Senior Director, Sales Executive - IFP

Your Role

The Individual & Family Plan (IFP) line of business serves Californians who purchase health insurance directly from Blue Shield of California, or through Covered California, brokers and evolving online channels and partnerships. Serving this market is critical to California’s embrace of the Affordable Care Act and Blue Shield's own mission, as we balance a competitive landscape, regulatory complexity, evolving technologies and distribution partners, and a consumer-first experience in a highly dynamic market. 

The Senior Director, Sales Executive - IFP will report to the Individual Plans Growth & State Policy Strategy Leader. In this role you will be responsible for playing a pivotal role in accelerating membership growth in the market, management and end-to-end leadership of the IFP direct and channel sales teams and related strategies and processes. You will lead a direct team of sales professionals focusing on broker / channel sales and inside sales, as well as seasonal/contracted support during open enrollment timeframes. This role can be based at any of our Blue Shield offices, with the current team footprint primarily based in Sacramento and Woodland Hills.   

Our leadership model is about developing great leaders at all levels and creating opportunities for our people to grow – personally, professionally, and financially. We are looking for leaders that are energized by creative and critical thinking, building and sustaining high-performing teams, getting results the right way, and fostering continuous learning.

Your Work

In this role, you will:

• Develop and execute the IFP sales strategy by identifying growth opportunities and building sales execution plans to achieve annual acquisition and renewal targets for medical, dental and vision products, across multiple channels and assistance approaches
• Develop strategies that optimize cost-of-sale, life-time value and similar metrics across the sales lifecycle (from demand generation to renewal)
• Work closely with marketing and digital on strategy and tactics to drive qualified opportunities, into the proper channels, to maximize growth
• Position Blue Shield advantageously in the evolving distribution channel landscape, including Covered California, brokers, agency online marketplaces or quoting engines, integrated enrollment platforms, and ICHRA or employer-sponsored enrollment platforms – as well as evaluating other strategic partners or paths Blue Shield of California should pursue
• Oversee all channels, except Covered California, including technology connections, sales requirements, relationship management and compensation strategies
• Work in coordination with Covered California account management team to optimize and complement applicable growth strategies
• Work with internal partners who provide direct and indirect support to the channel landscape - including Producer Services, IT, Enrollment, Operations —to ensure capabilities, processes, and service models are aligned to support effective sales execution, operational readiness, and a channel partner experience
• Lead and develop a high-performing sales organization by creating a strong sales culture rooted in accountability, performance, coaching, collaboration, and results
• Establish clear expectations and goals, motivate and develop leaders and team members, and foster an environment where teams are empowered to grow, execute with discipline, and consistently deliver against sales and retention objectives 
• Manage the sales vendor / contract and inbound call center strategies and management, including looking for opportunities for alignment across Blue Shield

Your Knowledge and Experience

• Requires a bachelor's degree or equivalent experience 
• Requires at least 12 years of prior relevant experience including 6 years of management experience
• Requires Individual Family Plan (IFP) or Medicare health insurance sales experience 
• Requires an active Health and Life license with the California Department of Insurance 
• Requires existing relationships with key distribution channels or partners in the IFP or Medicare market within the state of California 
• Requires familiarity and/or understanding of the ACA and exchange marketplaces 

About Blue Shield of California

As of January 2025, Blue Shield of California became a subsidiary of Ascendiun. Ascendiun is a nonprofit corporate entity that is the parent to a family of organizations including Blue Shield of California and its subsidiary, Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan; Altais, a clinical services company; and Stellarus, a company designed to scale healthcare solutions. Together, these organizations are referred to as the Ascendiun Family of Companies. 

At Blue Shield of California, our mission is to create a healthcare system worthy of our family and friends and sustainably affordable. We are transforming health care in a way that genuinely serves our nonprofit mission by lowering costs, improving quality, and enhancing the member and physician experience. 

To achieve our mission, we foster an environment where all employees can thrive and contribute fully to address the needs of the various communities we serve. We are committed to creating and maintaining a supportive workplace that upholds our values and advances our goals.

Blue Shield is a U.S. News Best Company to work for, a Deloitte U.S. Best Managed Company and a Top 100 Inspiring Workplace. We were recognized by Fair360 as a Top Regional Company, and one of the 50 most community-minded companies in the United States by Points of Light. Here at Blue Shield, we strive to make a positive change across our industry and communities – join us!  

Our Values: 

• Honest. We hold ourselves to the highest ethical and integrity standards. We build trust by doing what we say we're going to do and by acknowledging and correcting where we fall short. 
• Human. We strive to listen and communicate effectively, showing empathy by understanding others' perspectives.
• Courageous. We stand up for what we believe in and are committed to the hard work necessary to achieve our ambitious goals. 

Physical Requirements:

Office Environment - roles involving part to full time schedule in Office Environment. Based in our physical offices and work from home office/deskwork - Activity level: Sedentary, frequency most of work day.

Please click here for further physical requirement detail. 

Equal Employment Opportunity:

External hires must pass a background check/drug screen. Qualified applicants with arrest records and/or conviction records will be considered for employment in a manner consistent with Federal, State and local laws, including but not limited to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regards to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status or disability status and any other classification protected by Federal, State and local laws.