Client Advocate II

Position Purpose:

Responsible for establishing, building, and maintaining sustainable customer relationships. Ensures appropriate client communication, client focus, and client control of priorities by coordinating with the client organization at strategic, tactical, and operational levels. Works with customer to identify opportunities for innovation, cost reduction, improved efficiencies and business challenges. Acts as a liaison between I/S and customer for assigned business units. Ensures that the design and integration of proposed system, software, and hardware solutions leads to the development and growth of the business through effective use of technology.

This position will be responsible for work initiatives, steering alignment and estimates.

This position will interface with ITSO, but can be leveraged to support other internal steering.

Key responsibilities include:

• Analyzing customer needs
• Building strong working relationships
• Communicating customer needs effectively
• Articulating the value of ITSO services
• Negotiating service delivery

What You Will Do:

• Steering Support --- Helps the customer define their business needs as specific changes and works with the customer on priority setting. Assists in the definition of I/S work requests and completes the packaging and delivery of I/S work/audit requests estimates and supporting documentation. Negotiates final estimates, authorization, and start/completion dates for each request with customer. Provides tracking of work requests to allow better control of costs for the customer. Monitors work requests to ensure delivery of products and services based on customer's priorities, estimates, and dates. Updates I/S Product Catalog with product features.
• Systems/Services Monitoring --- Monitors service levels, reports actual versus agreed to service levels, and reviews service levels with the customer to determine opportunities for improvement. Establishes and reports metrics that measure I/S performance and satisfaction to customer. Reports Service Level Agreement (SLA) performance. Analyzes requested and existing SLAs for reasonableness and takes appropriate action. Reports overall customer status to the I/S Management.
• Account Management --- Acts as an account manager responsible for the collection, analysis, review, documentation, and communication of client needs and requirements. Ensures I/S solutions are tailored to the customer's strategies by continually obtaining a complete understanding of the client's business needs from initial requirements to final implementation. Communicates quickly and accurately. Manages political and interpersonal issues. Fosters relationships between the customer and the I/S organization as well as analyzes problems, settles disputes, and negotiates within current contractual boundaries. Acts as specialists in customer's business and generalists in I/S products and services.
• Internal Marketing --- Takes proactive marketing approach when communicating with customer in response to external requests for change or internal I/S product activity. Ensures customer is aware of potential offerings that could add value. Designs products and services with common components that can be leveraged across many customers. Establishes pricing, obtains approval by LOB management, and packages/delivers to customer. Focuses the communication with the customer on features offered in the I/S Product Catalog and works with I/S team to propose and build tailored, customer-focused solutions.
• Product Improvement --- Researches/discovers opportunities to employ the proper subsets of I/S and its products and services. Identifies the customer's strategic business strategies and finds the right products and services to fill the customer's need and uses internal Marketing to sell the solution.

To Qualify For This Position, You Will Need:
Required Education:

• Bachelor's
• Or an additional 4 years job related work experience
• Or Associate's plus an additional 2 years job related work experience

Required Work Experience:

• 5 years I/T related experience to include experience in client relationship, I/S marketing, and process/product improvement.

Required Skills and Abilities:

• Strong communications (verbal and written) skills with assertive yet customer-focused style.
• Understanding of information systems, business processes, and the key drivers and measures of success for the business unit and the organization.
• Knowledge of the company's business practices and direction.
• Understanding/knowledge of technological trends used to bring solutions to business units.
• Previous business analysis experience.
• Experience to include working closely with I/T in the development/implementation of systems.
• Demonstrated competency in strategic thinking with strong abilities in client management and relationship building/management along with a service attitude.
• Demonstrated competency in management of resources to meet goals and multiple projects.
• Participation on multidiscipline, high-performance work teams.
• Ability to negotiate terms and scope of work documents.
• Ability to prepare and present formal presentations.
• Effective problem solving and conflict resolution skills.

Required Software and Tools:

• Microsoft Office.

We Prefer That You Have:

• Strong problem-solving skills
• The ability to analyze reports
• A collaborative working style

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina and our subsidiary companies maintain a continuing policy of nondiscrimination in employment to promote employment opportunities for persons regardless of age, race, color, national origin, sex, religion, veteran status, disability, weight, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any other legally protected status. Additionally, as a federal contractor, the company maintains affirmative action programs to promote employment opportunities for individuals with disabilitiesand protected veterans. It is our policy to provide equal opportunities in all phases of the employment process and to comply with applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations.

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities, pregnant individuals, individuals with pregnancy-related conditions, and individuals needing accommodations for sincerely held religious beliefs, provided that those accommodations do not impose an undue hardship on the Company.

If you need special assistance or an accommodation while seeking employment, please email mycareer.help@bcbssc.comor call 800-288-2227, ext. 47480 with the nature of your request. We will make a determination regarding your request for reasonable accommodation on a case-by-case basis.

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