Optum is a global organization that delivers care, aided by technology to help millions of people live healthier lives. The work you do with our team will directly improve health outcomes by connecting people with the care, pharmacy benefits, data and resources they need to feel their best. Here, you will find a culture guided by inclusion, talented peers, comprehensive benefits and career development opportunities. Come make an impact on the communities we serve as you help us advance health optimization on a global scale. Join us to start
Caring. Connecting. Growing together.
As the Director of Program and Project Management, you will provide the strategic leadership and governance for the successful delivery of our entire corporate portfolio of programs. You will define and govern the program management framework that enables our teams to optimize the flow of value, while ensuring alignment with executive-level business objectives. In this leadership role, you will own the enterprise program roadmap, lead key governance bodies like the Steering Committee, and drive large-scale strategic planning events (such as PI Planning) to ensure organizational alignment, mitigate risks, and drive relentless improvement across all our major initiatives.
Primary Responsibilities
- Provide strategic leadership for the end-to-end delivery of assigned programs, owning the program management lifecycle from intake and planning through execution and delivery
- Establish and govern the enterprise-wide framework for program cadence, leading key ceremonies including PI Planning, Steering Committee meetings, and Product Management Councils
- Translate enterprise strategy into executable program increments across multiple LOB's-recognizing that each LOB advances priorities at different paces and focus areas
- Build and maintain integrated program roadmaps that connect business outcomes, funding, platform releases, operational readiness, and measurement plans
- Actively manage critical dependencies across technology teams, operations partners, and Optum/UHC stakeholders-especially where claims processing supply chain components and upstream/downstream systems must move together
- Lead, mentor, and develop a team of Program and Project Managers, Scrum Masters, and other delivery leads, advancing their skills and careers
- Champion "one team" behaviors across LOBs and departments; drive adoption of modern delivery practices appropriate for mixed agile/hybrid environments
- Act as the primary point of executive escalation for impediment removal, risk mitigation, and issue resolution
- Define and report on a portfolio of key metrics (Financial, Delivery, Risk, and ROI) to executive leadership, providing transparency and enabling data-informed decisions
- Manage strategic dependencies with third parties, vendors, and across the entire corporate portfolio
- Actively contribute to and lead the company's Agile and Lean Community of Practice, setting the standard for delivery excellence
- Work cross-functionally with executive leadership to align and continuously improve strategy, methodology, and execution
- Serve as a key change agent, fostering a "learn by doing" environment and driving the adoption of modern delivery practices
You'll be rewarded and recognized for your performance in an environment that will challenge you and give you clear direction on what it takes to succeed in your role as well as provide development for other roles you may be interested in.
Required Qualifications
- 10+ years in program/portfolio management leading large, cross functional technology programs in complex enterprises (payer/healthcare)
- 7+ years in a leadership role, with direct experience managing and mentoring Program / Project Managers and other delivery professionals
- 7+ years of experience in tracking and interpreting program-level metrics (e.g., Financial, Program Predictability, Flow Metrics, Burn-up charts) to drive data-informed decisions and foster continuous improvement
- 5+ years of experience in Agile management tools (e.g., Jira, Azure DevOps, Rally) to manage portfolio-level workflows and generate executive insights
- 5+ years of practical knowledge of scaled Agile frameworks (e.g., SAFe, LeSS) and experience applying their principles to drive enterprise-wide transformation
- 4+ years of experience managing the full Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and applying iterative development principles at scale
- Proven experience governing a portfolio with mixed methodologies (Agile, Waterfall, Hybrid) and managing dependencies between them at an enterprise scale
- Solid working knowledge of claims operations and claims lifecycle concepts (e.g., claim intake to adjudication, post adjudication actions, appeals, etc)
- Demonstrated ability to manage and visualize the flow of value at a portfolio level, from strategic theme and epic definition through to incremental delivery
- Demonstrated level of executive communication, facilitation, and negotiation skills, with the proven ability to lead large-scale planning events, run Steering Committee meetings, and build consensus among Executive-level stakeholders
Preferred Qualifications
- Bachelor's Degree
- Proven ability to build and manage relationships across a large enterprise, including coordination of data sharing, reconciliation, and analytics
- Proven work in organizations that support large claims and operational domains (claims, billing, eligibility/enrollment, appeals)
Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to local labor markets, education, work experience, certifications, etc. In addition to your salary, we offer benefits such as, a comprehensive benefits package, incentive and recognition programs, equity stock purchase and 401k contribution (all benefits are subject to eligibility requirements). No matter where or when you begin a career with us, you'll find a far-reaching choice of benefits and incentives. The salary for this role will range from $134,600 to $230,800 annually based on full-time employment. We comply with all minimum wage laws as applicable.
Application Deadline: This will be posted for a minimum of 2 business days or until a sufficient candidate pool has been collected. Job posting may come down early due to volume of applicants.
At UnitedHealth Group, our mission is to help people live healthier lives and make the health system work better for everyone. We believe everyone-of every race, gender, sexuality, age, location and income-deserves the opportunity to live their healthiest life. Today, however, there are still far too many barriers to good health which are disproportionately experienced by people of color, historically marginalized groups and those with lower incomes. We are committed to mitigating our impact on the environment and enabling and delivering equitable care that addresses health disparities and improves health outcomes - an enterprise priority reflected in our mission.
UnitedHealth Group is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer under applicable law and qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, religion, age, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by local, state, or federal laws, rules, or regulations.
UnitedHealth Group is a drug - free workplace. Candidates are required to pass a drug test before beginning employment.
