Vice President, Legal Affairs (Houston)

Community Health Choice, Inc. (Community) is a non‑profit managed care organization (MCO), licensed by the Texas Department of Insurance. Through its network of more than 10,000 providers and 94 hospitals, Community serves over 400,000 Members with the following programs:

' Medicaid State of Texas Access Reform (STAR) program for low‑income children and pregnant women

' Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for the children of low‑income parents, which includes CHIP Perinatal benefits for unborn children of pregnant women who do not qualify for Medicaid STAR

' Health Insurance Marketplace Plans that offer individual health coverage that includes preventive care, emergency services, prescription drugs, and hospitalization available to all, regardless of pre‑existing conditions.

' Community Health Choice (HMO D‑SNP), a Medicare Advantage Dual Special Needs plan for people with both Medicare and Medicaid that combines Medicare Part A and Part B benefits, Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage, and Medicaid benefits with additional health benefits like dental, vision, transportation, and more.

Improving Members' experiences is at the heart of every Community position. We strive every day to make sure that our Members have access to the high‑quality health care they need and deserve.

Community is accredited by URAC for its health plan operations. We offer care management programs for asthma, diabetes, and high‑risk pregnancy. An affiliate of the Harris Health System (Harris Health), Community is financially self‑sufficient and receives no financial support from Harris Health or from Harris County taxpayers.

JOB SUMMARY

The Vice President, Legal Affairs serves as Community Health Choice's enterprise legal executive under the Chief Legal and Assurance Officer and is responsible for setting the strategic direction, governance framework, and operating priorities for the Legal Affairs function. This role provides senior executive legal counsel and consultation to the Chief Legal and Assurance Officer, executive leadership, and business leaders on healthcare, insurance, corporate, transactional, governance, labor and employment, and regulatory matters affecting Community's Medicaid, CHIP, Marketplace, Medicare, DSNP, and related lines of business.

The Vice President leads enterprise legal strategy for contracting, litigation, governance support, external counsel management, legal operations, and business advisory services. This position is accountable for identifying material legal risk, advising on risk‑informed business decisions, strengthening legal service delivery, and ensuring legal guidance is practical, timely, and aligned with Community's strategic, regulatory, and operational objectives. This role partners closely with Compliance, Audit, Finance, Human Resources, Operations, Medical Affairs, Growth, IT, and other business leaders to translate complex legal requirements into clear business direction, support sustainable operations, and advance enterprise readiness across Community.

Provides senior executive leadership for the Legal Affairs function:

Sets the strategic direction, annual priorities, operating rhythm, and service standards for Legal Affairs in alignment with enterprise goals and the direction of the Chief Legal and Assurance Officer. Leads legal team structure, talent development, performance management, succession planning, and leadership capability across counsel and legal operations functions.

Establishes governance for legal intake, matter triage, workload prioritization, external counsel engagement, document retention, and contract lifecycle oversight.

Uses metrics, dashboards, and leadership reporting to evaluate legal service quality, turnaround times, risk trends, and department effectiveness.

JOB SPECIFICATIONS AND CORE COMPETENCIES

Leads enterprise contracting, transactions, and business advisory support:

Provides executive oversight for legal review, negotiation, approval, and execution support for provider, vendor, governmental, employer group, real estate, benefit, and other enterprise contracts. Advises executive leaders and business owners on legal terms, risk allocation, dispute provisions, regulatory commitments, business protections, and enterprise impacts in complex agreements. Strengthens contract governance, template management, approval routing, legal sufficiency standards, and stakeholder communication to improve quality and cycle time.

Partners with procurement, operations, finance, medical affairs, growth, IT, and business owners to align contract strategy with organizational objectives.

Serves as senior legal advisor on enterprise risk, governance, and regulatory legal matters:

Provides senior legal counsel on healthcare, insurance, administrative, corporate, labor, employment, governance, and operational matters impacting Community.

Monitors changes in applicable law and advises leaders on implications for strategy, policy, operations, filings, governance materials, and business decisions.

Supports Board and committee matters, including materials, resolutions, bylaws, governance documents, and corporate records as assigned by the Chief Legal and Assurance Officer.

Coordinates with county attorneys, regulators, outside counsel, and external stakeholders when matters require external legal engagement or representation.

Directs litigation, disputes, investigations, and legal issue resolution:

Oversees intake, assessment, legal strategy, preservation requirements, and management of claims, subpoenas, threatened disputes, investigations, and litigation involving Community.

Manages outside counsel performance, budgets, case strategy, risk reporting, and executive updates for significant legal matters.

Ensures timely legal guidance for investigations, responses, and issue resolution in partnership with Compliance, Audit, Human Resources, Operations, and other business leaders.

Advances enterprise collaboration, legal enablement, and decision support:

Partners across the enterprise to provide practical legal solutions that support compliant growth, operational effectiveness, and risk‑informed decision‑making.

Improves legal awareness through guidance, training, and communication on contracting, governance, privileged communications, records, escalation expectations, and risk mitigation.

Promotes consistent legal interpretation and communication so leaders understand obligations, options, risks, and recommended paths forward.

Represents Legal Affairs and promotes continuous improvement:

Represents Community with external stakeholders, industry groups, governmental bodies, professional organizations, or legal forums when participation advances enterprise interests.

Identifies opportunities to modernize legal operations, improve service delivery, strengthen controls, and support enterprise readiness.

Performs executive legal leadership responsibilities and related duties as assigned by the Chief Legal and Assurance Officer.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Education/Specialized Training/Licensure: Doctor of Jurisprudence (JD) required;

licensed and in good standing to practice law in the State of Texas

Advanced legal, healthcare, compliance, governance, or executive leadership training

Work Experience (Years and Area): Minimum 12 years progressively responsible legal experience, including significant experience in healthcare, managed care, insurance, administrative, corporate, labor, employment, transactional, or regulatory law

Experience with Medicaid, CHIP, Medicare, Marketplace, DSNP, health plan operations, governmental entities, public boards, and Board or committee support

Management Experience (Years and Area): Minimum 7 years leadership experience directing legal professionals, legal operations, enterprise legal services, or cross‑functional legal workstreams

Experience leading through subordinate directors, counsel, legal operations leaders, and outside counsel in a complex regulated environment

Software Proficiencies: Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, Outlook)

Contract management, matter management, governance, or document management systems

Other: Strong judgment, executive presence, legal drafting, negotiation, governance, and communication skills with demonstrated ability to translate complex legal issues into practical business guidance. Familiarity with HIPAA and healthcare regulatory frameworks required

Experience working with governmental entities, public boards, county‑affiliated organizations, and multi‑product health plan operations