Director of Healthcare Partnerships

Overview

Position Summary:

Kanbe's Markets is a vibrant workplace that values both hard work and a family-like atmosphere. Our core values of community, integrity, passion, collaboration, and cultivation flow through Kanbe's staff, and all that they do. The Director of Healthcare Partnerships will help ensure these values remain a top priority, while advancing Kanbe's role in building an equitable, healthcare-aligned food system.

The Director of Healthcare Partnerships will work directly with the CEO and will be responsible for driving, closing and growing healthcare-based partnerships. This individual will play a critical role in converting Kanbe's Food is Medicine work into contracted, recurring healthcare revenue through relationships with hospitals, health systems, and payors.

This role will focus on expanding Kanbe's prescriptive food programming, medically tailored groceries (MTG), and building toward medically tailored meals (MTM). The Director will be responsible for securing contracts that align with healthcare outcomes, reimbursement pathways, and long-term system integration.

A key focus of this role will be building the partnership pipeline and securing commitments necessary to support the future development of a medically tailored meals (MTM) kitchen. Over a projected two-year timeline, this individual will play a central role in ensuring that Kanbe's has sufficient contracted demand to sustainably launch and operate this next phase of Food is Medicine programming.

Responsibilities

Core Duties & Responsibilities:

• Develop and convert relationships into active partnership opportunities with hospitals, health systems, and payors to advance Food is Medicine partnerships
• Identify, advance, and close contract opportunities aligned with Kanbe's programs and capabilities.
• Lead negotiations through to executed agreements with healthcare partners
• Translate Kanbe's services into healthcare-aligned offerings that meet clinical, financial, and compliance requirements
• Work with the CEO and internal team to align partnership opportunities with organizational strategy
• Build and maintain a high-quality, active pipeline with clear path to close of partnership
  opportunities across regional and national markets
• Collaborate with internal teams to ensure successful implementation and alignment of partnerships
• Support the evolution of Kanbe's Food is Medicine programming, including MTG and MTM
• Own partner relationships to ensure renewal, expansion, and growth with partners to ensure success, growth, and renewal of contracts
• Navigate healthcare systems, compliance requirements, and internal decision-making structures to move opportunities forward
• Build and manage a pipeline of MTM-focused opportunities that align with the future development of a medically tailored meals kitchen
• Secure partnership commitments that contribute to the long-term sustainability and utilization of future MTM infrastructure

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience
• 5-8+ years of experience in healthcare business development, payor relations, or health system partnerships
• Experience working with hospitals, health systems, Medicaid MCOs, or insurance providers
• Familiarity with healthcare reimbursement models, including value-based care
• Experience navigating HIPAA-compliant environments and healthcare contracting processes

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with 1115 waivers, "in lieu of services" (ILOS), or other Medicaid innovation pathways
• Understanding of Food is Medicine programs, including produce prescriptions, MTG, or MTM
• Strong negotiation and contract development skills
• Ability to translate programmatic work into outcome-driven value propositions
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Relationship-building and stakeholder management across complex systems
• Strategic thinking with the ability to execute and close

Compensation & Benefits | PTO:

Salary commensurate with experience. Range of $120,000-$150,000. This is a full-time position with health insurance benefits. Paid time off is available after 90 days of continuous employment.

Impact Description:

Own: what is this person singularly responsible for? Why does this role exist/what's the business
need?

• Healthcare Partnerships: Generate, advance, and close healthcare partnerships that result in contract-based revenue
• Contracting & Revenue: Own the full deal lifecycle from initial engagement through signed agreement
• Pipeline Development: Build and manage a consistent, high-quality pipeline of partnership opportunities aligned with organizational growth goals
• Healthcare Navigation: Effectively navigate healthcare systems, including compliance, reimbursement structures, and stakeholder decision-making processes
• Program Advancement: Drive forward the expansion of Food is Medicine programming by securing commitments that enable scaling, including future MTM development
• MTM Readiness: Secure sufficient contracted demand to support the future launch of a medically tailored meals kitchen

Assist : what will this person be involved in, or collaborate with other individuals + teams on?

• Program Design: Collaborate with leadership and program teams to shape offerings that align with healthcare partner needs and outcomes
• Strategy Alignment: Work with the CEO to align partnership opportunities with broader organizational strategy and growth priorities
• Implementation Support: Support internal teams in translating partnerships into successful program execution
• Problem Solving: Help identify and solve challenges that arise in partnerships, both internally and externally
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work across departments to ensure alignment between partnerships, operations, and outcomes

Teach: what experience does this person need to possess? What should they come in already knowing? What do we need an expert on

• Healthcare Systems: Deep understanding of how hospitals, health systems, and payors operate, including decision-making structures and incentives
• Reimbursement Pathways: Knowledge of value-based care, Medicaid structures, 1115 waivers, and ILOS pathways
• Contracting & Negotiation: Demonstrated ability to structure, negotiate, and close complex agreements
• Professionalism: Maintain a high level of professionalism, integrity, and attention to detail in all external and internal interactions
• Outcome Orientation: Ability to translate programs into measurable outcomes that align with healthcare priorities. Comfortable owning outcomes and driving opportunities to close

Learn: since no one is perfect, what are the "nice to haves"? What can they learn on the job? What do they not know yet that will be critical to their success?

• Food Systems: Develop an understanding of the broader food system and Kanbe's role within it
• produce & Distribution: Gain familiarity with Kanbe's logistics, sourcing, and distribution model
• Internal Systems: Learn internal tools, reporting structures, and operational processes Program Nuance: Deepen understanding of prescriptive food programs, MTG, and MTM as implemented within Kanbe's model

Impact Plan

Within 1 month, you'll

• Have a comprehensive understanding of Kanbe's organizational structure, programs, and strategic priorities
• Develop working knowledge of current healthcare partnerships and existing contracts
• Understand key stakeholders across healthcare partners, including hospitals, payors, and community organizations
• Gain familiarity with internal tools, reporting structures, and communication systems
• Begin identifying and mapping potential partnership opportunities

Within 3 months, you'll

• Build and begin actively managing a pipeline of healthcare partnership opportunities
• Establish relationships with key stakeholders across target health systems and payors
• Begin advancing partnership conversations toward structured opportunities
• Align internal teams around emerging partnership opportunities and needs
• Demonstrate ability to navigate healthcare systems and move opportunities forward

Within 6 months, you'll

• Have multiple partnership opportunities in advanced stages of negotiation
• Successfully support or lead the closing of initial contracts
• Establish a repeatable process for managing and advancing partnership opportunities
• Build strong, trust-based relationships with key partners
• Contribute to shaping the future direction of Food is Medicine programming at Kanbe's

Within 12 months, you'll

• Have secured multiple healthcare contracts that generate sustainable revenue
• Demonstrate a consistent ability to build, close, and grow partnerships
• Be a trusted external representative of Kanbe's within healthcare systems and payor networks
• Play a central role in advancing MTG and enabling the feasibility of MTM programming
• Be positioned to lead and scale Kanbe's Food is Medicine partnerships and programming
• Have secured and/or advanced a portfolio of contracts and partnership commitments that position Kanbe's to confidently move toward investment in a medically tailored meals kitchen

Over a 24-month horizon, you will have:

• Built a portfolio of contracted partnerships that support the launch and sustained operation of a
  medically tailored meals kitchen

Kanbe's is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other legally protected status.

Kanbe's Markets is an exempt organization as described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Cod