional government affairs resources as the Company's footprint expands, and measuring the function's impact against defined policy and business objectives.

• Minimum of 10 years of experience with primary focus on state or federal government relations.
• Experience supporting a multi-state region strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated senior-level knowledge of legislative and political processes and the roles and functions of government branches.
• Strong political acumen and analytical skills.
• Demonstrated leadership in managing government relations initiatives and external partners.
• Ability to develop tactical strategies that support company vision and goals and take a proactive, long-term view of business objectives.
• Proven ability to build and sustain collaborative relationships with legislators, legislative staff, regulators, internal leaders, peers and colleagues.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present complex or controversial topics.
• Ability to analyze complex legal, regulatory and policy documents.
• Skilled negotiator with the ability to influence diverse stakeholders
• Strong judgment, discretion and ability to maintain confidentiality
• Ability to communicate legislative and regulatory changes clearly and concisely in language that internal stakeholders can understand
• Dental industry experience and familiarity
• Experience in health care government affairs, with a preference for multi-site health care experience

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to perform the essential duties of the position satisfactorily with or without reasonable accommodation. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties.
• Prolonged periods sitting or standing and working on a computer.
• Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times.

We put our people first at Heartland Dental, and that shows in our generous benefits package.

Company retains the sole discretion to change the duties of the position at any time.

We provide all employees and applicants for employment the protections of federal, state, and local laws affording equal opportunity in employment.