Job Type
Full-time
Description
The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA is looking for a
Senior Manager, State Association Services to join our Denver team.
The Senior Manager, State Association Services is accountable for the people, operating system, and coordinated delivery of MGMA's state association portfolio. The role translates portfolio strategy into annual operating priorities, resource plans, service standards, and measurable execution across four integrated areas: association management, affiliate partnerships and operations, state meetings and education, and state marketing. The position reports to the Product Manager, Membership.
The Senior Manager develops a high-performing team, strengthens governance and volunteer relationships, leads approved state-model transitions, and ensures that state programs and services are delivered consistently, efficiently, and in alignment with MGMA priorities. The role works closely with the Product Manager and Product Owner throughout MGMA's Product Development Lifecycle (PDLC), contributing operational insight, implementation leadership, launch readiness, adoption, and continuous improvement.
Essential FunctionsTeam Leadership & Performance Management- Establish clear team goals, individual accountabilities, service standards, operating rhythms, and performance expectations aligned with approved portfolio priorities.
- Conduct regular one-on-one meetings, team planning sessions, performance reviews, talent-development discussions, and succession planning.
- Allocate state portfolios, initiatives, and specialist capacity based on chapter and affiliate needs, workload, risk, strategic importance, and available resources.
- Build an inclusive, collaborative, and accountable team culture centered on service excellence, sound judgment, continuous learning, and measurable outcomes.
- Provide escalation support and decision guidance for complex governance, volunteer, financial, operational, event, partner, and stakeholder matters.
Strategy Translation & Portfolio Leadership- Translate the state membership portfolio strategy into annual operating priorities, integrated delivery plans, resource allocations, service standards, and team goals.
- Ensure Association Managers and functional leads convert MGMA priorities into coordinated state plans and high-quality member and volunteer experiences.
- Assess portfolio performance, capacity, risks, and opportunities; develop recommendations for investment, service-model changes, corrective action, or escalation to leadership.
- Establish scalable practices, templates, playbooks, and quality standards that improve consistency while preserving appropriate flexibility for differing state models and local needs.
- Maintain a portfolio-level view of state health, governance maturity, financial performance, program delivery, member engagement, volunteer capacity, and operational risk.
- Monitor relevant association, membership, education, marketing, meetings, and volunteer-leadership trends and incorporate validated insights into operating recommendations.
State Model Transitions & Portfolio Evolution- Lead the coordinated execution of approved affiliate-to-chapter transitions, chapter formation, reaffiliation, re-entry, consolidation, and other state-model changes.
- Establish transition plans, decision gates, readiness criteria, responsibilities, dependencies, risk controls, implementation milestones, and stabilization measures.
- Coordinate the legal, finance, membership, technology, data, marketing, events, education, governance, and communications work required to execute each approved transition.
- Ensure governing documents, agreements, financial controls, volunteer structures, systems, operational procedures, and member communications are ready before launch or conversion.
- Prepare clear options, business implications, risks, recommendations, and escalation points for strategic or product decisions reserved for the Product Manager and other authorized leaders.
- Conduct post-transition reviews and ensure lessons learned are incorporated into future transition playbooks and operating standards.
Governance, Volunteer & Stakeholder Leadership- Serve as a senior advisor and escalation point for state boards, committees, affiliate leaders, management partners, and other volunteer stakeholders.
- Promote effective governance, staff-volunteer role clarity, succession planning, policy adherence, sound decision-making, and documented follow-through across the state portfolio.
- Establish and oversee a recurring review cycle for bylaws, policies, committee charters, agreements, and other governing documents, including clear ownership, approval, version-control, and retention practices.
- Coordinate appropriate legal, executive, or subject-matter review when governing documents or decisions require interpretation, amendment, approval, or risk assessment.
- Guide the team in developing board materials, recommendations, meeting plans, decision records, action logs, and follow-up communications.
- Build trusted relationships while balancing state needs, member value, organizational consistency, financial stewardship, and MGMA priorities.
- Represent MGMA professionally with volunteer leaders, sponsors, partners, vendors, association management companies, and external collaborators.
Integrated Program, Meetings, Education & Marketing Delivery- Lead integrated planning across Association Managers, affiliate operations, meetings and education, and state marketing to deliver a coordinated state strategy.
- Oversee the state meetings and education portfolio, including prioritization, operating standards, budget performance, risk escalation, and coordination among the State Meetings Specialist, Association Managers, and internal delivery partners.
- Ensure individual state meetings and events have clear objectives, roles, timelines, budgets, vendor plans, registration processes, sponsor or partner fulfillment requirements, run-of-show documentation, and post-event review.
- Oversee the State Marketing Lead's planning and execution of campaigns, communications, toolkits, and promotional support aligned with approved state priorities.
- Partner with Membership, Marketing, Education, Finance, Technology, Data, Events, and other internal teams to deliver integrated programs and services.
- Ensure meetings, events, campaigns, education, communications, and state initiatives are completed on time, within approved scope and budget, and to established quality standards.
Affiliate Operations & Functional Leadership- Lead and manage the State Operations & Affiliate Partnerships Lead as the subject-matter owner for affiliate relationships, agreements, operational processes, financial operations, reporting, systems enablement, and scalable affiliate services.
- Approve operating priorities and service standards while enabling the State Operations & Affiliate Partnerships Lead to design workflows, manage day-to-day affiliate operations, develop recommendations, and lead implementation within delegated authority.
- Ensure state operational workflows, financial processes, communications, reporting, and systems-support practices are documented, consistently applied, and continuously improved.
- Resolve resource conflicts and escalate material strategic, policy, product, financial, legal, or reputational issues through the appropriate decision path.
PDLC, Cross-Functional Delivery & Change Leadership- Partner with the Product Manager and Product Owner to translate validated state and affiliate needs into business requirements, prioritized initiatives, delivery plans, launch-readiness activities, adoption strategies, and measurable outcomes across MGMA's PDLC.
- Ensure team members contribute member, volunteer, and operational insights during discovery and participate in requirements development, testing, demonstrations, retrospectives, and other PDLC activities as appropriate.
- Provide operational feasibility, capacity, risk, implementation, and change-management input without assuming product strategy, investment, roadmap, or backlog decision rights assigned to the Product Manager or Product Owner.
- Lead the people, process, training, communications, and stakeholder-readiness work needed to implement approved products, services, systems, and state-model changes.
- Monitor adoption and operational performance after launch, identify gaps, and coordinate corrective action or recommendations through the appropriate PDLC and management channels.
Financial, Operational & Risk Management- Develop, manage, and monitor approved budgets for the state association portfolio and related programs.
- Review financial performance, forecasts, variances, cost-to-serve assumptions, and resource utilization; recommend actions to achieve financial and program objectives.
- Oversee vendor relationships, contracts, expenditures, and resource commitments within approved authority and organizational controls.
- Identify operational, governance, financial, legal, reputational, service, and delivery risks and ensure timely mitigation, documentation, or escalation.
- Ensure consistent application of organizational policies, financial controls, service models, approval authorities, and documentation requirements.
Measurement, Insights & Continuous Improvement- Define and monitor operating indicators for state and affiliate health, governance, engagement, participation, service quality, meetings and education, marketing performance, financial performance, transitions, and team capacity.
- Use data, member and volunteer feedback, operational signals, and team insights to evaluate effectiveness, identify root causes, and prioritize improvements.
- Prepare concise portfolio updates, decision papers, business cases, recommendations, risk summaries, and executive-level presentations for internal and volunteer leaders.
- Lead process-improvement and change-management efforts that strengthen scalability, accountability, efficiency, stakeholder experience, and team capacity.
- Perform other duties as assigned and necessary to support organizational success.
Supervisory DutiesDirect supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; coaching, mentoring, and providing guidance; planning, assigning, and directing work; setting goals, appraising performance, and recognizing achievements; addressing performance or behavioral issues; and resolving employee concerns.
Requirements
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities- Ability to consistently promote, support, work, and act in a manner that advances MGMA's mission, vision, values, and behaviors.
- Demonstrated people-leadership capability, including coaching, delegation, performance management, talent development, succession planning, and change leadership.
- Ability to translate portfolio strategy into operating priorities, resource plans, service standards, measurable goals, and coordinated execution.
- Ability to maintain clear boundaries among product strategy, product delivery, functional subject-matter ownership, and people or operational leadership.
- Advanced knowledge of association governance, volunteer leadership, chapter and affiliate operating models, member engageme nt, meetings and education, and state marketing.
- Ability to lead through influence in a matrixed environment and drive cross-functional outcomes without relying on direct authority.
- Advanced stakeholder-management, facilitation, negotiation, conflict-resolution, decision-framing, and executive-communication skills.
- Strong financial acumen, including budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, cost-to-serve evaluation, resource allocation, vendor oversight, and business-case development.
- Strong program and portfolio management skills, including management of multiple associations, transitions, initiatives, deadlines, dependencies, and stakeholders.
- Working knowledge of product-development and Agile practices, including discovery, requirements, prioritization, testing, launch readiness, adoption, retrospectives, and continuous improvement.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to use qualitative and quantitative evidence to identify trends, assess performance, make recommendations, and improve outcomes.
- Ability to manage complexity, ambiguity, competing priorities, and sensitive stakeholder matters while maintaining service quality, judgment, and accountability.
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including reports, business cases, recommendations, presentations, governance materials, and sensitive communications.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and experience with AMS or CRM, event, collaboration, project-management, and reporting platforms.
Education- Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Management, Communications, Marketing, Nonprofit Management, or a related field is required.
- Master's degree in a related field is preferred.
Experience- 7+ years of progressively responsible experience in association management, nonprofit program management, membership services, affiliate or component relations, or a related field.
- 3+ years of direct people-management experience, including coaching, performance management, and team development.
- Experience leading a multi-prog
