Consulting Principal, Healthcare Payer SME (Richmond)

About Cognizant Consulting

Cognizant Consulting is more than Cognizant’s consulting practice—we’re a global community of 5,000+ experts dedicated to helping clients reimagine their business. Blending our deep industry and technology advisory capability, we create innovative business solutions for Fortune 500 clients. And now, we’re looking for our next colleague who’ll join us in shaping the future of business. Could it be you?

About the Role

As a Consulting Principal BA, you will make an impact by leading client engagements, driving solution delivery, and ensuring strategic growth for Cognizant’s consulting practice. You will be a valued member of our consulting team, collaborating with cross-functional teams, clients, and senior stakeholders.

In this role, you will:

• Serve as Engagement Lead, managing teams of consultants for commercial projects to ensure effective negotiations, solution delivery, governance, profitability, and client satisfaction.
• Assess proposed solutions for opportunity expansion and strategic growth, including partner and alliance involvement.
• Drive collaborative solutioning across cross-functional teams, aligning interests, building shared goals, and enforcing governance.
• Oversee daily activities of project staff, including consulting and non-consulting team members.
• Review project deliverables for quality assurance, requirements alignment, and solution integration.
• Lead project post-mortems to extract lessons learned and identify intellectual property for repurposing.
• Apply strategic thinking and a transformational mindset to ensure value‑add opportunities for clients.
• Drive issue resolution and elevate engagement challenges to appropriate decision‑makers.

Work Model

We strive to provide flexibility wherever possible. Based on this role’s business requirements, this is a remote position open to qualified applicants in the United States. Regardless of your working arrangement, we are here to support a healthy work‑life balance through our various wellbeing programs. The working arrangements for this role are accurate as of the date of posting and may change based on project, business, or client requirements.

What you must have to be considered

• 10+ years of strong industry experience in consulting, digital strategy development, advisory services, or transformation programs, with extensive client‑facing experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in information technology (IT) or equivalent in a relevant business or technical discipline.
• Proven experience developing and leading consultant teams in planning, task structuring, analysis, and solution delivery.
• Experience managing teams using an onsite/offshore model.
• Proficiency in business/financial data modeling and analysis.
• Familiarity with various consulting frameworks, processes, and methodologies.

These will help you succeed

• Master’s or MBA degree.
• Experience in strategy divisions within Provider, PBM, Payer, and Life Sciences.
• Experience collaborating with and reporting to CxO executives.
• Background in Big 4 management firms.
• Experience coordinating workstreams in multi‑team projects using an onsite/offshore model.
• Experience working in global organizations and/or with global clients.

We're excited to meet people who share our mission and can make an impact in a variety of ways. Don't hesitate to apply, even if you only meet the minimum requirements listed. Think about your transferable experiences and unique skills that make you stand out as someone who can bring new and exciting ideas to this role.

Compensation

$122,400–$194,000. This position is eligible for Cognizant’s discretionary annual incentive program, based on performance and subject to the terms of Cognizant’s applicable plans.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance
• 401(k) plan and contributions
• Employee stock purchase plan
• Employee assistance program
• 10 paid holidays plus PTO
• Paid parental leave and fertility assistance
• Learning and development certifications and programs

Cognizant is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.