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Job Details

The VP, Payer Relations will define and lead the enterprise payor relations and market access strategy, developing executive-level insights on payor trends, reimbursement, coverage policies, and contracting opportunities. The position will build senior relationships with payors and managed care stakeholders, oversee negotiations, and partner cross-functionally with Legal, Compliance, Finance, Operations, Commercial, and Technology teams to ensure strategies are compliant, financially sound, and operationally executable. It will also drive payor analytics, KPI development, governance rhythms, and performance management to support strategic planning, growth initiatives, and improved reimbursement outcomes. Additionally, the role will help create and scale a Clinically Integrated Network strategy, lead regional payor value proposition deployment, and build team capabilities, processes, and tools to support long-term market access success.

Key Responsibilities:

Enterprise Payor Strategy and Market Access

• Define and lead the enterprise payor relations and market access strategy, aligning priorities to the company’s strategic plan.
• Establish a comprehensive view of the payor landscape (commercial, Medicare, Medicaid, and managed care as applicable) including coverage policy trends, reimbursement methodologies, and emerging management practices.
• Own the development of executive-ready payor intelligence (insights, scenarios, implications, and recommendations) to support strategic planning, service line decisions, and growth initiatives.

Payor Engagement, Negotiation, and Contracting Enablement

• Build and maintain senior-level relationships with key payors, health plans, and other managed care stakeholders.
• Lead or oversee negotiations on coverage policies, reimbursement terms, and contract provisions, ensuring alignment with enterprise objectives and risk posture.
• Partner with Legal, Compliance, Finance, and relevant business leaders to ensure payor contracting approaches are compliant, financially sound, and operationally executable.

Cross-Functional Leadership and Influence

• Serve as the primary payor strategy partner to internal stakeholders across Commercial, Finance, Operations, Product/Services, and Data/Technology.
• Translate payor requirements and policy changes into business impacts and coordinated action plans (commercial messaging, operational readiness, provider/customer support, etc.).
• Establish governance and operating rhythms (QBRs, payor reviews, escalation pathways) to ensure alignment, prioritization, and follow-through.

Insights, Analytics, and Performance Management (RCA Alignment)

• Leverage RCA’s capabilities to build and continuously improve payor analytics (reimbursement performance, denial drivers, policy impacts, contract economics, access barriers, and opportunity sizing).
• Define KPIs and dashboards to measure outcomes such as coverage gains, reimbursement performance, contract value realization, and cycle-time improvements.
• Monitor regulatory and policy developments and provide proactive POVs and “so-what” implications for leadership.

Clinically Integrated Network (CIN) Strategy & Enablement

• Forge the creation and rollout of the CIN structure in collaboration with the Cencora MSO platform team (governance, participation standards, quality measures, performance management).
• Partner with Legal/Compliance on CIN design and documentation (antitrust and contracting considerations).
• Develop the CIN payor value proposition and lead regional deployment in select markets.
• Establish dashboards/scorecards to demonstrate improvement and strengthen the “value story” that RCA brings to its patients

Team Leadership and Capability Building

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of payor relations leaders and/or supporting analysts; build scalable processes, playbooks, and knowledge management.
• Manage budgets and external vendors/partners supporting market access analytics, policy intelligence, or contracting support as needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree (MBA, MHA, MPH) preferred. Will consider candidates with work experience in lieu of education.
• 12 years of progressive experience in payor relations, managed care, market access, reimbursement strategy, healthcare contracting, or related fields; significant leadership experience required.
• Demonstrated track record of senior-level payor engagement and complex negotiation experience with measurable business impact.
• Strong understanding of reimbursement and managed care dynamics; ability to connect policy/contract terms to operational and financial outcomes.
• Exceptional executive communication skills with the ability to synthesize complex topics into clear recommendations.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional programs in matrixed environments.

What Cencora offers

We provide compensation, benefits, and resources that enable a highly inclusive culture and support our team members’ ability to live with purpose every day. In addition to traditional offerings like medical, dental, and vision care, we also provide a comprehensive suite of benefits that focus on the physical, emotional, financial, and social aspects of wellness. This encompasses support for working families, which may include backup dependent care, adoption assistance, infertility coverage, family building support, behavioral health solutions, paid parental leave, and paid caregiver leave. To encourage your personal growth, we also offer a variety of training programs, professional development resources, and opportunities to participate in mentorship programs, employee resource groups, volunteer activities, and much more. For details, visit https://www.virtualfairhub.com/cencora

Full time

Equal Employment Opportunity

Cencora is committed to providing equal employment opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or membership in any other class protected by federal, state or local law.

The company’s continued success depends on the full and effective utilization of qualified individuals. Therefore, harassment is prohibited and all matters related to recruiting, training, compensation, benefits, promotions and transfers comply with equal opportunity principles and are non-discriminatory.

Cencora is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities during the employment process which are consistent with legal requirements. If you wish to request an accommodation while seeking employment, please call 888.692.2272 or email hrsc@cencora.com. We will make accommodation determinations on a request-by-request basis. Messages and emails regarding anything other than accommodations requests will not be returned

Affiliated Companies

Affiliated Companies: AmerisourceBergen Services Corporation