VP Strategic Partnership Development

ATI Physical Therapy•Downers Grove, IL

22h•$200,000 - $250,000•Remote

About The Position

The Vice President of Strategic Partnership Development will lead ATI’s enterprise partnership strategy, with accountability for building a market-prioritized pipeline of strategic growth opportunities across health systems, payers, and other high-value healthcare ecosystem relationships. Reporting directly to the Chief Clinical and Strategy Officer, this executive will serve as a senior external relationship leader and partnership strategist for growth. This leader will identify, cultivate, and advance external opportunities that support ATI’s enterprise growth priorities, market specific strategy, and long-term competitive positioning. The role will create a disciplined approach in which partnerships are used intentionally as a growth lever based on market opportunity, partner fit, operational readiness, and enterprise value. This leader will also lead net-new market opportunity identification, evaluation and planning as a complement to ATI’s existing market strategy. Leading alignment with Market Strategy & Growth, Real Estate, Finance, Operations, Sales, Clinical, Field Leadership, and external strategy resources as needed, this role will help determine where ATI should expand next and which growth pathway is most appropriate, including de novo development, acquisition, JV, MSA, payer / employer strategy, or other ecosystem relationship models. This role requires a senior healthcare growth leader with deep knowledge of healthcare market dynamics, executive relationship credibility, strong partnership development capability, and the ability to translate market insights into actionable partnership and ecosystem growth opportunities.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required.
Minimum of 10 years of experience in healthcare strategy, strategic partnerships, corporate development, business development, provider / payer strategy, consulting, or related healthcare growth leadership roles.
8+ years in a senior leadership role with enterprise-level scope and responsibilities in healthcare.
Demonstrated experience building and advancing strategic healthcare partnerships, including health system, provider group, payer, employer, JV, MSA, or acquisition-adjacent opportunities.
Experience evaluating market expansion opportunities and translating market dynamics into actionable growth, partnership, or investment recommendations.
Experience working across complex, multi-site healthcare organizations with matrixed stakeholders and distributed field leadership.
Strong healthcare ecosystem knowledge, including health system dynamics, provider group strategy, payer models, employer healthcare needs, referral economics, and ambulatory growth trends.
Proven ability to originate, develop, and advance strategic partnerships from early-stage relationship development through executive decision-making.
Executive presence and credibility with C-suite leaders, Boards, health system executives, payer / employer leaders, provider groups, and external partners.
Strong strategic thinking and market development capability, with the ability to connect market opportunity, partner landscape, financial potential, and operational readiness.
Demonstrated ability to evaluate open / buy / partner options and translate market insights into actionable growth recommendations.
Strong commercial judgment, including ability to assess revenue potential, EBITDA / margin implications, referral capture, leakage risk, partner value, and long-term strategic fit.
Excellent relationship-building, negotiation, and influence skills, with the ability to navigate complex internal and external stakeholder environments.
Ability to partner effectively across Market Strategy & Growth, Real Estate, Finance, Legal, Operations, Sales, Clinical, Marketing, and Field Leadership.
Strong executive communication skills, including ability to prepare and present clear, compelling recommendations to the CCSO, ELT, Investment Committee, Board, and external partners.
Comfortable navigating ambiguity, creating structure around emerging opportunities, and driving clarity in fast-paced environments.
Ability to lead and scale a strategic partnerships function as ATI’s JV, MSA, payer, employer, and strategic account portfolio matures.
Results-oriented, collaborative, and disciplined, with a focus on enterprise value creation, partner outcomes, and long-term growth.

Nice To Haves

MBA, MHA, JD, or similar advanced degree strongly preferred.
Experience in outpatient care, ambulatory healthcare, physical therapy, musculoskeletal care, health systems, payer / employer partnerships, or adjacent healthcare service industries.
Experience working with executive-level health system, payer, employer, or provider group leaders.
Experience supporting open / buy / partner decisions, market entry strategy, partnership transactions, or acquisition-adjacent growth opportunities.
Experience leading or building account management, partner success, or strategic relationship management functions.

Responsibilities

Build, manage, and prioritize ATI’s strategic partnership pipeline across health systems, JVs, MSAs, payers, employers, provider groups, and other healthcare ecosystem partners.
Proactively source and cultivate new opportunities through market intelligence, executive networking, industry relationships, external advisors, and targeted outreach.
Develop senior relationships with hospital system executives, payer leaders, employer partners, provider groups, corporate development leaders, and market influencers.
Ensure partnership opportunities are aligned to ATI’s enterprise growth priorities, district segmentation, channel priorities, and market-specific growth plays.
Lead or co-lead the identification, evaluation, and prioritization of net-new market opportunities as a complement to ATI’s existing-market segmentation work.
Partner with Market Strategy & Growth, Real Estate, Finance, Operations, Sales, Clinical, Field Leadership, and external strategy resources as needed to assess market attractiveness, competitive dynamics, referral opportunity, payer / employer potential, operational readiness, and financial implications.
Recommend the most appropriate growth pathway for priority net-new markets, including de novo development, acquisition, JV, MSA, payer / employer strategy, or other ecosystem relationship models.
Lead strategic evaluation of partnership, JV, MSA, payer, employer, and acquisition-adjacent opportunities, including strategic fit, market relevance, financial potential, and operational implications.
Partner with Finance, Legal, Operations, Clinical, Real Estate, Sales, and Market Strategy to support diligence, valuation, deal structuring, risk assessment, and go / no-go recommendations.
Oversee preparation of executive-ready opportunity briefs, business cases, decision materials, and Investment Committee / ELT recommendations.
Guide offer, LOI, partnership construct, and negotiation strategy development, ensuring key decisions reflect EBITDA / margin implications, operational capacity, legal guardrails, and enterprise risk.
Serve as senior relationship owner for high-priority strategic partnerships, JVs, MSAs, and ecosystem relationships.
Establish executive governance expectations with strategic partners, including relationship cadence, escalation paths, performance expectations, and growth objectives.
Oversee partner expansion planning, renewal strategy, relationship health, and long-term account growth in partnership with Ryan McGovern and future account management resources.
Escalate and resolve high-stakes partner issues involving reputational risk, margin impact, contract deviations, or enterprise precedent.
Lead and develop the Strategic Partnerships function, including Director MSA & Strategic Partnerships and future JV / strategic account management roles as the portfolio matures.
Clarify role boundaries, handoffs, and accountabilities across strategic relationship ownership, partnership lifecycle execution, partner success, field activation, and operational delivery.
Partner across Market Strategy & Growth, Sales, Field Operations, Marketing, Finance, Legal, Clinical, Real Estate, and Talent Acquisition to ensure partnership strategies are executable in-market.
Provide executive-level updates to the CCSO, ELT, Board, and other stakeholders regarding pipeline health, strategic opportunities, partner performance, risks, and decisions needed.