State System Partnerships Director

Evidence Based Associates•, (Multiple States)

2d•$150,000 - $170,000•Remote

About The Position

Empower Community Care partners with public systems to deliver and scale evidence-based programs and services that improve outcomes for children, youth and families across juvenile justice, child welfare, behavioral health, human services and early childhood. Our portfolio brings together clinical programs, assessment and case management tools, practitioner development, implementation support and technology under one enterprise. We are building a commercial organization capable of multiplying the company's reach over the next five years. The Director, State System Partnerships is central to that build. This role owns a named book of state-system relationships in a defined pod territory and is accountable for developing multi-program, multi-year partnerships with the agencies and executives who fund and govern care. This is not a product sales role. You will sell Empower's ability to help a state understand need, select the right interventions, build local provider capacity and sustain outcomes. Your job is to orchestrate Empower's capabilities around the customer rather than to personally hold every one of them.

Requirements

Ten or more years of combined public-sector, government or policy, and enterprise commercial selling experience, with demonstrated success owning and closing complex state-system opportunities.
A track record of closing multi-year public-sector contracts with system-level buyers, not only program-level purchases, and of owning a multi-state or statewide book.
Substantive experience in one or more of our systems: juvenile justice, child welfare, behavioral health, human services, Medicaid or education.
Command of government procurement, contracting vehicles and public funding mechanisms.
Policy and funding fluency: the ability to read legislative, appropriations and budget cycles and time commercial strategy against them.
Credibility and composure with senior public officials, and the judgment to navigate agency politics with discretion.
Demonstrated ability to orchestrate cross-functional pursuit teams and internal capabilities without direct authority.
Willingness to travel regionally and nationally.
Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a background check, consistent with applicable law and Empower's standard hiring practices.
The employee must maintain strict confidentiality and comply with Empower's internal data governance and confidentiality policies.

Nice To Haves

Experience selling evidence-based programs, clinical models or outcomes-based services.
Existing relationships with system leaders in the assigned territory's priority states.
Experience with managed care, Medicaid or value-based contracting.
Experience working alongside government relations, advocacy or lobbying teams as part of a commercial strategy.
Direct service inside a state system: agency, legislature, governor's office, appropriations or a comparable public role.
Experience in a multi-brand or matrixed commercial organization, and comfort operating in one being actively built.

Responsibilities

Own a defined book of state and system relationships within an assigned pod territory, concentrated in Empower's priority states.
Build and maintain an annual account plan for each priority state covering the systems and executives in play, continuum gaps, current Empower penetration, funding and procurement cycles, required proof points and the plays for the year.
Carry full commercial responsibility for the book: pipeline development, forecast accuracy, deal execution and renewal of the accounts you own.
Maintain disciplined opportunity, forecast and activity hygiene in HubSpot. Pipeline that is not in the system does not exist.
Run the full enterprise lifecycle with state and local government, from first executive engagement through contract execution, on cycles that commonly run 12 to 24 months or longer.
Navigate multi-stakeholder procurement, braided funding, legislative calendars and agency leadership transitions.
Pre-position ahead of procurement: build relationships early enough to inform scope and requirements before an RFP is released.
Bring funding fluency to the table. Understand how Title IV-E, Medicaid, CCBHC, JJDPA and state appropriations move through systems, and help buyers find budget where they believe none exists.
Draw on Empower's government relations strategists, lobbyists and executive leadership where policy positioning, legislative timing or appropriations advocacy can open or accelerate an opportunity.
Translate field intelligence into clear direction for that partnership: which states, which committees, which budget cycles and which policy windows matter most to the book.
Act as the primary seller of Empower's implementation and quality infrastructure services: system assessment and readiness, technical assistance, provider capacity building, training, service coordination, workforce and program implementation.
Position the full portfolio to system-level buyers as an integrated capability rather than a catalog of programs.
Develop statewide continuum opportunities that connect assessment, intervention, practitioner development and outcomes measurement into a single partnership.
Expand into newer buyer types, including Medicaid agencies, managed care organizations and performance-based or value-based arrangements.
Create the mandate at the system level, then bring in the relevant Specialty seller to lead the program or solution conversation with the operational buyer.
Coordinate multiple Specialty sellers on multi-program pursuits and own the integrated proposal.
Orchestrate the full set of Empower capabilities around the account — clinical programs, assessment and practitioner tools, implementation support, government relations and executive sponsorship — rather than carrying every capability yourself.
Carry delivery proof and outcomes evidence from initial engagements back up into the executive relationship to unlock the next program, region or agency.
Own the system-level relationship, executive access and long-term contract strategy.
Transition program-level delivery relationships to Specialty, Customer Success, and Implementation Success after close.
Stay engaged post-close. You own the renewal forecast and the expansion thesis for your accounts.
Lead with Empower Community Care in introductions, at conferences, and in written and digital presence.
Build presence within relevant associations, coalitions and policy forums, and represent and exhibit Empower at regional and national events.
Monitor legislative, regulatory and funding developments across your states and translate them into timed opportunities.
Feed market intelligence, competitive insight and customer signal back to the Chief Growth Officer.
Work directly with current Enterprise sellers to understand each account's history, relationship map, prior commitments and open threads, and to take on ownership through a deliberate, documented transition rather than a cold start.