[Hiring] Vice President, Central Operations and Strategy @UnitedHealth Group

Role Description

For those who want to invent the future of health care, here's your opportunity. We're going beyond basic care to health programs integrated across the entire continuum of care. Join us in making healthcare work better for everyone through people-led, responsible AI while Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

This leader establishes and executes the operating strategy for the California IPA business, with accountability for technology enablement, network management, complex transitions, and cross-functional business outcomes. The role aligns market, regional, and national leaders around enterprise priorities, measurable results, and an integrated operating model. The primary accountability is the IPA business, with defined oversight of Group operations where shared technology, provider data, contracting, network processes, or transitions require an integrated approach.

Areas in Scope

• California IPA strategy and priorities, including performance, provider experience, growth, and investment needs
• IPA technology enablement and improvement of the supporting technology stack, including Optum Pro, CURO, Cozeva, DataCORE, VIM, and related tools
• Network management and provider-data coordination across national and regional provider contracting, provider relations, network services, and Partner Data Integrity (PDI)
• Executive oversight and governance of complex provider, practice, site, pod, network, and system transitions
• Defined oversight of Group operations where shared technology, provider data, contracting, network processes, or transitions require an integrated approach

You’ll enjoy the flexibility to work remotely from anywhere within the U.S. as you take on some tough challenges. For all hires in the Minneapolis or Washington, D.C. area, you will be required to work in the office a minimum of four days per week.

Primary Responsibilities

• IPA Strategy and Planning:
  • Own the development and execution of the California IPA operating strategy and transformation agenda, establishing priorities and driving enterprise performance across provider experience, operational effectiveness, quality, affordability, growth, and financial outcomes
  • Partner with market, functional, and executive leaders to prioritize investments, establish strategic roadmaps, and ensure scalable capabilities that strengthen Optum's position as the preferred IPA partner in California
  • Assess performance, network needs, provider experience, technology gaps, and growth opportunities across regions
  • Define where IPA and Group capabilities should be aligned and where different approaches are needed
• Technology Enablement:
  • Drive technology strategy, platform integration, workflow modernization, automation, and digital experience improvements to create a more unified, efficient, and data-driven provider operating environment
  • Lead the IPA technology roadmap around the needs of providers and practice staff
  • Align business priorities across Optum Pro, CURO, Cozeva, DataCORE, VIM, and related data and workflow tools
  • Identify fragmented workflows, manual processes, duplicative tools, and data issues, and prioritize practical improvements
  • Partner with technology, product, data, and operations teams to define requirements, ownership, dependencies, and outcomes
  • Represent California priorities in national technology and investment planning
• Network Management:
  • Establish and lead cross-functional governance for provider network operations, including clear decision rights, accountability, performance expectations, and escalation pathways across national and regional provider contracting, provider relations, network services, credentialing, provider data management, and Partner Data Integrity (PDI)
  • Set California priorities and hold national and regional partners accountable for aligned execution across provider contracting, provider relations, network services, PDI, and provider-data functions
  • Define governance, ownership, and handoffs for contracting, provider loading, roster and network changes, data maintenance, and issue resolution
  • Direct the resolution of systemic network and provider-data issues affecting provider experience, operational performance, attribution, network status, contract configuration, and data integrity
• Complex Transitions:
  • Establish executive governance and oversight for complex provider, practice, site, pod, network, and system transitions
  • Assign accountable leaders and ensure each transition has clear milestones, dependencies, communications, risk mitigation plans, decision points, and completion criteria
  • Hold functional leaders accountable for managing operational dependencies, including provider and membership changes, payer notifications, provider-data updates, contracting changes, and system readiness
  • Maintain visibility into readiness, unresolved issues, provider and member impacts, and decisions requiring escalation
  • Ensure post-implementation outcomes are validated, unresolved risks are addressed, and accountable leaders complete required operational and system actions
• Performance and Accountability:
  • Define and track a focused set of measures for technology adoption, network performance, provider-data quality, transition readiness, and operating results
  • Lead governance and performance reviews, make decisions within delegated authority, escalate material investment and operating model tradeoffs to the COO, and drive agreed actions to completion
  • Partner with accountable leaders on regulatory, contractual, accreditation, and delegated requirements
  • Exercise decision-making authority within the role’s approved scope and escalate material investment, operating model, or enterprise tradeoffs to the appropriate executive forum
• Leadership:
  • Provide leadership and accountability through multiple layers of management, senior professionals, and matrixed teams responsible for strategy, technology enablement, network management, and transition execution
  • Partner with Regional Operations, Technology, Product, Analytics, Network Contracting, Provider Relations, Provider Data, Medical Management, Population Health, Quality, Finance, Regulatory, and Payer Operations
  • Represent the work with executive leaders, physician leaders, health plans, and national partners

Qualifications

• 7+ years of extensive leadership experience in healthcare operations, managed care, medical group, IPA, network, or healthcare technology environments, with demonstrated success leading complex teams, leaders, or enterprise portfolios
• 7+ years of experience with provider operations, network management, contracting, provider data, technology enablement, or complex transitions
• 7+ years of experience in a risk-bearing or delegated environment and across employed and contracted provider networks
• Ability to translate business needs into clear priorities, roadmaps, governance, and implementation plans
• Executive presence and the ability to influence physicians, operators, technical teams, and senior leaders without relying on direct authority
• California healthcare experience and familiarity with IPA and employed medical-group models preferred
• Up to 25% for travel

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with IPA technology enablement and improvement of the supporting technology stack, including Optum Pro, CURO, Cozeva, DataCORE, VIM, and related tools
• Ability to work in person in Southern California office (Torrance or Irvine)

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits package
• Incentive and recognition programs
• Equity stock purchase and 401k contribution (all benefits are subject to eligibility requirements)
• Salary for this role will range from $159,300 - $273,200 annually based on full-time employment

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.