[Hiring] VP of Health Plans @When

Role Description

Health plans are our highest-leverage distribution channel and, today, our least built out. A single national or regional plan relationship can put When in front of hundreds of employer groups at once, and the plan's own economics point the same direction ours do: the sickest members electing COBRA with no guidance is a problem the carrier feels directly.

We are hiring a VP of Health Plans to own that channel end to end. You will build the health plan and carrier partnership motion from strategy to signed agreements to revenue, and you will own the relationships after they close.

This is a senior individual-contributor-plus role to start: you sell, you build the playbook, and you grow a team behind you as the channel scales.

What you'll own

• Channel strategy
  • Build the health plan partnership strategy: which plans, in what order, with what value proposition and what commercial construct
  • Segment and prioritize the landscape across national carriers, regional Blues, provider-sponsored plans, TPAs, and level-funded and self-insured blocks
  • Define the economic model for each partnership type (referral, reseller, embedded, revenue share, per-eligible-life) in partnership with Finance and Legal
  • Bring a clear point of view on where When sits relative to the plan's existing vendor and stop-loss strategy
• Origination and closing
  • Own the full cycle: source, qualify, run the executive relationship, navigate the buying committee, and close
  • Sell to the people who own the exposure: Chief Actuary, VP Underwriting, Chief Medical Officer, heads of Employer/Commercial segments, Product, Network, and Strategic Partnerships
  • Build the business case in the plan's own language: claims exposure on terminated members, catastrophic claim frequency, risk-pool composition, MLR and trend impact
  • Own a defined annual new-partnership and channel revenue number
• Relationship ownership and expansion
  • Serve as the executive relationship owner post-signature; drive from signed agreement to actual employer group activation
  • Build joint go-to-market plans with partner sales, account management, and underwriting teams
  • Enable partner-facing teams: train their sellers, arm them with the narrative and the data ask
  • Expand from initial pilot or segment into the full book
• Cross-functional leadership
  • Feed carrier and plan requirements into Product and Operations
  • Partner with Legal, Compliance, and Security on contracting, data-sharing, HIPAA and SOC 2 requirements
  • Partner with the ICHRA team where plan relationships intersect our broker-aligned motion
  • Represent When credibly at industry forums and with consultant and reinsurance intermediaries
  • Hire and lead a partnerships team as the channel proves out

Qualifications

• 10+ years in health plan, carrier, or health tech commercial roles, including 5+ years selling to or partnering with health plans and carriers
• Demonstrated record closing complex, multi-stakeholder enterprise partnerships with health plans
• Real fluency in health plan economics: risk pools, medical trend, MLR, underwriting, stop-loss, self-insured versus fully insured mechanics
• Working knowledge of the employer benefits ecosystem: COBRA administration, benefits admin platforms, consultants and brokers
• Executive presence with actuarial, medical, and commercial leadership
• Comfort building a channel that does not exist yet

Requirements

• Direct experience inside a health plan or carrier
• Experience with Medicare (MA, Med Supp, Part D) and the coordination questions facing Medicare-eligible active employees
• ICHRA, individual market, or exchange distribution experience
• Prior early-stage or scaling-company experience where you carried a number and built the motion at the same time

How you work

• Analytically honest. You would rather show a plan its real exposure than oversell a projection
• Long-horizon patient, short-horizon urgent. Carrier deals take time; you keep them moving anyway
• Collaborative across Product, Compliance, and Operations

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• 100% health insurance coverage
• Stock options
• Remote work with minimal travel for company and occasional client meetings