Spark Advisors
Director of Carrier Relations
Job Summary
The role focuses on driving revenue growth through negotiations with Medicare carriers, managing carrier relationships, and expanding Spark's carrier portfolio. The candidate will leverage industry knowledge, financial skills, and negotiation capabilities to maximize revenue and secure favorable contracts. Strong experience in Medicare contract negotiations and business development skills are essential. The position involves collaborating with sales and account teams, researching new carrier opportunities, and working in a dynamic, high-pressure environment.
Required Skills
Benefits
Job Description
About Spark Advisors
We’re Spark, a mission-driven company helping independent Medicare brokers build the insurance business of their dreams. The vast majority of beneficiaries select benefits with the help of an independent broker, but technology and support for brokers is woefully antiquated. We provide workflows and services to help brokers achieve transformative growth.
In just five years, we’ve partnered with over 6,000 brokers and enrolled over 140,000 beneficiaries, making us the fastest-growing Medicare brokerage in the country. Brokers love us: during this period of intense growth, we’ve maintained an NPS of 91 and a client retention rate of 93%, and we’ve helped brokers grow on average >100% since partnering with us.
It’s an exciting time to be at Spark. Our diverse, remote-first team comes from leading technology, healthcare, and insurance companies, and has grown from 70 to 90 in the last year. Most recently, we’ve raised a Series B from leading investors who share our ambition.
Join us: we’re always on the lookout for sharp, talented, empathetic teammates.
Summary
We’re looking for a Director of Carrier Relations to take Spark to the next level by driving strategy and execution across national and local Medicare carriers.
Working closely with the EVP of Growth, you will own revenue generation across our existing Medicare carrier partners. You will be responsible for ongoing financial negotiations with each Medicare carrier to ensure Spark is maximizing revenue for our own business along with all of our distribution partners. You will leverage your industry knowledge and relationships, cross-functional working style, financial modeling expertise, and strong negotiation skills to consistently demonstrate the Spark value proposition to carriers and secure the highest revenue-per-application each enrollment period.
Furthermore, you will be responsible for adding new carriers to Spark’s portfolio as part of our revenue expansion strategy. Collaborating with Spark’s Sales and Account Management teams, you will negotiate direct, top-of-the-hierarchy contracts with Medicare carriers that we’re not currently contracted with.
The ideal candidate is a true entrepreneur with exceptional sales and business development skills. You know how to work in an unstructured environment and thrive in high pressure situations. You have deep carrier relationships, a bias towards action, and a willingness to roll up your sleeves. You know what it takes to close a deal and you’re euphoric about being a key pillar of our go-to-market team.
What you’ll do:
- Drive financial negotiations with all existing carriers
- Negotiate with each carrier annually to secure / maintain the highest amount of override commission for Spark and its distribution partners
- Negotiate with each carrier leading up to each enrollment period to secure / maintain the highest amount of marketing co-op for Spark and its distribution partners
- Drive the new-to-Spark carrier sales strategy
- Research, prioritize, and outreach new carriers that have been identified by leadership as having strategic influence to Spark and its distribution partners
- Negotiate with each carrier to secure direct, top-of-the-hierarchy contracts and find alternate contracting pathways if needed
- Drive incremental Medicare revenue across Spark’s distribution
- Collaborate with Spark’s Sales, Account Management, and Training teams by serving as a Medicare product expert
What we’re looking for:
- +5-10 years of experience negotiating Medicare FMO contracts on the carrier or FMO side
- Deep relationships with Medicare carriers (non-Medicare carriers are a plus!)
- Strong understanding of FMO economics and financial modeling skills
- Creativity to negotiate and tenacity to close deals is a must
- Excellent prospecting, product demonstration, and general business development skills
- Terrific communication and team collaboration skills
- Comfort with ambiguity; ability to be flexible in a rapidly changing environment
- Experience working within sales engagement software and CRM
- Ability to travel 25-33% of the time
Compensation
Our salary ranges are based on paying competitively for our company’s size and industry, and are one part of the total compensation package that also includes equity, benefits, and other opportunities at Spark. In accordance with New York City, Colorado, California, and other applicable laws, Spark is required to provide a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role. Individual pay decisions are ultimately based on a number of factors, including qualifications for the role, experience level, skillset, geography, and balancing internal equity. A reasonable estimate of the current salary range is listed below. We expect most candidates to fall in the middle of the range. We also believe that your personal needs and preferences should be taken into consideration, so we allow some choice between equity and cash.
Why you should join our team
By joining Spark, you will get in on the ground floor of a fast-moving, well-funded, and mission-driven startup where you will have a profound impact on the brokers and beneficiaries we serve. And you'll learn, grow, be challenged, and have fun with your team while doing it.
We strive to help you and your family thrive. We're committed to supporting your happiness, healthiness, and overall well-being by providing a comprehensive benefits program. In addition to your base salary, we also offer:
- Equity compensation
- Health care, including dental and vision through our PEO Sequoia
- Flexible work location; co-working available
- 401k
- Paid Time Off
- Monthly Remote Work Stipend (help cover costs of home-office needs)
- Paid Parental Leave
- Up to 12 weeks for birthing parents
- Up to 8 weeks for non-birth parents
- 11 paid holidays
- 2 week sabbatical at 5 years of employment
- Wellbeing Perks through SpringHealth, OneMedical, PerkSpot, and SoFi
Compliance
Spark is a proud participant in E-Verify. As part of our commitment to compliance, we use the E-Verify program to confirm the employment eligibility of all employees working in the United States. For more information about E-Verify, please visit www.e-verify.gov.
Furthermore, for security and compliance requirements, we’re unable to accommodate international remote work. While we fully support travel and time off, all work must be conducted from an approved location within the U.S.
At Spark, we are committed to hiring the best team to serve our clients regardless of their background. We need diverse perspectives to reflect the diversity of our problems and the population we serve. We look to hire people from a variety of backgrounds, including, but not limited to, race, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, national origin, religion, disability, and veteran status.
Spark Advisors
Build the insurance business of your dreams. The modern platform to take your brokerage to the next level.
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