Director, Research & Development – Commercial Growth Initiatives

• Support early-stage growth work by deeply understanding healthcare problems and helping shape solutions that take advantage of Vizient's unique assets, relationships, data, and market position.
• Develop 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.
• Conduct research, interviews, and working sessions with internal stakeholders, health system leaders, operators, subject matter experts, and external market participants.
• Build the evidence base for whether an opportunity is meaningful, fundable, differentiated, and credible enough for Vizient R&D to pursue further.
• Identify the core assumptions, risks, and open questions that should determine whether an opportunity advances, changes direction, or stops.
• Translate research, interviews, market analysis, and internal expertise into concise problem statements, opportunity narratives, and recommendation materials.
• Maintain meticulous documentation of evidence, assumptions, stakeholder input, decisions, and open questions so recommendations can be reviewed, challenged, and handed off cleanly.
• Work across internal and external partners to keep assessment work grounded, practical, and moving.
• Help improve how the team evaluates, communicates, and prioritizes early-stage commercial growth opportunities as the function scales.

Requirements

• Relevant degree preferred.
• MBA or equivalent graduate business training is a plus.
• 7 or more years of experience required.
• Experience in healthcare-focused venture analysis or management consulting, or extensive health system operations highly preferred.
• Experience in product or growth strategy in health tech, fintech, or AdTech is a plus.
• Healthcare fluency from provider operations, healthcare consulting, health tech, payer/provider strategy, or healthcare analytics.
• Experience evaluating early-stage ideas, new offerings, emerging markets, customer problems, or investment cases before formal build or delivery.
• Ability to distinguish a compelling problem from an interesting idea and define the evidence that makes it a defensible opportunity.
• Skill in turning ambiguous ideas into structured questions, research plans, and analysis.
• Experience building market maps, value models, customer discovery summaries, problem statements, competitive assessments, decision memos, and investment recommendations.
• Comfort moving between market research, customer discovery, economic logic, operational reality, and executive synthesis.
• Customer-centered mindset.
• Practical judgment, intellectual honesty, and a collaborative approach to navigating ambiguity and differing perspectives.
• Initiative to anticipate issues and keep work moving without perfect direction.
• Willingness to travel.

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in healthcare-focused venture analysis and product strategy, with a strong ability to translate market research and stakeholder insights into actionable recommendations. Proven experience in evaluating early-stage ideas and navigating complex healthcare environments to drive growth opportunities.