API Operations Lead

The Operational Readiness Lead owns the end-to-end business and operational readiness strategy for the Interoperability program, ensuring the organization is fully prepared to productionalize new APIs across planned Q3 and Q4 go-live dates. This is an executional, highly visible role - not a meeting-attendance role. The lead must demonstrate a deep working understanding of interoperability objectives, drive tangible deliverables, and hold delivery teams accountable for readiness outcomes. The right candidate rolls up their sleeves, creates artifacts, guides others, and proactively surfaces risks before go-live., Change impact analysis

• Conduct thorough, structured change impact assessments for each API release - not high-level summaries, but actionable analysis tied to specific business functions, roles, and workflows
• Identify upstream and downstream impacts on operational models and escalate risks with mitigation plans well ahead of go-live
• Prioritize impacts by severity and align timelines to Q3/Q4 release schedule
• Operational model & workflow redesign
• Map current-state and future-state business workflows impacted by interoperability APIs
• Identify required operational model changes - staffing, roles, processes - and document clearly for business stakeholders
• Partner with delivery and operations teams to socialize and validate workflow changes before go-live

Documentation & artifact ownership

• Create, own, and maintain operational readiness artifacts - readiness checklists, runbooks, SOPs, and process documentation - directly or in close collaboration with SMEs
• Update existing documentation to reflect new API-driven workflows and operational changes
• Ensure materials presented at Steering Committees and stakeholder meetings are authored or meaningfully shaped by this role

Training strategy & delivery

• Develop a training plan tied to go-live milestones - identifying audiences, modalities, owners, and timelines
• Create or coordinate creation of training materials; do not defer entirely to other team members
• Confirm training completion and readiness sign-off prior to each production release

Communications Planning

• Build and execute a stakeholder communication plan covering awareness, readiness milestones, and go-live notifications
• Tailor messaging for executive, operational, and end-user audiences aligned to enterprise change management standards
• Prepare Steering Committee materials; this lead is accountable for the content, not just the facilitation

Staffing strategy & delivery team guidance

• Identify staffing impacts and resource needs driven by new interoperability capabilities; develop staffing transition plans as needed
• Guide delivery teams on execution of readiness deliverables - who owns what, by when, and to what standard
• Be flexible and willing to step in and execute directly when team capacity or capability gaps arise

Readiness tracking & go-live accountability

• Maintain a living operational readiness tracker with clear status, owners, and due dates for every workstream
• Report readiness status to program leadership with honest, specific assessments - not high-level summaries
• Define and track go/no-go readiness criteria for each API release

Do you have experience in Strategic communications?, * 5+ years in operational readiness, change management, or business readiness roles on technology programs

• Demonstrated understanding of healthcare interoperability (HL7 FHIR, API-based data exchange)
• Proven track record of producing readiness artifacts independently - not relying on other team members to generate deliverables
• Experience facilitating and preparing executive steering committee materials
• Ability to develop and execute training, communication, and staffing plans in parallel
• Strong next-step clarity - able to articulate specific, time-bound actions at any point in the program, * Background in managed care, health plan operations, or payer-side IT programs
• Prosci ADKAR, PMP, or equivalent change/project management certification
• Experience supporting CMS interoperability rule compliance programs (FHIR APIs, patient access, provider directory)
• Familiarity with enterprise change management frameworks aligned to organizational standards
• Ability to operate in a bridge-year or transition program context with compressed timelines, * Healthcare IT: 5 years (Required)
• Operational Readiness: 5 years (Required)
• Change Management: 5 years (Required)
• HL7 FHIR: 2 years (Required)
• CMS Interoperability Rule: 1 year (Required)

$55 - $60 an hour - Contract