R-348941 Director, State Affairs

Job Description

The Director, State Affairs influences public and government policy at all state government levels, advocating for interests affected, actually or potentially, by the decisions of government leaders.

Responsibilities include:

• Partner with Humana Healthy Horizons to directly support Humana’s SoonerSelect Medicaid contract.
• Serve as Humana’s regional leader for state advocacy and government engagement in OK, KS, MO, and NE.
• Engage directly with state government, including Medicaid Departments, Governor’s offices, legislatures, executive agency leadership, Departments of Insurance, Departments of Health/Health & Human Services, state boards, and state procurement agencies.
• Act as HUM liaison with state/local leaders, coordinating with state market leaders (Medicare, Medicaid, specialty insurance, pharmacy, primary care, and home health) as well as state-based business functions (Law Dept., Regulatory and Compliance, Finance, Corporate Communications) on strategic priorities, including legislative, regulatory, and public sector business development.
• Ensure market and functional leaders receive timely updates on ongoing and emerging issues material to Humana’s business goals and objectives.
• Implement and advance state strategic advocacy and relationship outreach to support Humana’s public policy agenda, product growth initiatives, and overall public sector business development objectives.
• Manage and direct work with state-retained consultants and relevant state trade associations.
• Maintain legislative monitoring on priority issues, working with retained consultants.
• Monitor and engage in legislative and regulatory matters identified as Humana priorities, positioning the company to successfully influence priority legislative and regulatory developments.
• Facilitate public sector business development outreach to key state and local officials, keeping business teams informed about relevant public policy and emerging state and local procurement opportunities.
• Identify and manage opportunities for ongoing and targeted engagements with state policy officials (e.g., site visits) to emphasize Humana’s value proposition and thought leadership.
• Develop strategies for engagement with traditional and non-traditional alliances/organizations to advance Humana’s advocacy and reputation agenda.
• Represent Humana at regional and national legislative, regulatory, and other intergovernmental organizations in coordination with the State Affairs policy team.

Additional Job Description

Required Qualifications

• Must reside in the Oklahoma City, OK area.
• Minimum of ten years of professional experience in state government, government affairs, campaigns, health policy, and/or advocacy roles.
• Bachelor’s degree in relevant fields such as public policy, communications, health policy, political science, or business.
• Proven ability to create and implement advocacy campaigns relevant to state government, with a record of achieving short- and long-term milestones related to policy, political, and/or advocacy goals.
• Strong verbal and written communication, analytical, and organizational skills, including the ability to write well under deadline pressures.
• In-depth understanding of legislative and regulatory processes and the general state political/public policy environment.
• Experience in a highly matrixed, fast-paced organization.
• Knowledge of Medicaid programs, especially Oklahoma Medicaid.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree.

Additional Information

• Strong understanding of relevant policy and regulatory issues, with the ability to communicate complex issues clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience in a matrixed organization, with proven collaborative skills across various departments and functional areas, promoting proactive teamwork.
• Strategic and creative thinker, capable of identifying trends and interrelationships.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, with poise and presence for effective interaction with senior and executive audiences.
• Strong problem-solving, negotiation, and multitasking skills, especially in time-sensitive settings.
• Highly developed interpersonal skills, fostering strong working relationships internally and externally.

Learn more here