Program Manager, Principal - IFP Performance Optimization

About this role

Your Role The Individual and Family Plans (IFP) Performance Optimization team is accountable for end-to-end performance management, improving affordability, and driving targeted optimization to deliver measurable, sustainable IFP outcomes. The Program Manager, Principal - IFP Performance Optimization will report to the Sr. Director, IFP Performance Optimization. In this role you will be responsible for identifying, prioritizing, and driving high-impact opportunities to improve IFP performance across cost, access, quality, growth, member experience, and affordability. This role serves as a strategic execution lead for underperforming areas, translating IFP priorities into measurable action plans, driving root-cause analysis, aligning cross-functional partners, and ensuring interventions deliver sustainable business outcomes. Our leadership model is about developing great leaders at all levels and creating opportunities for our people to grow – personally, professionally, and financially. We are looking for leaders that are energized by creative and critical thinking, building and sustaining high-performing teams, getting results the right way, and fostering continuous learning.

ResponsibilitiesYour Work  In this role, you will:  Identify and prioritize high-impact opportunities to improve IFP performance across cost, access, quality, growth, member experience, and affordability, with a focus on areas of underperformance and measurable results Analyze performance gaps against plan, benchmarks, OKRs, KPIs, regional targets, and contractual expectations; lead deep dives to identify root causes and quantify business impact Partner cross-functionally to design, launch, and manage targeted interventions with clear ownership, milestones, success metrics, and expected financial or operational impact Track intervention impact, measure ROI, evaluate leading and lagging indicators, and refine strategies in real time—scaling successful approaches and adjusting actions when results are not materializing Support and strengthen performance governance through Pulse of IFP, MBRs, OKRs, KPI reviews, dashboards, decision forums, and leadership updates that drive visibility and accountability Coordinate with finance, actuarial, network, HQA, clinical, pharmacy, and provider partners to support CoHC savings, regional affordability efforts, network evolution, provider performance, and pricing-related priorities Partner with quality, risk adjustment, care management, digital, marketing, and operations teams to improve member engagement, health outcomes, PCP relationship development, care program utilization, and performance against Covered California expectations Develop executive-ready materials that clearly communicate the “so what,” performance trends, risks, decisions, tradeoffs, mitigation plans, and expected outcomes for IFP leadership Influence matrixed teams without direct authority, clarify ownership, remove barriers, escalate decisions, and ensure workstreams remain connected to IFP priorities and measurable outcomes Translate complex data, dashboards, and partner updates into actionable insights, concise narratives, and decision-ready recommendations for leaders and functional partners

QualificationsYour Knowledge and Experience Requires a bachelor’s degree or High School Diploma/GED and 4 years of additional relevant experience in lieu of a degree Requires 10 years of prior relevant experience Requires proven experience leading complex, cross-functional initiatives that deliver measurable financial, operational, quality, customer experience, or growth outcomes Requires healthcare experience; prefer health plan experience with a strong understanding of business drivers, including cost of healthcare, utilization, provider performance, network strategy, risk adjustment, quality, member engagement, or regulated market performance Requires demonstrated ability to conduct root-cause analysis, synthesize data, identify underperforming areas, and translate insights into prioritized action plans Requires experience building and managing governance models, dashboards, operating rhythms, OKRs, KPIs, risk logs, decision frameworks, and executive-level performance updates Requires the ability to operate in ambiguity, manage competing priorities, influence senior stakeholders, and drive accountability across matrixed teams without direct authority Requires executive level meeting facilitation, storytelling, and the ability to communicate the “so what” behind performance trends and recommendation

About Blue Shield of California

As of January 2025, Blue Shield of California became a subsidiary of Ascendiun. Ascendiun is a nonprofit corporate entity that is the parent to a family of organizations including Blue Shield of California and its subsidiary, Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan; Altais, a clinical services company; and Stellarus, a company designed to scale healthcare solutions. Together, these organizations are referred to as the Ascendiun Family of Companies.

At Blue Shield of California, our mission is to create a healthcare system worthy of our family and friends and sustainably affordable. We are transforming health care in a way that genuinely serves our nonprofit mission by lowering costs, improving quality, and enhancing the member and physician experience.

To achieve our mission, we foster an environment where all employees can thrive and contribute fully to address the needs of the various communities we serve. We are committed to creating and maintaining a supportive workplace that upholds our values and advances our goals.

Blue Shield is a U.S. News Best Company to work for, a Deloitte U.S. Best Managed Company and a Top 100 Inspiring Workplace. We were recognized by Fair360 as a Top Regional Company, and one of the 50 most community-minded companies in the United States by Points of Light. Here at Blue Shield, we strive to make a positive change across our industry and communities – join us!

Our Values:

Honest. We hold ourselves to the highest ethical and integrity standards. We build trust by doing what we say we're going to do and by acknowledging and correcting where we fall short.

Human. We strive to listen and communicate effectively, showing empathy by understanding others' perspectives.

Courageous. We stand up for what we believe in and are committed to the hard work necessary to achieve our ambitious goals.

Our Workplace Model

We believe in fostering a workplace environment that balances purposeful in-person collaboration with flexibility - providing clear expectations while respecting the diverse needs of our workforce. Our workplace model is designed around intentional in-person interaction, collaboration, connection, creativity and flexibility:

For most teams, this means coming into the office two days per week.

Employees living more than 50 miles from an office location, out of state employees, and employees in certain member-facing roles should work with their manager to determine in-office time based on business need.

For employees with medical conditions that may impact their ability to work in-office, we are committed to engaging in an interactive process and providing reasonable accommodations to ensure their work environment is conducive to their success and well-being.

The Company reserves the right to require more presence in the office based on business needs, and requirements are subject to change with periodic reviews.

Physical Requirements:

Office Environment - roles involving part to full time schedule in Office Environment. Based in our physical offices and work from home office/deskwork - Activity level: Sedentary, frequency most of work day.

Please click here for further physical requirement detail.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

External hires must pass a background check/drug screen. Qualified applicants with arrest records and/or conviction records will be considered for employment in a manner consistent with Federal, State and local laws, including but not limited to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regards to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status or disability status and any other classification protected by Federal, State and local laws.