Provider Contracting Specialist, Consultant

Your Role

The Provider Network Management team is responsible for provider contracting and network performance across California. The Provider Contracting Specialist, Consultant is accountable for executing an assigned portfolio of provider negotiations and contracting initiatives within the statewide strategies, governance standards, priorities, and escalation framework established by contracting leadership. In this role, you will independently manage complex provider negotiations and contracting initiatives from strategic and financial analysis through execution, implementation, and issue resolution. You will partner across the organization to advance affordability, network access, and business objectives while ensuring work is executed within established contracting strategies, policies, controls, and approval requirements. You will be accountable for the timely execution and performance of your assigned portfolio, proactively identifying risks and escalating matters requiring broader policy, resource, or executive decisions. 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 Work

In this role, you will:

• Lead assigned provider negotiations and renewals through contract execution and implementation, within established strategy, financial parameters, and approval requirements.
• Develop negotiation strategies, financial analyses, business cases, term sheets, and contract recommendations for assigned providers, with appropriate leadership review and approval.
• Manage assigned contracting activities, milestones, risks, dependencies, and implementation requirements to support timely and accurate execution
• Partner cross-functionally with Medical Management, Provider Relations, Network Analytics, Pricing, Underwriting, Legal, Operations, and Sales to support affordability, network, and business objectives
• Identify network, reimbursement, utilization, and unit-cost opportunities within assigned providers and recommend practical actions to contracting leadership
• Investigate and resolve provider, contract, and implementation issues within delegated authority, identifying root causes and escalating material risks, policy questions, or barriers as appropriate
• Apply established contracting policies, procedures, templates, controls, and approval requirements consistently across assigned work
• Act with urgency, sound judgment, and accountability to meet negotiation, approval, contract execution, and implementation commitments

Your Knowledge and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree or High School Diploma/GED and 4 years of additional relevant experience in lieu of a degree required
• 7 years of prior relevant experience required Previous experience with provider contracting and negotiation experience, including experience managing complex negotiations and provider contracting processes preferred
• Advanced working knowledge of provider contracting, reimbursement methodologies, provider contract language, financial impact analysis, and provider network management preferred
• Working knowledge of managed care operations and the financial, operational, legal, regulatory, and member implications of provider agreements preferred
• Demonstrated ability to interpret data, evaluate alternatives, develop negotiation strategies, and translate analysis into practical recommendations preferred
• Strong project and portfolio-management skills, including the ability to manage multiple negotiations, milestones, dependencies, and competing priorities 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.

About Blue Shield of California

As of January 2025, Blue Shield of California became a subsidiary of Ascendiun. Ascendiun is a nonprofit corporate entity that is the parent to a family of organizations including Blue Shield of California and its subsidiary, Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan; Altais, a clinical services company; and Stellarus, a company designed to scale healthcare solutions. Together, these organizations are referred to as the Ascendiun Family of Companies.

At Blue Shield of California, our mission is to create a healthcare system worthy of our family and friends and sustainably affordable. We are transforming health care in a way that genuinely serves our nonprofit mission by lowering costs, improving quality, and enhancing the member and physician experience.

To achieve our mission, we foster an environment where all employees can thrive and contribute fully to address the needs of the various communities we serve. We are committed to creating and maintaining a supportive workplace that upholds our values and advances our goals.

Blue Shield is a U.S. News Best Company to work for, a Deloitte U.S. Best Managed Company and a Top 100 Inspiring Workplace. We were recognized by Fair360 as a Top Regional Company, and one of the 50 most community-minded companies in the United States by Points of Light. Here at Blue Shield, we strive to make a positive change across our industry and communities – join us!

Our Values:

• Honest. We hold ourselves to the highest ethical and integrity standards. We build trust by doing what we say we're going to do and by acknowledging and correcting where we fall short.
• Human. We strive to listen and communicate effectively, showing empathy by understanding others' perspectives.
• Courageous. We stand up for what we believe in and are committed to the hard work necessary to achieve our ambitious goals.

Our Workplace Model

We believe in fostering a workplace environment that balances purposeful in-person collaboration with flexibility - providing clear expectations while respecting the diverse needs of our workforce. Our workplace model is designed around intentional in-person interaction, collaboration, connection, creativity and flexibility:

• For most teams, this means coming into the office two days per week.

• Employees living more than 50 miles from an office location, out of state employees, and employees in certain member-facing roles should work with their manager to determine in-office time based on business need.

• For employees with medical conditions that may impact their ability to work in-office, we are committed to engaging in an interactive process and providing reasonable accommodations to ensure their work environment is conducive to their success and well-being.

The Company reserves the right to require more presence in the office based on business needs, and requirements are subject to change with periodic reviews.

Physical Requirements:

Office Environment - roles involving part to full time schedule in Office Environment. Based in our physical offices and work from home office/deskwork - Activity level: Sedentary, frequency most of work day.

Please click here for further physical requirement detail.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

External hires must pass a background check/drug screen. Qualified applicants with arrest records and/or conviction records will be considered for employment in a manner consistent with Federal, State and local laws, including but not limited to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regards to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status or disability status and any other classification protected by Federal, State and local laws.