Director, Behavioral Health

Surgo Ventures is obsessed with solving big health problems with precision. Our services and products enable clients in the private and public sectors to deliver personalized health solutions designed to meet people's unique needs. Our scientists and health experts use behavioral science, data science, and artificial intelligence to unlock innovative scalable solutions that improve and save lives. Our work spans the globe, from projects in the United States, the United Kingdom, India and other  low- and middle-income countries on issues like COVID-19, tuberculosis, maternal and child health, and mental health. 

We are a growing team with ambitious plans and are in search of top-class talent who want to roll up their sleeves and come work in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment to help solve big problems. We love our work and we think you will too.  

 

Role Description:

The Director is responsible for leading strategy, growth, management, and execution within our US behavioral health portfolio. We have built a foundation in the US with our COVID-19 and maternal health portfolios and are expanding to the behavioral health sector to impact one of the top health concerns nationally. Our core offerings include generating novel insights, designing and testing innovative solutions, and building data platforms for partners. Our ultimate goal is to ensure greater precision in the design and implementation of strategies programs. This requires strong technical knowledge of the behavioral health ecosystem,  where the sector is heading, and new ideas for achieving impact. A deep passion for and understanding of the health data landscape and needs is imperative for this role. A critical part of this role is designing and overseeing the development of new data tools within Surgo. The Director will also be responsible for expanding our partner and funding base for this portfolio. The Director will play a key role in the direction and growth of the organization and Surgo’s broader portfolio. 

We are looking for an exceptional candidate that has deep experience in the field (innovative delivery models, health care systems, public health, care delivery, etc) with a strong track record of building impactful data systems and tools and strong relationships. You should have a strong sense of the gaps and needs in the field, a vision of how innovative insights and data solutions can drive change, and an agenda for moving health forward through data and innovation that you would like to implement by joining Surgo Ventures. 

This role entails strong relationship management with a diverse set of partners, and collaborative work within the Surgo research team. We are looking for someone entrepreneurial in spirit, strong problem solver, and an excellent communicator. This is an exciting opportunity to build out Surgo’s growing portfolio and contribute to the voice and influence strategy and delivery at an innovative, ambitious, and fast-growing organization.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

  • Develop and oversee Surgo’s behavioral health strategy and define growth paths for new programs in the US

  • Lead Surgo's US behavioral health portfolio by providing strategic, managerial, and technical guidance to new and existing initiatives bringing new approaches and ideas

  • Build an impactful behavioral health portfolio through identifying new ideas and building relationships, concepts, and areas of engagement in line with our mission 

  • Develop our annual initiative plans, outcome metrics, and budgets and ensure we execute against these

  • Conceptualize and lead development and testing of innovative data tools, and innovative modalities for data collection and analysis 

  • Build innovative and long-lasting partnerships with other public and private sector actors - including health systems, pharmaceuticals, government, donors, and other data providers and modelers

  • Serve as a Surgo expert in behavioral health and represent us in high profile conferences, meetings, and expert panels

  • Conceptualize and guide our communications agenda by working closely with our communications team; lead the development of communications material including briefs, reports, and publications 

  • Mentor and support other colleagues within the organization

  • Support/lead the hiring of additional talent as needed

Core Experience & Knowledge:

  • 12+ years of experience of working in behavioral health (health systems, care delivery, data tools, public health, etc.)

  • Strong relationships with major stakeholders in behavioral health that you can leverage to build new partnerships

  • Deep subject matter knowledge including nuanced understanding of major players, funding landscape, healthcare agenda, and scientific literature

  • Track record of building and using data, data platforms, and new approaches to drive social impact 

  • Excellent project management skills including managing work plans, budgets, partners, and grants/contracts

  • Excellent stakeholder management skills including proven track record of building relationships and working in a challenging multi-stakeholder environment

  • Experience designing and scoping new programs, initiatives, and partnerships 

  • Experience in leading and designing implementation research

  • Experience or familiarity with field data collection and research and quantitative analysis  methods (including statistical methods and modeling)

Essential Skills and Attributes:

Demonstrated initiative to solve unstructured problems with little oversight, flexibility, high energy, and a positive attitude

  • Ability to lead diverse teams to results

  • Creative problem solver and strategic thinker with a rigorous approach and passion for working on some of the world’s toughest development challenges

  • Self-starter with proven history of building portfolios and executing programs

  • Master storyteller with ability to craft compelling narratives and presentations for variety of audiences 

  • Creativity, broad knowledge, and out-of-the-box thinking

  • Entrepreneurial mindset, self-motivating, and ability to develop independent recommendations 

  • Proven record of publishing in top academic journals

  • US work permit (required)

Education & Experience:

  • Master’s/Doctorate degree

  • 5+ years of working in the field on programs in low resource settings, and working closely with governments and implementing partners

  • Experience in quantitative modeling

Location: Washington, DC, USA. We currently work in a hybrid manner in our DC office two days/week.  

Travel: ~20%

What you’ll love about Surgo:

  • Competitive compensation and health benefits

  •  4 weeks PTO, 10+ holidays, 12 sick days

  • Highly competitive 401K 

  • 3 months paid parental leave

  • Cell phone reimbursement 

  • Professional Development opportunities

  • Hybrid environment/Remote friendly

  • Fantastic colleagues and opportunity to solve tough challenges in health

Our Hiring Philosophy:

We hire for passion and core competencies. 

We look for problem solvers and lateral thinkers. 

We love it if you have done different things with your time. 

If you think you are ideal for this position, write to us even if your experience doesn’t match all the requirements listed above.

Application:

  • Interested applicants, please apply here.

  • Short-listed applicants will go through several steps: interview with the hiring manager, a take-home project, and an “on-site” (virtual or otherwise) with the team.

Equal Opportunity and Diversity Policy:

Surgo believes a diverse, inclusive staff makes a stronger team and more impactful organization and we are committed to related team development. Qualified people of all races, ethnicities, cultures, ages, sex, genders, sexual orientation, gender identities and expressions, languages, social class, marital status, religions, veterans status, and disabilities are strongly affected encouraged to apply.