Health Care Policy and Strategy Manager at U of C NORC

NORC at the University of Chicago seeks a Health Care Policy and Strategy Manager for our Health Care Strategy team. The manager will contribute to health policy research, strategy, and data analytics consulting projects for health care clients, including health plans, providers, disease groups, and foundations. Such projects will generate insights and quantitative information to inform clients’ business strategy, policy positioning, and external thought leadership. Ideal candidates will have exposure to a broad range of health care coverage, delivery, equity, and access topics, as well as deeper expertise in 1-2 specific areas including Medicare, Medicaid, commercial market policy, prescription drugs, financial modeling, and/or claims analysis. Candidates will have experience conducting quantitative analyses in partnership with senior staff or demonstrate potential to conduct and interpret quantitative analyses with senior staff.

The Health Care Policy and Strategy Manager will be responsible for supporting project teams with direction from senior staff while providing guidance to more junior staff on projects as assigned. Primarily, this role is responsible for supporting and directly generating content for client deliverables, e.g., conducting or enabling quantitative and/or qualitative research. In addition, this role includes administrative project duties designed to grow capabilities in project management. This includes setting and managing project timelines and coordinating roles and responsibilities for internal team members. They should collaborate closely with colleagues in the Health Care Strategy team and throughout NORC to support project work.

A successful manager will demonstrate excellent attention to detail and task ownership to ensure project teams meet stated commitments. The manager must demonstrate effective internal and client communication on administrative issues as well as be able to discuss research findings with clients. They will support business development through project ideation, drafting proposals, and tracking opportunities. They will be expected to follow current events, policy and market trends, and new research to continually advance this expertise.

Preferably applicants will be based in our Bethesda, MD office with a hybrid office/work from home schedule

DEPARTMENT: Health Care Strategy

NORC Health includes five research departments: Health Care Evaluation, Health Care Programs, Public Health, Health Sciences, and Health Care Strategy, each of which are led by department heads providing the committed leadership and close collaboration across departments. NORC Health departments conduct research to inform the public and policymakers, while improving Americans’ health and quality of life.

The Health Care Strategy (HCS) team consists of professional staff providing a broad range of policy, analytics, and strategic advisory services to a wide array of private sector and non-profit clients. HCS is an important component of NORC’s diversification strategy to complement NORC’s robust federal government work portfolio by building more foundation, and trade association work. This is an exceptional opportunity to develop expertise supporting non-government clients that need deep and actionable policy or business insights on how best to meet their policy or business goals.

To learn more about NORC, please visit

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Contribute to the leadership, run, and content of health care policy research and consulting projects as part of a broader team.


• Execute project tasks and functions as assigned, such as management of data, operational procedures and checklists, tracking project budget, drafting report components, etc.


• Effectively engage colleagues for input and follow-up on their assignments. Anticipates challenges with project execution and seek guidance from senior staff.


• Communicate effectively with clients in written formats. Present interim updates and final deliverables to clients with preparation.


• Supports proposal drafting and budgeting with direction from senior staff.


• Direct junior staff on projects as assigned. Share best practices, management skills, and subject matter expertise with junior staff.


• Manage-up by asking for help and clarity from senior staff when needed.

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. Master’s Degree preferred.


• At least 4 years’ experience in relevant field such as health policy or government affairs, consulting, health research, or working for the health care industry in a policy, strategy, legal or product development.


• Emerging mastery of 1-2 areas of subject matter or technical expertise in Medicare, Medicaid, or commercial market policy, financial modeling and claims analysis, prescription drugs.


• Strong knowledge of the process for identifying customer needs and defining products and services to fulfill those needs. 


• Superior consulting skills. Well-developed problem-solving skills, data analysis, time management, personal organization, attention to detail, and presentation skills.  


• Ability to manage multiple projects with agility and work effectively with multiple departments, stakeholders, and internal/external clients.  Ability to successfully influence cross-functional teams.


• Ability to work effectively with minimal supervision.


• Advanced ability to communicate effectively (oral and written) at all levels. Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with clients and report writing for client deliverables.


• Must be adept at client and teammate interaction.


• Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint).

The pay range for this position is $84,000 – $127,000.

This position is classified as regular. Regular staff are eligible for NORC’s comprehensive benefits program. Benefits include, but are not limited to:  

• Generously subsidized health insurance, effective on the first day of employment 

  
  


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  Dental and vision insurance  

  
  


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  A defined contribution retirement program, along with a separate voluntary 403(b) retirement program  

  
  


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  Group life insurance, long-term and short-term disability insurance 

  
  


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  Benefits that promote work/life balance, including generous paid time off, holidays; paid parental leave, bereavement leave, tuition assistance, and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). 

  
  

 NORC’s Approach to Equity and Transparency  

Pay and benefits transparency helps to reduce wage gaps. As part of our commitment to pay equity and salary transparency, NORC includes a salary range for each job opening along with information about eligible benefit offerings. At NORC, we take a comprehensive approach to setting salary ranges and reviewing raises and promotions, which is overseen by a formal Salary Review Committee (SRC). 

WHAT WE DO:

NORC at the University of Chicago is an objective, non-partisan research institution that delivers reliable data and rigorous analysis to guide critical programmatic, business, and policy decisions. Since 1941, our teams have conducted groundbreaking studies, created and applied innovative methods and tools, and advanced principles of scientific integrity and collaboration. Today, government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world partner with us to transform increasingly complex information into useful knowledge.

For over 80 years, NORC has evolved in many ways, moving the needle with research methods, technical applications and groundbreaking research findings. But our tradition of excellence, passion for innovation, and commitment to collegiality have remained constant components of who we are as a brand, and who each of us is as a member of the NORC team. With world-class benefits, a business casual environment, and an emphasis on continuous learning, NORC is a place where people join for the stellar research and analysis work for which we’re known, and stay for the relationships they form with their colleagues who take pride in the impact their work is making on a global scale.

NORC is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer that values and actively seeks diversity in the workforce. NORC evaluates qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, sexual orientation, gender identity, and other legally protected characteristics.