Senior Director, Research & Development – Commercial Growth Initiatives

Vizient, Inc

Senior Director leading early-stage growth initiatives for healthcare sector at Vizient. Shaping product strategy and influencing decision-making in the R&D group.

Posted 7/29/2026full-timeChicago • Colorado, Illinois • 🇺🇸 United StatesSenior💰 $135,200 - $236,600 per yearWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

Use this summary to align your resume positioning with the role.

Demonstrates strong healthcare fluency and the ability to lead complex, ambiguous projects while influencing senior stakeholders. Capable of synthesizing market research and operational realities into actionable recommendations for early-stage growth opportunities.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Healthcare FluencyMarket ResearchStakeholder InfluenceDecision-MakingProduct and Growth Strategy

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

Market AnalysisEconomic LogicOperational RealityExecutive SynthesisVenture AnalysisHealth System OperationsProduct StrategyGrowth StrategyInvestment EvaluationCustomer Discovery

Soft Skills

Self-DirectionInitiativeSound JudgmentCollaborative ApproachProblem-Solving

Certifications & Qualifications

MBA

Industry Keywords

Health TechAdTechHealthcare ConsultingPayer/Provider StrategyHealthcare AnalyticsManagement Consulting

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Lead early-stage growth work by deeply understanding healthcare problems and shaping solutions that take advantage of Vizient's unique assets, relationships, data, and market position
Shape early product and business theses by connecting customer pain, market dynamics, operational reality, economic value, and Vizient's strategic position
Bring an external market perspective to early-stage ideas, including how health systems make decisions, what buyers value, where budgets may sit, and how alternatives compete
Lead senior-level conversations with internal stakeholders, health system leaders, operators, subject matter experts, and external market participants
Build conviction around whether an opportunity is meaningful, fundable, differentiated, and credible enough to pursue
Identify the critical assumptions, risks, and decision points that should determine whether an opportunity advances, changes direction, or stops
Translate research, interviews, market analysis, and internal expertise into concise executive recommendations
Create meticulous documentation of evidence, assumptions, stakeholder input, decisions, and open questions so recommendations can be reviewed, challenged, and handed off cleanly
Influence cross-functional partners and senior stakeholders without relying on formal authority
Help refine how the team evaluates, communicates, and prioritizes early-stage commercial growth opportunities as the function scales

Requirements

What you’ll need

Relevant degree preferred
MBA or equivalent graduate business training is a plus
10 or more years of experience required
Background in management consulting, venture analysis, health system operations, or product and growth strategy, ideally in health tech or AdTech; deep experience in any of these fields with a healthcare focus is a plus
Strong healthcare fluency, ideally from provider operations, healthcare consulting, health tech, payer/provider strategy, or healthcare analytics
Experience leading complex, ambiguous work as an individual contributor, influencing senior stakeholders, and making sound recommendations with incomplete information
Prior experience evaluating early-stage ideas, new offerings, or investment cases before they enter formal build or delivery is a plus
Comfort moving between market research, customer discovery, economic logic, operational reality, and executive synthesis
A customer-centered mindset and skill in translating messy inputs into clear problem statements, decision memos, and executive-ready materials
Ability to tell a compelling problem from an interesting idea and explain what evidence would make an opportunity worth further investment
A track record of asking sharper questions, finding the weak assumption, and making the decision logic visible for senior leaders is a plus
Self-direction, initiative, and sound judgment in anticipating issues and keeping work moving without waiting for perfect direction
Practical judgment, intellectual honesty, and a collaborative approach to navigating ambiguity and differing perspectives
Willingness to travel

Benefits

Comp & perks

Comprehensive benefits plan