Cognizant

Consulting Manager, Payer SME

Cognizant$81K — $129K *
Healthcare
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5-8 years of consulting or industry experience with payer SME expertise
  • Experience in healthcare payer operations (claims, enrollment, billing, member services, care management)
  • Exposure to payer transformation programs, including Medicaid or commercial health plans
  • 1-3+ years leading workstreams or junior team members
  • Strong communication and client-facing skills

Responsibilities

  • Lead workstreams and small teams within consulting engagements
  • Apply payer SME knowledge to support healthcare transformation initiatives
  • Partner with clients to gather requirements and facilitate workshops
  • Support stakeholder communications with status updates and deliverables
  • Contribute to delivery quality through reviews and feedback
  • Collaborate across onsite/offshore teams for effective execution
  • Identify opportunities for process improvement and reusable assets

Benefits

  • Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance
  • Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off
  • 401(k) plan and contributions
  • Long-term/Short-term Disability
  • Paid Parental Leave
  • Employee Stock Purchase Plan
Full Job Description
Consulting Manager - Healthcare (Payer SME)

About the Role

As a Consulting Manager - Healthcare (Payer SME), you will support and lead key workstreams across client engagements, bringing payer domain expertise to deliver practical, technology-enabled solutions. You will partner closely with clients and internal teams to drive transformation outcomes across healthcare payer operations

In this role you will:
  • Lead workstreams and small teams within consulting engagements, supporting analysis, solution design, and execution
  • Apply payer SME knowledge to support healthcare transformation initiatives (claims, enrollment, billing, care management)
  • Partner with clients to gather requirements, facilitate workshops, and support business case development
  • Support stakeholder communications, including status updates, deliverables, and issue resolution
  • Contribute to delivery quality through reviews, testing support, and feedback loops
  • Collaborate across onsite/offshore teams to ensure effective execution and alignment
  • Identify opportunities for process improvement and reusable assets/IP development

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 though our various wellbeing programs.

The working arrangements for this role are accurate as of the date of posting. This may change based on the project you're engaged in, as well as business and client requirements. Rest assured; we will always be clear about role expectations

What you need to have to be considered:
5-8 years of consulting or industry experience with payer SME expertise
  • Experience in healthcare payer operations (claims, enrollment, billing, member services, care management)
  • Exposure to payer transformation programs, including Medicaid or commercial health plans
  • 1-3+ years leading workstreams or junior team members
  • Strong communication and client-facing skills
  • Experience supporting technology-enabled transformation or digital programs

Preferred Qualifications
  • Prior consulting experience (Big 4 or equivalent preferred, not required)
  • Experience working in multi-workstream delivery models (onshore/offshore)
  • Ability to translate business needs into functional/operational recommendations

What you need to have to be considered:
• 2+ years of Digital technology (Business or Technical Consultative) team lead experience, and client management responsibilities
• 6-8 years of consulting experience as a Payer SME
• Management Consulting experience, preferably with top consulting firms
• Strong background in Healthcare industry, including health plans, claims, and provider operations
• Project management and people management experience
• Excellent communication skills, including creating and presenting professional PowerPoint presentations to stakeholders
• Exposure to technology-driven projects and digital transformation initiatives
• Deep understanding of payer functions and Medicaid plan implementations, including enrollment, billing, claims, care management, member portal, shopper tools, etc.

These will help you stand out:
• 5+ years as a Digital Technology (business or technical consultative) team lead
• Experience coordinating workstreams in multi-team projects using an onsite/offshore model

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 things to this role.

Salary and Other Compensation:
The annual salary for this position is between $81,450 to $129,500 depending on experience and other qualifications of the successful candidate. This position is also eligible for Cognizant's discretionary annual incentive program, based on performance and subject to the terms of Cognizant's applicable plans.

Benefits:
Cognizant offers the following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements:

• Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance
• Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off.
• 401(k) plan and contributions.
• Long-term/Short-term Disability.
• Paid Parental Leave.
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan

About Cognizant

TriZetto is Powering Integrated Healthcare Management. With technology solutions touching more than half the U.S. population today, TriZetto is uniquely positioned to drive the convergence of core benefit administration, care management and constituent engagement. TriZetto provides premier information technology solutions that enable payers and other constituents in the healthcare supply chain to improve the coordination of benefits and care for healthcare consumers.

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Join the vibrant team at Cognizant, a leading provider of information technology, consulting, and business process services. Cognizant is not just a company; it's a community where innovation, leadership, and diversity are valued and where every team member is encouraged to thrive.

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Learn more about Cognizant
Size
340,400 employees
Market Cap
$28.7 billion
Industry
Net Income
$1.3 billion
Founded
1994
5 Year Trend
+6.5%
Revenue
$16.6 billion
NASDAQ

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