Senior Policy Advisor (Program Operations Lead)

TX-HHSC-DSHS-DFPS • Austin, TX

11d

About The Position

Join the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) and be part of a team committed to creating a positive impact in the lives of fellow Texans. At HHSC, your contributions matter, and we support you at each stage of your life and work journey. Our comprehensive benefits package includes 100% paid employee health insurance for full-time eligible employees, a defined benefit pension plan, generous time off benefits, numerous opportunities for career advancement and more. Explore more details on the Benefits of Working at HHS webpage.

The Delivery System Quality & Innovation (DSQI) Unit within the Medicaid CHIP Services (MCS) Office of Quality and Program Improvement (Q&PI) seeks a highly qualified candidate to fill the position of Program Specialist VII Program Operations Senior Policy Advisor. The mission of DSQI is to incentivize, innovate, and educate to improve health care quality. The DSQI Unit develops and implements innovative quality improvement programs and incentives, provides education and technical assistance to increase the adoption of best practices, and evaluates the effectiveness of quality programs and interventions.
The PSVII Program Operations Senior Policy Advisor is selected by and directly reports to the Operations Manager V in the DSQI Unit. The Senior Policy Advisor works under minimal supervision with extensive latitude for the use of initiative and independent judgment. Responsibilities include leading the reporting process, collaborating with internal and external stakeholders, and providing technical assistance for directed payment programs (DPPs); developing and implementing project management processes; and serving as a subject matter expert on quality measures and key program requirements. The Senior Policy Advisor may author policies, training materials, and briefing documents, as well as present at meetings with stakeholders.
The DSQI team currently leads multiple high profile quality improvement initiatives that are critical to the Medicaid program in Texas, such as the quality aspects of Medicaid DPPs and working with hospitals to reduce unnecessary emergency department utilization by people with Medicaid. The Senior Policy Advisor will work collaboratively as part of a team and also serve as a lead point of contact on DPP program operations.
The ideal candidate thrives in an environment that emphasizes teamwork to achieve goals, excellence through high professional standards and personal accountability, curiosity to continuously grow and learn, critical thinking for effective execution, and integrity to do things right even when what is right is not easy.

Requirements

• A keen attention to detail.
• Strong skills in project management.
• Strong skills in synthesizing, analyzing, and evaluating complicated and technical information and translating it into easily understandable and concise documents and oral presentations.
• Strong skills in designing and using Excel or other tools for data management and analysis.
• Knowledge of federal and state Medicaid and CHIP programs, services, and requirements.
• Familiarity with key concepts of delivery system reform, healthcare innovation, or population health.
• Familiarity with healthcare quality measurement and common data sources for quality measurement.
• Skill in analyzing healthcare programs, policies, quality measures, and operations issues to develop options and make recommendations.
• Skill in communicating effectively both verbally and in writing.
• Skill in developing creative and workable solutions to complex problems and policy issues.
• Ability to exercise judgment and work independently with minimum supervision.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and work cooperatively in a team environment.
• Work experience in a field related to healthcare quality, policy analysis, data analysis, or research.
• Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with major course work in a field related to healthcare quality, policy, research, or project management.
• Experience and education may be substituted for one another on a year-for-year basis.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree with course work in a field relevant to healthcare, human services, public health, social work, policy development, research or evaluation, or another related field is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Works collaboratively across MCS to identify innovative and effective solutions for clients and staff.
• Plans and/or oversees the development and implementation of reporting quality measures. Develops policies, resources, timelines, and detailed work plans for quality operations. Provides technical assistance and guidance to program participants regarding reporting requirements. Ensures compliance with approved program policies, procedures, quality rules, and state and federal regulations. Collaborates with DSQI team members to ensure accurate and timely reporting. May serve as the lead on implementation and ongoing management of complex program initiatives.
• Analyzes Medicaid Managed Care quality data to develop policy and programmatic recommendations to advance quality goals and improve healthcare outcomes for Medicaid beneficiaries. Collaborates with Q&PI team members to develop innovative, evidence-based policies or programs to drive quality improvement and delivery system reforms. Participates in the development of and provides technical assistance for quality data reporting systems.
• Prepares and approves high quality written documents, including policies, rules, project updates, legislative reports, memos for leadership, guidance documents, presentations, summaries, and other documents relating to quality improvement and innovation.
• Works with and presents to internal and external stakeholders to develop and implement quality programs, identify and address technical assistance priorities, and communicate program progress and outcomes.
• Trains, leads, assigns, and/or prioritizes the work of others (internal and external) for activities related to DPP program operations.

Benefits

• Our comprehensive benefits package includes 100% paid employee health insurance for full-time eligible employees, a defined benefit pension plan, generous time off benefits, numerous opportunities for career advancement and more.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level