[Hiring] Director - Behavioral Health, Payer Value Creation @UnitedHealth Group

Role Description

The Director, Behavioral Health Payer Value Creation leads the payer affordability portfolio for Optum Behavioral Health. This role translates enterprise value strategy into a disciplined, executable portfolio of initiatives that improves cost efficiency, quality, benefits integrity and customer value. The Director serves as the primary value creation partner for the payer business, connecting leaders across clinical, network, payment integrity, finance, analytics, product, operations, and client teams to identify opportunities, build credible business cases, mobilize delivery, and produce measurable results.

This is a highly visible role for a leader who can move comfortably between strategy and execution. The successful candidate brings executive presence, strong judgment, exceptional organization and a track record of getting complex work done through cross-functional teams.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Own the payer value creation and affordability agenda, including development of priorities, goals, roadmaps and performance expectations aligned to business and customer needs.
• Identify and assess emerging cost, utilization, quality and operational trends; translate insights into clear actions that reduce avoidable cost, improve outcomes and strengthen the payer value story.
• Build, prioritize and manage a portfolio of payer affordability initiatives across clinical, network, payment integrity, benefits integrity, product and operational levers.
• Lead initiatives from opportunity identification through solution design, approval, implementation, adoption, measurement and financial validation, with clear ownership, milestones, risks and dependencies.
• Develop rigorous business cases, value models and executive recommendations using data, operational insight and sound assumptions; partner with Finance and analytics teams to validate impact and prevent double counting.
• Establish and maintain strong operating disciplines, including portfolio governance, workplans, decision logs, status reporting, issue escalation and executive-ready updates.
• Partner across Optum Behavioral Health and the broader enterprise to align stakeholders, resolve barriers and accelerate execution in a complex matrixed environment.
• Represent payer affordability strategy, progress, risks and results with senior leaders and internal and external stakeholders through concise, compelling written and verbal communication.
• Connect affordability work to quality, access, member experience, provider relationships, regulatory requirements and customer commitments.
• Promote innovation and continuous improvement, including the use of advanced analytics, digital tools and AI-enabled capabilities to improve insight, efficiency and decision-making.
• Create transparency into portfolio performance, challenge assumptions constructively and ensure teams remain accountable for commitments and measurable outcomes.
• Share best practices across lines of business and identify opportunities to scale proven approaches while adapting solutions to payer-specific needs.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in healthcare, managed care, consulting, strategy, operations, affordability, value creation or a related field.
• 10+ years leading complex, cross-functional initiatives with accountability for strategy, execution and measurable business outcomes.
• Demonstrated experience identifying cost or performance improvement opportunities and converting them into executable initiatives.
• Experience working across multiple functions such as clinical, network, payment integrity, finance, analytics, product, operations or client management.
• Proven executive presence, including the ability to communicate complex topics clearly, confidently and concisely to senior audiences.
• Proven track record of moving work from concept to implementation and sustaining accountability through delivery.

Requirements

• Master's degree in business, healthcare administration, public health or a related field (preferred).
• Experience in behavioral health, specialty benefits, payer services or delegated health plan operations (preferred).
• Experience with healthcare affordability, medical expense management, total cost of care, utilization management, value-based care, payment integrity or benefits integrity (preferred).
• Experience working with external payer, ASO or health plan customers and translating business results into a compelling customer value story (preferred).
• Experience with advanced analytics, digital tools, automation or AI-enabled solutions (preferred).
• Familiarity with behavioral health clinical operations, provider networks, regulatory and parity considerations, and quality or access measures (preferred).

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits package.
• Incentive and recognition programs.
• Equity stock purchase.
• 401k contribution (all benefits are subject to eligibility requirements).

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.