Sr. Subject Matter Expert: Rural Health Transformation (CMS)

Senior Rural Healthcare Subject Matter Expert (SME)

CVP is seeking a Senior Rural Healthcare Subject Matter Expert (SME) with deep rural health expertise to provide strategic, high-level advisory leadership supporting the CMS Office of Rural Health Transformation (ORHT) and the Rural Health Transformation (RHT) Program. This role serves as a senior technical authority on rural payment and delivery reform, advising CMS on program design, implementation, and oversight across a large-scale, high-visibility federal investment.

The Senior SME will support CVP in partnering directly with CMS leadership to translate national rural health policy objectives into executable operating, financial, and data strategies that reflect the on-the-ground realities of rural providers. The role requires strong judgment, methodological rigor, and the ability to guide complex transformation efforts spanning multiple states, payment models, and stakeholder groups.

This position operates with a high degree of autonomy and is intended for a seasoned professional capable of providing trusted counsel in a dynamic federal policy environment.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the principal subject matter expert for the RHT Program, providing senior advisory support on program design, payment approaches, state participation, and implementation strategy.
• Advise CMS ORHT leadership on the transition from legacy fee-for-service models to alternative payment approaches, including global budgets under the AHEAD model, with particular attention to Critical Access Hospitals and rural system sustainability.
• Translate CMS policy objectives into clear, executable frameworks for state implementation, monitoring, and learning, ensuring alignment between federal intent and rural operational realities.
• Provide senior oversight and technical judgment across implementation, monitoring, and learning activities to ensure approaches are rigorous, policy-relevant, and decision-focused.
• Guide cross-functional teams spanning policy, operations, analytics, and technical assistance to ensure data, dashboards, and reporting accurately reflect program logic and CMS priorities.
• Lead strategy for state and federal data integration, including use of Medicaid and other state-reported data, to support national-level visibility into rural access, performance, and outcomes.
• Interface directly with CMS leadership and external stakeholders, including State Medicaid Directors and rural health partners, to interpret requirements, facilitate discussions, and advise on program refinements.
• Serve as a senior technical reviewer for key deliverables, including reports, dashboards, policy materials, and executive briefings, ensuring clarity, accuracy, and alignment with CMS standards.
• Mentor and provide subject matter guidance to analysts and delivery staff, strengthening CVP's ability to support CMS' rural health fluency and building durable internal expertise across the portfolio.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 10 years of experience supporting CMS programs, with demonstrated expertise in healthcare payment and service delivery reform, specifically in rural America.
• Strong familiarity with rural health policy and operations, including Critical Access Hospitals, cost-based reimbursement, and rural provider constraints.
• Demonstrated experience with CMS payment or delivery models, including alternative payment models, global budgets, or large-scale demonstrations affecting Medicare or Medicaid populations.
• Understanding of complex healthcare policy and regulatory frameworks, including Medicaid authorities (e.g., Section 1115 waivers) and CMS Conditions of Participation.
• Experience translating Medicare and/or Medicaid policy into program requirements and oversight artifacts, including familiarity with how CMS operationalize guidance through secure analytic, reporting, and governance environments.
• Proven ability to communicate complex policy, financial, and technical concepts clearly to diverse stakeholders, including federal leadership, program staff, state partners, providers, and other external collaborators.
• Demonstrated ability to provide senior technical oversight and judgment across multidisciplinary teams and competing priorities.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust clearance.

Desired Skills

• Proven ability to set and direct strategy for complex, multi-state healthcare transformation initiatives.
• Experience guiding teams that support implementation, monitoring, and technical assistance for CMS programs.
• Strong facilitation skills for high-level meetings, technical discussions, and stakeholder forums involving federal and state leadership.
• Ability to oversee synthesize qualitative and quantitative inputs and transplant them into clear, actionable guidance for CMS decision-makers.

Please note this role is pending program award.