Director, Product Strategy

Job Description

Your Role

The Behavioral Health Services (BHS) team is responsible for developing the foundation for and executing a best-in-class behavioral health insurance product for Blue Shield, including creating pricing models by line of business, and establishing a core operations infrastructure.

As Director, Behavioral Health Product, reporting into the VP, Behavioral Helath Services, you will lead the strategy, design, development, and optimization of our behavioral health product portfolio. This is a pivotal role at the intersection of clinical care, technology, and innovation; you are responsible for transforming behavioral health delivery into a seamless, scalable, and outcomes-driven experience. You will develop and execute a product roadmap that aligns with our mission to deliver high-quality, equitable care while addressing market demand, member needs, and system inefficiencies.

You will collaborate closely with colleagues in clinical strategy, programs and partnerships, engineering, data science, and marketing to ensure that our products are not only operationally sound and clinically grounded, but also differentiated in the market. You will own the process of identifying user needs, crafting business cases, and defining product requirements that translate strategy into results.

As the steward of the behavioral health product vision, you will be responsible for leveraging competitive intelligence, member insights, and internal analytics to identify market gaps, prioritize features, and build scalable, technology-enabled solutions. You will guide the product lifecycle from concept through evaluation, and ensure that every initiative is tied to measurable clinical, operational, and business outcomes.

We are building the future of behavioral health: tech-enabled, data-informed, and deeply human. If you are a product leader who thrives at the intersection of innovation, impact, and execution, we’d love to meet you.

Responsibilities

Your Work

In this role, you will:

• Develop and lead a multi-year product strategy and roadmap for behavioral health solutions across lines of business
• Translate market trends, member needs, and competitive insights into a differentiated behavioral health product vision
• Collaborate with clinical, partnerships, and programs teams to ensure products align with evidence-based care models and population health goals
• Lead business case development, including ROI modeling, resource planning, and financial forecasting for new initiatives
• Define and manage product requirements, including user stories, success metrics, and implementation milestones
• Partner with engineering and design teams to guide agile development cycles and ensure timely, high-quality product delivery
• Integrate measurement-based care and outcomes tracking into product features to demonstrate impact and drive accountability
• Collaborate with marketing, sales, and go-to-market teams to develop positioning, messaging, and launch strategies
• Conduct market scans and competitive intelligence to inform product strategy and maintain a pulse on the behavioral health landscape
• Monitor and evaluate product performance post-launch; make iterative improvements based on user feedback, performance data, and market shifts
• Represent behavioral health product strategy to executive leadership and cross-functional stakeholders, ensuring alignment across organizational priorities
  
  

Qualifications

Your Knowledge and Experience

• Requires a bachelor’s degree in business, public health, product design, psychology, or a related field; Master’s or MBA strongly preferred
• Minimum of 10 years of relevant experience, including 6 years of management experience required
• Minimum of 8–10 years of experience in product management, ideally with exposure to behavioral health, digital health, or value-based care models
• Proven track record of designing and launching successful products in complex, regulated environments
• Deep understanding of behavioral health systems, provider models, digital tools, and member experience challenges
• Experience working in a matrixed environment across clinical, technical, operational, and commercial teams
• Strong strategic thinking, business acumen, and ability to balance innovation with operational realities
• Fluency in data-driven product design and evaluation, including KPIs related to engagement, outcomes, and cost of care
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with ability to translate complex ideas for diverse audiences
• Comfortable managing ambiguity, leading cross-functional teams, and driving toward measurable impact in a fast-paced environment
  
  

About The Team

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 isa 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.
  
  

Our Workplace Model:

At Blue Shield of California and the Ascendiun Family of Companies, we believe in fostering a workplace environment that balances purposeful in-person collaboration with flexibility. As we continue to evolve our workplace model, our focus remains on creating spaces where our people can connect with purpose – whether working in the office or through a hybrid approach – by providing clear expectations while respecting the diverse needs of our workforce.

Two Ways of Working:

• Hybrid (Default): Work from a business unit-approved office at least two (2) times per month (for roles below Director-level) or once per week (for Director-level roles and above).Exceptions:
• Member-facing and approved out-of-state roles remain remote.
• Employees living more than 50 miles from their assigned offices are expected to work with their managers on a plan for periodic office visits.
• For employees with medical conditions that may impact their ability to work in-office, we are committed to engaging in an interactive process and providing reasonable accommodations to ensure their work environment is conducive to their success and well-being.
• On-Site: Work from a business unit-approved office an average of four (4) or more days a week.
  
  

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.