REPORTING RELATIONSHIP
The CEO reports to The Leapfrog Group Board of Directors.

ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND
On behalf of the millions of Americans for whom many of the nation’s largest corporations and public agencies buy health benefits, The Leapfrog Group aims to use its members’ collective leverage to initiate breakthrough improvements in the safety, quality, and affordability of health care for Americans. It is a voluntary program aimed at mobilizing employer purchasing power to alert America’s health industry that big leaps in health care safety, quality and customer value will be recognized and rewarded. The Leapfrog Group was founded in November 2000 by the Business Roundtable and is supported by its members, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality as well as a host of other sources.

Mission
The Leapfrog Group’s mission is to trigger giant leaps forward by:

• Supporting informed healthcare decisions by those who use and pay for health care; and,
• Promoting high-value health care through incentives and rewards. This effort is rooted in four ideas:
• American health care remains far below obtainable levels of basic safety, quality, and overall customer value.
• The health industry would improve more rapidly if purchasers better recognized and rewarded superior safety and overall value.
• Voluntary adherence to purchasing principles by a critical mass of America’s largest employers would provide a large jump-start and encourage other purchasers to join.
• These principles should not only champion superior overall value but should initially focus on a handful of specific innovations offering "great leaps" to maximize media and consumer support and adoption by other purchasers.

History
In 1998 a group of large employers came together to discuss how they could work together to use the way they purchased health care to have an influence on its quality and affordability. They recognized that there was a dysfunction in the health care market place. Employers were spending billions of dollars on health care for their employees with no way of assessing its quality or comparing health care providers.

A 1999 report by the Institute of Medicine gave the Leapfrog founders an initial focus – reducing preventable medical mistakes. The report found that up to 98,000 Americans die every year from preventable medical errors made in hospitals alone. In fact, there are more deaths in hospitals each year from preventable medical mistakes than there are from vehicle accidents, breast cancer, and AIDS. The report actually recommended that large employers provide more market reinforcement for the quality and safety of health care. The founders realized that they could take ‘leaps’ forward with their employees, retirees and families by rewarding hospitals that implement significant improvements in quality and safety.

Initiatives

• The Leapfrog Hospital Quality and Safety Survey – Introduced in 2001, The Leapfrog Hospital Quality and Safety Survey is Leapfrog’s hallmark public reporting initiative. The Survey assesses hospital performance based on four quality and safety practices that are proven to reduce preventable medical mistakes and are endorsed by the National Quality Forum (NQF). The practices are: computer physician order entry; evidence-based hospital referral; intensive care unit (ICU) staffing by physicians experienced in critical care medicine; and the Leapfrog Safe Practices Score.
• Leapfrog Hospital Insights – Introduced in 2006, Leapfrog Hospital Insights is a comprehensive hospital public reporting initiative that forms the foundation for the Leapfrog Hospital Rewards Program, Leapfrog’s pay-for-performance program. This voluntary hospital public reporting initiative is an expansion of Leapfrog's hallmark public reporting initiative. Leapfrog Hospital Insights assesses hospital quality, efficiency, and overall performance using nationally standardized measures.
• The Leapfrog Hospital Rewards Program™ (LHRP) –The rewards program motivates hospital quality improvements through incentives and rewards. This one-of-a kind program, based on nationally accepted measures proven to reduce medical errors and standardize hospital care, recognizes and rewards hospitals for their performance in both the quality and efficiency of inpatient care. The LHRP is the first nationally standardized hospital incentive program that can be licensed and implemented by private healthcare purchasers -- employers, healthcare coalitions, and health plans -- to advance hospital performance improvement and enhance the value of hospital care.

Membership
Leapfrog’s member companies agree to adhere to the following four purchasing principles in buying health care for their enrollees:

1. Educating and informing enrollees about the safety, quality and affordability of health care and the importance of comparing the care health care providers give. Initial emphasis on the Leapfrog safety and quality practices.
2. Recognizing and rewarding health care providers for major advances in the safety, quality and affordability of their care.
3. Holding health plans accountable for implementing the Leapfrog purchasing principles.
4. Building the support of benefits consultants and brokers to use and advocate for the Leapfrog purchasing principles with all of their clients.

ORGANIZATION WEBSITE
www.leapfroggroup.org

RESPONSIBILITIES
The Chief Executive Officer develops the long-term direction for the organization in collaboration with the Board and provides strategic leadership, as well as oversight of the organization’s operations, programs, and staff. The CEO is the main spokesperson for the organization and the chief liaison to other organizations and efforts.

Further, the CEO will leverage the organization’s powerful brand to achieve its mission. This position directly supervises a team of 9 staff members and a budget of approximately $2.5 million.

This highly visible position is based in Leapfrog’s Washington, DC office and involves travel.

The CEO will be responsible for the following duties:

• Serve as visionary who can strategize and develop tactics to achieve The Leapfrog Group’s mission while working in close coordination with the Board, members, and other stakeholders.
• Assure the financial viability of the organization, including developing and implementing the business model, providing oversight of all operations and budgets. Cultivate membership to ensure high retention rate. Constantly reassess total resource allocation to efficiently and effectively achieve The Leapfrog Group’s goals.
• Lead external relations activities as the chief liaison to other organizations and initiatives and build and strengthen relationships that foster Leapfrog’s efforts.
• Serve as the primary spokesperson for the organization with the media, industry analysts and researchers, as well as give speeches and presentations at major meetings and conferences.
• Develop and support the Board members in their roles as fiduciaries of the organization by keeping them regularly engaged and promoting their involvement in the mission and the growth of membership. Proactively provide direction, strategies, and recommendations to the board for consideration.
• Cultivate relationships with existing employer-purchaser members and recruit additional Fortune 500 and other major health care purchasers to join Leapfrog. Motivate employer groups to get engaged.
• Recruit health industry companies to join Leapfrog as partner members, customizing mutually beneficial partnerships.
• Continue to position The Leapfrog Group as a thought leader and an influential presence in the healthcare arena.
• Manage a highly motivated, talented staff with the requisite experience to achieve The Leapfrog Group’s goals and objectives.
• Perform all other duties assigned or authorized by the bylaws and as approved by the Board of Directors.

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS
In light of these responsibilities, the successful candidate will:

• Have a minimum of 10 years of professional experience in a multi-faceted organization, having served as the CEO, COO, or other senior level executive with direct management responsibility for a budget and staff of similar scope and size, or larger.
• Have significant strategic and business planning experience and a track record for empowering a results-oriented, highly motivated team. S/he will have the ability to implement the objectives effectively, on time, and within budget. Must have a strong track record of successful fiscal management.
• Have sophisticated knowledge of healthcare policy and quality improvement, and strong intellectual credibility among diverse stakeholders in the healthcare policy field and among member companies.
• Have knowledge of the political environment in Washington, DC and the states, as may be necessary to advance The Leapfrog Group’s goals. Strong contacts in this arena is a plus.
• Have demonstrated success in raising funds and managing grants, including through foundations and government agencies is a plus.
• Have strong board management and relationship building skills.
• Have outstanding diplomatic and interpersonal skills, and practice dealing with personnel issues. S/he will be a consensus and team builder, with experience preferably in a membership organization, either as a staff leader or volunteer leader.
• Have the ability to develop, mentor, motivate, and empower staff to advance goals. Proven ability to lead cross functional teams and coordinate and manage complex projects with outside partners.
• Have the ability to work effectively and collaboratively with the members, related associations, business groups and coalitions, leaders in the healthcare industry, and research and government institutions.
• Have excellent written and verbal communication skills. S/he must be able to clearly articulate complex content to diverse stakeholders and be persuasive in communicating the organization’s messages. Must have strong listening skills and a successful track record as a spokesperson before media and other audiences.
• Preferably have experience managing a fast-paced, entrepreneurial organization, conducting policy advocacy and/or working in an employer benefits environment.

The CEO will have:

• A record of complete integrity, honesty and strong personal character. A keen sense of protocol and a clear reputation for ethical conduct.
• Proven ability to lead change in an organization.
• Strong strategic thinking and visionary skills.
• Political savvy.
• Creativity.
• Proven analytical and diagnostic skills with a track record of anticipating potential problems and successfully addressing/resolving them.
• Ability to make tough and smart decisions in a timely and appropriate manner.
• Facilitative approach to leadership.
• Diplomacy to reach common ground and build alliances without compromising The Leapfrog Group’s interests.
• Excellent managerial skills, with a reputation for being flexible, energetic, hard working, inspirational, enthusiastic; willing to offer and actively listen to opinions and judgments.
• Ability to work in an action/results-oriented, environment; proactive; a risk taker.
• Passion for the mission and vision for continued strategic growth and ability to secure the group’s place as a market leader.
• An excellent fit for The Leapfrog Group’s culture, including members and staff.

EDUCATION
An undergraduate degree is required. An advanced degree in business administration, public policy, public health, health administration or other health-related field of study is preferred.

COMPENSATION
A competitive compensation package will be provided to attract outstanding candidates.

******

Korn/Ferry shall provide equal employment opportunity to all qualified candidates, and will refer candidates without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, veteran status or any other legally protected basis. Korn/Ferry shall comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations in the performance of duties pursuant to this Agreement, including but not limited to, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and state and local anti-discrimination laws to the extent applicable.