The VP, Strategic Partnerships, Health Systems is directly responsible for achieving growth targets that are integral to the growth and development of Jarrard Inc.’s practices and service lines. S/he must be skilled at leveraging the firm’s brand/reputation, building relationships with key executives and professionally generating and pursuing potential business leads. The VP, Strategic Partnerships is an active business development role with a demonstrated knowledge of the health systems market and an ability to create & leverage relationships to source and close leads.
Reporting directly to the Chief Growth Officer (CGO), this position works closely with leaders of the firm and of each practice, which requires excellent communication skills and relationship development capabilities. The VP, Strategic Partnerships coordinates the related Health Systems practice‘s business development efforts – both the proactive pursuit of new business and supporting the growth of existing client relationships through our practice teams. The position also works closely with other leads on the Growth Services Team: the CGO, VP of Visibility & Content and the Marketing Director to set the overall go to market strategy for the practice.
About Jarrard Inc:
Jarrard is a U.S. top 10 strategic communications consulting firm for the nation’s leading healthcare providers experiencing significant change, challenge or opportunity. Jarrard serves two primary end markets – health systems and health services companies. The firm has worked with more than 600 clients in 46 states and has led communications and political strategy for $75 billion in announced M&A and partnership transactions. Jarrard specializes in change management, issue & advocacy and strategic positioning.
Jarrard joined Chartis in 2020. Chartis is a comprehensive advisory firm dedicated to the healthcare industry. With an unparalleled depth of expertise in strategic planning, operations and performance excellence, informatics and technology, and health analytics, Chartis helps leading academic medical centers, integrated delivery networks, children’s hospitals, physician enterprises and healthcare service organizations achieve transformative results.
Across both Jarrard and Chartis, we are lucky to have extraordinarily talented people working in our firm – all brought together around our unifying mission “to improve healthcare delivery”, a shared dedication to our core values, and the emphasis we place on creating an environment that enriches the experiences of our clients, our colleagues and our communities.
Jarrard has offices in Nashville, TN and Chicago, IL. Remote work is allowed.
Primary Responsibilities:
- Accountable for achieving growth goals through sourcing & closing new business within the practice.
- Coordinate the practice’s business development efforts – both the proactive pursuit of new business and supporting the organic development work of our practice teams.
- Be able to articulate the firm’s value proposition and differentiated approach to prospects & clients in order to source and close leads.
- Understand internal processes, leverage subject matter experts to support conversion of leads to new business and remain current on industry news in order to equate the firm’s value proposition to relevant market dynamics.
- Partner with practice team leadership to build and execute proactive business development plans to help each practice reach their growth goals.
- Open doors to new prospective client decision makers (typically the C-suite leaders of hospitals, health systems and other healthcare provider companies).
- Remain abreast of conferences and events that are important drivers of connection with prospects and clients, collaborate on related budget, marketing strategy, and represent the firm.
- Build and nurture referral network of complementary partners, such as other consultants, attorneys, investment bankers, private equity firms, etc., in order to develop sales pipeline.
- Be accountable for utilizing the firm’s CRM (Hubspot) to track and update the sales pipeline and accurately forecast new business opportunities both in financial terms as well as start timing & duration of engagements.
- Help set strategy for the practice’s overall marketing in close partnership with our VP of Visibility & Content and our Director of Marketing & Data Analytics; oversee execution.
- Collaborate with other colleagues within the Growth Services Team to meet the firm’s strategic goals.
- Manage RFP response process and partner with client teams to create winning proposals and pitches for current and prospective clients
- Negotiate contract terms with clients and communicate terms to stakeholders, in partnership with the CGO.
What it Takes to be Successful:
- Demonstrated sales aptitude required to achieve practice growth goals through strategic, professional pursuit of new business partners & engagements
- Highest level of integrity and professionalism
- Executive presence with ability to interact well with senior leadership
- Exceptional client service attitude and demeanor for internal and external stakeholders
- Organized and detail-oriented
- Proficient in lead generation – marketing, referrals and networking, proposal development and other proven lead generation methods
- Healthcare provider experience and familiarity with the decision makers of healthcare provider organizations
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, highly-collaborative work environment
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including facilitation of group presentations
- Self-motivated and able to work independently, while being a part of a team
- Collaborative nature to effectively partner with practice leaders and Growth Services colleagues
- Regular travel (when that is possible again) to meet with prospects and attend conferences
- Effective listener and storyteller – both key to relationship building and consultative selling
- Problem-solving skills that include the ability to develop and propose solutions for clients
- Assertive personality, not afraid to cold call
What you can expect from us
- High-stakes work that makes healthcare better
- A highly collaborative, inclusive workplace with understanding and innovative co-workers who care as much as you do about making a difference in healthcare and in the lives of our colleagues
- Flexible work from home and office model – as we return to our offices, we are adopting a hybrid approach with two days in the office and the others at your discretion based on the day’s meetings and needs
- Encouragement to ask probing questions and openness to new ideas
- Creative problem solving alongside clients who see you as a partner, not a vendor
- Investment in your growth and development via our competency-based talent development platform
- Competitive pay and benefits
- Off-site retreats and someone always up for Celebrating the Wins
At Jarrard and Chartis, we pride ourselves on having a diverse workforce. We value and celebrate the uniqueness of individuals and the different perspectives the provide. We offer equal opportunity employment regardless of race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability status, age, marital status, or protected veteran status.
Qualifications and Desired Skills
- Bachelor’s degree
- 10+ years of business experience, minimum of 5 years in a sales role; experience with a professional services firm is desired as it’s a unique perspective that understands that what we are selling is the expertise and counsel of our colleagues
- Demonstrated achievement in B2B sales in healthcare
- Ability to work remotely; office options in Chicago, IL and Nashville, TN
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint; familiarity with CRM and accountability requirements for pipeline tracking (currently Hubspot)