VBC Program Manager

Vitae Health Systems•Park Ridge, IL

3d•Remote

About The Position

Vitae Health Systems is launching its ACO under the CMS Long-term Enhanced ACO Design (LEAD) Model on January 1, 2027, building on its experience in ACO REACH High Needs. The VBC Program Manager builds and runs the LEAD ACO’s operating rhythm, ensuring that work driving results—including beneficiary alignment, utilization, quality performance, and program compliance—is tracked, scheduled, and completed on time. This is a hands-on operating role that leads the VBC operations team, runs weekly and monthly performance reviews with the VBC data resource, and works with clinical and operational partners to translate performance data into prioritized actions. The role owns the calendar, cadence, and follow-through; clinical standards and compliance decisions remain with clinical and compliance leadership. The manager oversees ACO performance tracking, operational reporting, CMS deadlines, alignment processes, beneficiary notifications, and cross-functional coordination. The role also manages reporting intake and review, prepares performance summaries for senior leadership and ACO governance, leads root-cause reviews and action plans, and facilitates quarterly improvement cycles. As team lead and first point of contact, the manager coaches staff, sets priorities and escalation thresholds, develops SOPs with process owners, and resolves operational blockers within defined boundaries. Strategic, financial, compliance, and policy matters are escalated to the Director of VBC Operations. Vitae Health Systems was founded in 2018 and provides behavioral health, internal medicine, and podiatry services to residents of Skilled Nursing and Assisted Living Facilities. The company is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, operates in over 10 states, and is expanding throughout the United States. The position is remote, with limited travel to facility partners and team meetings. Compensation is $105,000–$120,000. The role reports to the Director of VBC Operations and has direct reports consisting of VBC Operations Coordinators and a Patient Engagement Representative.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration, public health, business, nursing, or a related field.
At least 4 years of experience in value-based care, ACO operations, or population health; provider-side experience is strongly preferred.
Direct experience in a CMS ACO model, such as ACO REACH (especially High Needs), MSSP, or LEAD.
Experience in post-acute, skilled nursing facility (SNF), or long-term care settings.
At least 2 years of staff management experience.
Track record of running recurring operating cadences and meeting deadlines.
Experience running structured improvement cycles, such as PDSA or Lean, and building playbooks.
Working knowledge of CMS alignment (claims-based and voluntary), ACO quality measures, beneficiary protections and marketing requirements, and benchmark and settlement basics.
Ability to drive follow-through across clinical, operational, and data teams without direct authority.
Clear communication skills, including the ability to explain data to clinicians and leaders.
Comfort with financial and utilization reports, Excel, BI dashboards, and EHR data.

Nice To Haves

Understanding of NP-led care teams.
Clinical background, such as RN.
Master’s degree.

Responsibilities

Run weekly team huddles and monthly performance reviews covering alignment, utilization, quality, and reported spend, using KPIs and targets set by VBC leadership.
Track performance against LEAD quality measures and Prevention and Quality Plan milestones, and report variances to leadership.
Monitor utilization drivers, including admissions, readmissions, ED visits, and post-acute stays; confirm high-risk patients have a named owner and documented action; and escalate gaps to clinical leadership.
Review operational CMS reports and data feeds monthly, flag variances early, and escalate risks with a recommended path.
Maintain the master calendar of CMS deadlines and deliverables, assign a named owner to each, and follow up to ensure deadlines are met.
Oversee the voluntary alignment program against leadership-set targets and deadlines, including a documented pre-submission review before each CMS submission.
Oversee reconciliation of CMS alignment lists to census and EHR data, and lead root-cause reviews of avoidable attrition, including deaths, hospice elections, moves, and Medicare Advantage enrollment.
Reconcile Participant and Preferred Provider lists to HR and credentialing records at the TIN/NPI level, escalating changes requiring leadership or Compliance decisions.
Verify beneficiary notifications and outreach activities are completed, tracked, and documented to CMS requirements in partnership with Compliance.
Work with operations managers to schedule and deliver VBC activities at the facility and NP level, surfacing barriers early and avoiding unnecessary burden.
Partner with VBC clinical leadership to ensure workflows, checklists, and handoffs reflect clinical standards.
Support development of provider-facing materials, including scorecards, tip sheets, and trainings, coordinating timelines and operational input with clinical and data owners.
Submit and sequence reporting requests to the VBC data resource through a single intake, review data for reasonableness before use, and identify manual work that could be automated.
Prepare performance summaries for the Director of VBC Operations to present to senior leadership and ACO governance, aggregating data, clinical, and operational input.
Lead root-cause reviews when measures move off target, develop action plans with named owners and due dates, track actions to closure, and route clinical actions to clinical leadership.
Facilitate quarterly plan-do-study-act improvement cycles based on financial and performance results, convening Finance, clinical, and data partners to select opportunities, assign actions, evaluate results, and document learning in a VBC operating playbook.
Lead the VBC operations team as its first point of contact; coach staff, set priorities and escalation thresholds, build SOPs with process owners, and resolve operational questions and blockers within defined boundaries.
Escalate strategic, financial, compliance, and policy matters to the Director of VBC Operations.
Provide input to the Director of VBC Operations on structure and staffing as the scope grows.