Vice President, Central Operations

Who We Are

firsthand is changing the way individuals living with Serious Mental Illness (SMI) get care. We are focusing on delivering real outcomes for a cohort that has historically been underserved, stigmatized, and deprioritized. By building a service focused on whole-person care, firsthand aims to find, establish a trusting relationship with, and support quality care for individuals living with complex experiences of SMI. firsthand’s high-touch model will dramatically improve the health and outcomes of its engaged individuals, driving down the utilization of high-cost care while also helping individuals enroll in eligible federal, state, and municipal benefits. Most importantly, our goal is to be the trusted guide, partner, and first call for individuals we serve, guiding them to a life of stability and independence.

In doing so, we will not only improve lives, but also improve the economics for managed care plans and states responsible for providing care to this community. This enables us to build solutions that scale and, as a result, change the way our society supports those most impacted by serious mental illness.

We are building a team of deeply passionate problem-solvers who are courageous enough to take on one of the country’s most challenging healthcare problems. Those who are up for the task will be rewarded with deeply mission-oriented workdays, mentorship from a similarly motivated team, and a voice at the table in the earliest stages of business building.

Position Overview

The Vice President, Central Operations is a high-impact, mission driven leader responsible for the design, implementation, and operational and clinical performance of the firsthand care model across our centralized services. The role will be a significant contributor to designing, implementing and leading our central care teams, which includes multiple service lines serving all of our markets across the country. 

Specifically, this leader will lead all shared services today – with significant room to change and evolve as firsthand grows and evolves. To start, this will include our Support Operations (billing, coding, benefits support, medical records, and clinical documentation integrity), our Central Operations (which includes our virtual outreach and engagement teams), while also leading the design, development and execution of multiple new national service lines, such as 24/7 triage, centralized consult services, and more. 

Job Specifics

As VP, Central Operations, your responsibilities will include: 

• Lead the strategy, performance and execution of all centralized operational functions to enable our care model performance, as well as our multi-market expansion
• Establish KPIs, dashboards, and performance framework to drive strong processes with operational visibility across the company and our community operations 
• Design multiple new processes that will launch at a national scale across engagement and care model; will lead the process through from design/ideation to implementation to ongoing execution and oversight 
• Lead the operational strategy and execution of multiple value drivers across our business (such as benefits support & accurate clinical documentation), as well as as HEDIs and total cost of care interventions 
• Report directly to the COO and partner with a clinical dyad partner (Sr. Director of Central Clinical Programs), while meaningfully collaborating with community operators and support teams across the org 
• Lead, mentor and actively develop leaders across the central operations team, as well as acting as an informal leader and partner to leaders in community operations 
• Galvanize and foster a high-performing, inclusive, and supportive employee culture, driven by and visibly embodying the firsthand values

The experience you bring to this role includes:

• Significant experience (7-10+ years) in healthcare leadership roles, preferably in a high-growth, high-complexity organization with rapid scale
• Deep understanding of value based economics and operations to ensure our centralized processes deliver value across multiple risk-bearing contracts 
• Experience leading in a clinical-operational dyad model
• Proven track record designing and scaling new clinical and operational processes, preferably in a start-up environment 
• Deep understanding of value-based care, Medicaid, and the behavioral health ecosystem (SMI/SUD)
• Exceptional leadership presence, executive communication skills, and the ability to inspire and manage large, cross-functional teams
• A passion for serving individuals living with SMI