Vice President, Business Development – Lafayette Hill, PA

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education

• Bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree in business, Public Administration, Healthcare Administration, or related field strongly preferred.

experience

• 10+ years of progressively responsible experience in business development, strategy, operations, or related roles within the human services, behavioral health, IDD, or healthcare sectors.
• Demonstrated success leading growth initiatives and securing new business in government-funded service environments.
• Strong knowledge of IDD waiver systems, Medicaid funding structures, managed care, and regulatory frameworks.

Skills & Competencies

• Exceptional strategic thinking, analytical, and financial acumen.
• Strong relationship-building and negotiation skills.
• Ability to lead cross-functional teams and collaborate effectively across a complex organization.
• Outstanding communication and presentation skills.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to innovate while maintaining mission alignment.
• Commitment to person-centered services and the values of inclusion, dignity, and respect.

Are you ready to take the next step in your career and lead a team that makes a real impact every day? At Merakey, we put heart and soul into everything we do. We believe that people can and do recover from mental illness-and our mission is to support that recovery by addressing the whole person: mind, body, spirit, and community.

The Vice President of Business Development for Merakey’s Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Division is responsible for leading strategic growth initiatives across all IDD service lines. This executive role identifies, develops, and executes opportunities that expand Merakey’s footprint, strengthen partnerships, enhance program sustainability, and support the organization’s mission of providing exceptional, person-centered care to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The VP of Business Development serves as a key advisor to the IDD Division Senior Vice President and collaborates closely with operations, enterprise business development, finance, strategy, marketing, and clinical leadership to drive long-term growth and innovation.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Growth & Market Expansion

• Develop and lead the IDD Division’s comprehensive growth strategy to expand programs and services across existing and new states/geographies. Ensure alignment with mission, payer dynamics, and regulatory realities. Translates vision into disciplined expansion plans across regions and service lines.
• Identify emerging trends, regulatory changes, and market opportunities within the IDD sector to inform strategic planning for growth.
• Evaluate potential new business lines, expansion of current business lines, partnerships, acquisitions or affiliations and opportunities that align with Merakey’s mission and strategy.
• Conduct needs analysis and feasibility assessments for new programs and markets.
• Work closely with operations, clinical leadership, finance, legal, human resources, and compliance to ensure growth initiatives are executable, compliant, and scalable across a national platform.
• Continuously evaluate state and regional markets, reimbursement trends, and competitor activity. Use data and field insight to prioritize where and how the organization can grow.

Business Development & Partnerships

• Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with state and county agencies, community partners, provider associations, and advocacy groups.
• Lead contract development, negotiation, and renewal processes with payers and government entities.
• Represent Merakey at national conferences (e.g., ANCOR, PAR, Open Minds) to influence policy and stay ahead of industry trends.
• Work collaboratively with operations team to help ensure the seamless transition of new business.

Proposal Development & Implementation

• Oversee the end to end process of RFP/RFI response development, including coordination with internal subject matter experts.
• Ensure proposals are competitive, compliant, mission-centered, and financially viable.
• Partner with operations and finance leaders to transition awarded proposals into successful program launches.

Division Leadership & Collaboration

• Serve as a member of the IDD Division leadership team, contributing to division wide planning, budgeting, and performance improvement efforts.
• Collaborate with operations leaders to assess program capacity, performance, and opportunities for expansion or redesign.
• Work with Marketing & Communications to enhance the visibility of Merakey’s IDD programs and highlight innovative practices.
• Establishes metrics to track pipeline health, return on investment, service ramp up, and long term margin contribution. Adjust strategy based on real world results.

Travel Requirements

• Regular travel across current and potential service regions is expected, including statewide stakeholder meetings, market visits, conferences, and partner engagements.

Benefits

Merakey offers generous benefits that promote well-being, financial security, and work-life balance, including:

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, plus access to healthcare advocacy support.
• Retirement plan — both pre-tax and Roth (after-tax) options available for employee contributions.
• DailyPay — access your pay when you need it!
• On the Goga well-being platform, featuring self-care tools and resources.
• Access Care.com for backup childcare, elder care, and household services.
• Confidential counseling, legal, and financial services through our Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
• Tuition reimbursement and educational partnerships.
• Employee discounts and savings programs on entertainment, travel, and lifestyle.
• Access to Pryor Online Learning for free online personal development classes.

Learn more about our full benefits package – https://www.merakey.org/careers/benefits

About Merakey

Merakey is a non-profit provider of developmental, behavioral health, and education services. More than 8,000 employees provide support to nearly 40,000 individuals and families throughout 12 states across the country each year. Click here to watch a video about Merakey. Merakey strictly follows a zero-tolerance policy for abuse.

Merakey is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer! We deeply value diversity and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, ethnic background, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, genetic information, or disability status. Moreover, we are committed to creating teams that reflect the diversity of the communities we serve and encourage applicants from underrepresented backgrounds to apply. Merakey welcomes all Veterans to apply!