Vice President of Operations

This position is a hybrid role that requires three days in the office per week, however, may change based upon the needs of the organization.

Compensation: This position is exempt, and the salary range is $214,386-$283,067 annually plus is eligible to participate in our Incentive Compensation Plan (ICP). 

The Vice President of Operations at Delta Dental of Colorado will oversee core operations, including customer experience, claims processing, and quality assurance. This transformative leader will drive enterprise-wide initiatives, foster trust, and build meaningful relationships across the leadership team and with business partners. Key responsibilities include leading operational functions, optimizing administrative processes, enhancing service delivery, and managing program initiatives. The VP will also leverage data analytics to support decision-making and operational improvements, playing a crucial role in scaling operations to support business growth while maintaining efficiency and controlling costs. Additionally, this leader will ensure seamless collaboration between operations and other departments to enhance overall service delivery and operational excellence.

Position Requirements:

Education, Licensure, and Experience:

• Graduate from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree in business administration, healthcare management, or a related field or a combination of relevant experience and education is required is required, MBA, MHA, MPA, DDS /DMD or similar advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum of 7-10 years of experience in overseeing and managing operational functions such as direct patient care services, customer service, claims processing, business operations, revenue cycle management, or data analytics.
• Minimum of 7-10 years of workforce management experience and knowledge of effective supervisory/management practices required. 10 years preferred.
• Experience in the dental/medical insurance or consulting industry required.
• Track record of strong industry knowledge, policy and advocacy landscape, and external relationship management skills.
• Proven ability to leverage external partnerships in support of business development, strategic planning, and other growth goals. 
• Demonstrated success in managing complex projects, optimizing processes, and driving performance improvements. 
• Experience working in a highly regulated environment with a focus on compliance and quality assurance.

Skills and Abilities:

• Strong working knowledge of trends in the dental care field strongly preferred.
• Deep expertise in creating strategic roadmaps with the ability to align future capabilities with business goals and navigate the evolving landscape of customer needs and technological advancements.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to effectively collaborate with stakeholders at all levels of the organization.
• Ability to foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement within teams.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, with a keen attention to detail.
• Demonstrated ability to think strategically and align platform initiatives with business objectives.
• Showcase technical expertise, strategic thinking, and collaborative leadership with a strong understanding of core operations and related technologies.
• Advanced supervisory, team building, and conflict resolution skills with strong problem-solving, and troubleshooting abilities.
• Ability to gather, analyze, and synthesize information and data from multiple sources.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills with the ability to handle multiple priorities and prioritize and schedule accordingly.
• High level of integrity and discretion in handling confidential information.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to adapt to changing priorities.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a team environment.
• Intermediate knowledge of the most recent version of Microsoft Office suite using Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, and Teams with an advanced working knowledge of Excel.

Essential Functions:

• Provide strategic guidance to departments, oversee daily operations, solve problems, and delegate tasks. Conduct interviews, make hiring decisions, and handle performance evaluations, disciplinary discussions, and terminations.
• Lead, mentor, and motivate teams of Department Directors, managers, and professionals to achieve departmental goals. Evaluate and counsel team members on their performance, promoting growth and excellence.
• Enable transformation by forging strong business and technology partnerships, collaborating with peer VP executives, C-Suite, and leaders across the enterprise.
• Plan and develop educational training for departments, including job-specific training and new business processes, in partnership with directors, managers, and the Learning and Development team.
• Oversee the implementation and management of departmental processes and workflows. Create, implement, and coordinate policies and standard operating procedures to enhance DDCO’s service delivery model.
• Review and analyze reports, records, and directives. Collaborate with other departments to obtain data for planning initiatives. Prepare the annual department budget and monitor costs throughout the year.
• Participate in the development and execution of organizational OKRs with department leadership. Provide strategic leadership and change management in developing department-specific and organizational OKRs that support DDCO’s mission and strategic plan.
• Identify best practices and process improvements to achieve strategic planning goals, administrative cost savings, and growth strategies. Ensure compliance with relevant regulations, standards, and best practices related to data security, privacy, and governance.
• Develop and own the strategic vision for Operations teams to support DDCO’s long-term goals and growth strategies.
• Provide industry-leading insights and best practices to position DDCO as a leader in analytics tools, solutions, and scalability.
• Partner with senior leadership to optimize business performance, enhance claims utilization management, improve customer satisfaction, and support new product development through data analytics.
• Manage key vendor relationships and enforce SLA terms to ensure ongoing access to high-fidelity data.
• Lead the development and implementation of a comprehensive data analytics strategy leveraging cloud data warehousing, advanced analytics, machine learning, and predictive modeling to drive business outcomes.
• Partner with sales and marketing teams to identify opportunities for sales growth and scale operations in alignment with business expansion plans.
• Optimize operational capacity and administrative processes to support growth while maintaining efficiency and controlling costs.
• Prepare annual department budgets and monitor costs throughout the year. Develop and implement strategies to manage administrative expenses, identifying areas for cost reduction without compromising service quality or operational effectiveness.
• Serve as senior leader sponsor for key vendor relationships, including claims platform and business processing outsourcing, ensuring efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and adherence to SLAs.
• Identify opportunities for operational improvements, driving process optimization and best practice adoption across the organization.
• Lead the evaluation and selection of vendor partners, ensuring strategic objectives and operational needs are met.
• Lead cross-functional program and project management initiatives to deliver on key operational goals, ensuring alignment with Delta Dental’s overall strategy.
• Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress and drive accountability across operational teams.
• Partner with other functional leaders (e.g., finance, IT, product, sales) to align operational initiatives with broader business objectives.
• Develop actionable reporting and dashboards with the strategic data analytics team to track operational performance, identify trends, and communicate findings to leadership and stakeholders.
• Leverage data to identify opportunities for cost reductions and service improvements.
• Ensure scalable systems, processes, and teams are in place to support increased volume, profitability, and expansion into new products and services.

General Position Responsibilities:

• Serve as a key liaison between operations and other areas of the company to ensure a seamless experience for team members and members.  
• Compile and present detailed reports to the executive leadership team, the DDCO board, and internal stakeholders. Provide insights and recommendations based on performance data.
• Collaborate with stakeholder departments to ensure that department-specific technologies are effectively integrated with other business systems and existing infrastructure to optimize performance and functionality. Triage and troubleshoot issues that arise impacting business continuity.
• Communicate project and program statuses and demonstrations.
• Attend off-site client meetings with strategic members of the company as a subject matter expert, presenting underwriting results to senior management and consultants.
• Assist in producing ad hoc reports for ELT and other departments, providing information regarding various elements of the business.
• Work closely with the peers to develop new reports, dashboards, and other analyses to help internal and external stakeholders.
• Participate in cross-departmental meetings and committees to support and drive the organization as an industry leader.
• Role model a positive work attitude and expect the same from others while holding self and others accountable to DDCO’s Core Values.
• Take the lead role in oversight of the quality improvement initiatives and ensuring timely project management and reporting.
• Maintain competency through professional self-development by participating in professional group and network activities.
• Act as a liaison with other departments and work in collaboration with other department leaders.
• Become familiar with and follow DDCO-wide and department-specific policies, standard operating procedures and the DDCO Core Values; seek assistance from management or Human Resources when clarification or assistance is needed.
• Assist others as requested.

Degree of Authority/Management:

Team members in this position will be expected to perform most job duties and responsibilities independently and in accordance with established departmental and organizational policies and standard operating procedures.

This position is responsible for the supervision of the following departments and all team members in those departments: Claims; Clinical; Customer Experience; Business Operations; Quality Assurance; Provider Relations.

Working Conditions:

• This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, and photocopiers.  Regular exposure to a computer screen.
• No physical effort beyond that is typically required in a normal office environment.
• A flexible schedule may be required. The potential for tight deadlines or periods of high workload might require additional hours. 
• Work on weekends or evenings may be required.
• This position is a hybrid role that requires 3 days in the Centennial office per week and may change based upon the needs of the organization.
• Ability to perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation.

Benefits:

Delta Dental of Colorado offers a comprehensive compensation and benefits package. Some of the highlights from our benefits package include:

• 23 days of PTO
• 11 paid holidays
• 6 paid illness days
• Three affordable medical health plans
• Fantastic dental insurance plan
• Vision and hearing plan
• 401(k) match with immediate vesting
• Supplemental retirement savings plan
• Company-paid life insurance, short-term disability, and long-term disability policies
• Wellness program
• Tuition reimbursement
• ECO Passes for team members (we are near a light rail station!)
• Paid volunteer time off

This position is a hybrid role that requires three days in the office per week, however, may change based upon the needs of the organization.

Compensation: This position is exempt, and the salary range is $214,386-$283,067 annually plus is eligible to participate in our Incentive Compensation Plan (ICP). 

Posting Close Date: 5/19/25

Delta Dental of Colorado is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, military or veteran status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or any other applicable status protected by federal, state, or local law.

Salary : $214,386 - $283,067