Sr. Director of Strategic Partnerships

About the Company: Octave is a modern behavioral health practice creating a new standard for care delivery that’s both high-quality and accessible. With in-person and virtual clinics in multiple states, the company offers evidence-based individual, couples, and family therapy, while pioneering relationships with payers to make care more affordable through insurance. By raising the bar on how care is delivered and how providers are supported, we are building a sustainable system that values equity, affordability, and effectiveness. Job Summary:   The Sr. Director, Strategic Partnerships is a relationship-first leader responsible for managing and growing one of the company’s most strategic external partnerships. This role will own the day-to-day partnership with Evernorth, ensuring strong alignment, effective communication, and delivery against shared contractual and business goals. This individual will focus on building trust, navigating complexity, and driving execution across internal and external stakeholders. Success in this role requires strong account management instincts, the ability to influence without authority, and comfort operating in a fast-paced, evolving environment. Management Responsibilities:   Develops, coordinates, and implements  systems, policies, procedures, and productivity standards. Provide leadership and guidance to the team, ensuring the achievement of goals and objectives. Foster a positive and collaborative work environment. Oversee the planning, execution, and completion of projects and initiatives within the team. Establish and monitor operational processes and workflows to enhance efficiency and productivity. Streamline operational processes, enhance efficiency, and improve overall organizational performance.  Implement best practices, monitor key performance indicators (KPIs), and develop strategies to achieve operational excellence. Ensures a safe, secure, and compliant work environment. Accomplishes staff results by communicating job expectations; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results. Build and manage a high-performing team, including hiring, training, and development. Provide leadership to the team, including setting goals, providing guidance, and ensuring the team's overall success. Set performance expectations and goals for team members. Conduct regular performance evaluations, provide feedback, and address performance issues.  Identify skill gaps within the team and develop strategies for filling those gaps. Support employee development through training, mentoring, and coaching. Identify high-potential employees and create succession plans. Duties & Responsibilities: Serve as the primary owner of the relationship with Evernorth, acting as the central point of contact and accountability. Build and maintain strong, trust-based relationships with external stakeholders, proactively managing communication, expectations, and issue resolution. Translate partner needs into clear internal priorities, driving alignment and coordination across cross-functional teams (operations, product, engineering, and finance). Ensure successful execution of partnership initiatives by removing blockers, resolving friction, and maintaining momentum across stakeholders. Monitor and report on key partnership metrics and outcomes, partnering with internal teams to interpret performance and identify areas for improvement. Partner with finance and analytics teams on performance insights, contributing to data-driven decision-making across the partnership. Continuously refine partnership processes, communication rhythms, and ways of working to strengthen long-term collaboration and scalability. Identify opportunities to deepen and expand the partnership over time, in alignment with company priorities. Leverage AI tools as a core part of daily work (drafting, research, iteration) to improve efficiency, quality, and decision-making. Required Skills: Strong account management and relationship-building experience, particularly with complex, enterprise-level partners. Excellent communication skills, with the ability to navigate and align diverse stakeholders across internal and external teams. Demonstrated ability to operate effectively in a matrixed environment and influence without direct authority. Strong operational mindset with a focus on execution, follow-through, and driving outcomes. Comfort working with data and business metrics, with the ability to partner effectively with finance and analytics teams. Experience working in high-growth or evolving environments with shifting priorities. Ability to manage ambiguity, resolve conflict, and maintain forward progress in complex situations. Strong organizational and prioritization skills. Comfort using AI tools in day-to-day workflows, with a willingness to continuously rethink and improve how work gets done. Curiosity and openness to experimenting with new tools and approaches; prior experience with AI tools is a plus. Education & Experience: 8–12 years of relevant experience in account management, strategic partnerships, or related roles; healthcare or health tech required. Experience managing large, complex external partnerships or enterprise accounts. Prior experience working cross-functionally with product, operations, and engineering teams. Experience supporting business performance through metrics and data, in partnership with finance or analytics teams. People management experience a plus but not required. Octave's Company Values: The below values drive our day-to-day operations. We’re human beings first. We operate with empathy and kindness – with our clients, with our collaborators, and with ourselves. People deserve better than status quo. We’re willing to tackle the intractable problems, no matter how big, because someone should. We ask big questions, we craft big solutions, and we challenge ourselves and others