Senior Advisor - Behavioral Economics

ORAU has a part-time (20 hours per week), temporary job opportunity as a Senior Advisor to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which is part of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). CMS's work touches the lives of over 140 million Americans. Its mission is clear - putting patients first. The ability of CMS to effectively advance national healthcare policy for the Medicare, Medicaid, and Health Insurance Marketplace programs depends on a dedicated and talented staff of public servants. The project is through 1/1/2026.

The Senior Advisor will support the development of a new behavioral economics strategy for CMMI patient empowerment initiatives and model learning systems. The Senior Advisor will use their expertise to help the team develop an internal cadre of behavioral economics internal consultants to
liaise with model development teams and will support staff up-skilling staff in this area to build internal expertise. The Senior Advisor will serve as a consulting subject matter expert in the application of behavioral economics with relevance to human-centered design, quality improvement, and value-based care and a focus on supporting development of new approaches and memorializing key learnings for staff use/knowledge transfer.

Behavioral Economics Strategy Development:

Support the development and implementation of a behavioral economics strategy for patient empowerment initiatives and model learning systems.
• Create workplans with key milestones and deliverables for strategy rollout and refinement.

Internal Capacity Building:

• Develop an internal cadre of behavioral economics consultants to liaise with model development teams.
• Mentor and upskill staff to build internal expertise in behavioral economics.

Subject Matter Expertise:

• Serve as a consulting expert in behavioral economics, focusing on human-centered design, quality improvement, and value-based care.
• Apply knowledge of implementation science and quality improvement to guide or lead projects.

Knowledge Transfer and Documentation:

• Memorialize key learnings and develop reference materials such as procedural documents, toolkits, and templates for staff use.
• Document expert input provided to staff for future use and ensure smooth transition of knowledge to LDG leadership and staff.

Stakeholder Engagement:

• Participate in meetings with stakeholders to provide expertise on learning/diffusion, human-centered design, and research/data analysis.
• Facilitate collaboration and engagement with relevant internal and external stakeholders.

Research and Analysis:

• Conduct research and analysis to inform strategic development and decision-making.
• Provide feedback and development support for new products, tools, and design features based on behavioral economics approaches and data-driven findings.

Advisory Role:

• Attend and contribute to meetings with LDG leadership and staff to advise on new work areas and inform ideation (e.g., annual strategy meetings, weekly virtual meetings, ad-hoc discussions).
• Draft briefing papers and presentations for LDG leadership on behavioral economics strategy, findings, and recommendations.

Transition Planning:

• Facilitate transition meetings to ensure continuity in ongoing work and strategy execution.
• Review and suggest updates to written products (e.g., behavioral economics guides and tools) for future use.

• Education:

  • Ph.D. in Behavioral Economics or a related field (such as Economics, Psychology, Cognitive Science, or Behavioral Economics).
  • Alternatively, an MD or equivalent degree with comparable expertise in behavioral economics is acceptable.

• Experience:

  • 10-14 years of relevant professional experience.
  • Proven subject matter expertise in behavioral economics, specifically within the context of health care and/or health policy.

• Skills and Knowledge:

  • Strong knowledge of implementation science and quality improvement principles.
  • Demonstrated experience in guiding or leading implementation or improvement projects.
  • Background in health care or technology development for health care applications.