Associate Director, Pricing Operations Product Owner

Optum is a global organisation 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 diversity and inclusion, talented peers, comprehensive benefits and career development opportunities. Come make an impact on the communities we serve as you help us advance health equity on a global scale. Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together. 

About the Role:

In healthcare, evolution doesn’t just happen. It takes innovation, imagination, and a passion for solving problems in new and better ways. And innovation is taking place at a lightning-fast pace every day at Optum. 
As the fastest growing part of the UnitedHealth Group family of businesses, we’re expanding our team in Ireland and creating excellent opportunities for those who want greater purpose and more impact in their work. We’ll provide the investment, support, and resources to advance your career. You’ll provide the talent, ambition, and drive. 

As leader within the Pricing and Underwriting Operations team, you’ll be a member of a small high-performing team that is re-imagining the way we do business. You’ll be responsible for driving end to end requirements and development of our Pricing and Underwriting Logistics and Strategy Engine (PULSE) and optimizing the supporting business processes. The role has direct interaction with onshore and offshore technology partners, business partners and business area Subject Matter Experts to develop specific requirements and best solutions for accurate execution, automation and implementation. Our chosen candidate must demonstrate advanced knowledge of business processes, solid technical competence, attention to detail, exhibit solid oral and written communication skills as well as the ability to consistently meet deadlines.

Careers with Optum offer flexible work arrangements and individuals who live and work in the Republic of Ireland will have the opportunity to split their monthly work hours between our Dublin or Letterkenny offices and telecommuting from a home-based office in a hybrid work model. 

Primary Responsibilities:

• Product Owner of OptumRx’s Pricing and Underwriting End to End processes and tools
• Manage the continuous improvement of processes and tools - drive culture of innovation and collaboration, with a specific focus of improving the Underwriter experience, improving QA/QC, instilling appropriate governance, enhancing analytics capabilities, and streamlining data flow
• Leverage knowledge to propose solutions to business problems in a dynamic work environment
• Lead process design and project implementation teams in process improvement activities
• Develop appropriate measurement approaches/metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of recommended solutions/process changes 
• Diagnose process improvement opportunities and develop solutions using principles of process excellence and related tools
• Communicate potential impacts and risks associated with implementing proposed solutions to business partners and relevant stakeholders
• Collaborate with stakeholders (e.g., senior leadership; end users) to gain support and buy-in for proposed business process solutions
• Develop relevant policies, procedures, and/or work tools to support new or updated business processes 
• Report to relevant stakeholders (e.g. business sponsors; constituents) on benefits, challenges, and progress of solution implementation (e.g. risks and opportunities)
• Provide ongoing support to ensure proper implementation and adoption of the solution (e.g. post-deployment support, definition/monitoring of control plans)
• Maintain a robust roadmap for future iterations/innovations
• Change Management leader: As process improvements are made, ensure input and alignment across all teams through clear communication
• Utilize stakeholder (e.g., senior leadership; end user) feedback and/or process performance information to identify potential continuous improvement opportunities
• Ensure that project requirements are clearly and comprehensively documented, understood and support traceability
• Create professional and informative presentation material for leadership updates
• Serve as a dependable and reliable resource to others

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:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience
• Proven experience in operations, healthcare pricing, network management, healthcare economics or related discipline - preferably at large, complex, fast-paced organizations
• Experience on a process redesign team
• Experience managing scope and resources, and meeting timelines and budget targets
• Experience interacting and communicating effectively with business stakeholders at various levels of the organization
• Experience with best practices/approaches related to business analysis, quality, and productivity
• Experience applying critical thinking to very detailed business scenarios
• Advanced proficiency with MS Excel, Word, and PowerPoint
• Successful track record Leading Change and Transitions, with management of highly complex, multi-dimensional projects
• Demonstrated achievement of key operational metrics around efficiency, reporting and analytical capabilities, and management reporting
• Ability to work with developers and translate technical details to ensure business and IT are in sync with level of understanding
• Experience with Agile Project Methodology

Preferred Qualifications:

• PBM or healthcare experience
• Smartsheet, PowerBI, Tableau and/or Power Apps experience
• Programming competence (preference for Python, SQL or Java) 
• Knowledge of technology industry trends and tools

CLL Practices:

• Systems Thinking
• Leading Change and Transitions
• Managing Team Structures, Operations and Processes
• Facilitating Execution Plans
• Resilience & Resourcefulness

Please note you must currently be eligible to work and remain indefinitely without any restrictions in the country to which you are making an application. Proof will be required to support your application.

All telecommuters will be required to adhere to the UnitedHealth Group’s Telecommuter Policy.

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 marginalised 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.

Diversity creates a healthier atmosphere: Optum is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, disability, religion, age, race, and membership of the Traveller community, or any other characteristic protected by law. Optum is a drug-free workplace. © 2024 Optum Services (Ireland) Limited. All rights reserved.

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