Associate Director, Affordability Portfolio & Governance

Optum; Dublin; Hybrid; EUR 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Optum Ireland seeks an Associate Director to lead affordability portfolio initiatives from ideation through governance, deployment, and value realization. You will partner across Clinical, Non-Clinical, Finance, Legal, Technology, and Analytics to ensure alignment and successful outcomes.

The role offers hybrid work between Dublin/Letterkenny offices and home-based telecommuting. Strong leadership, governance, and communication skills are essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience.
• Proven experience in healthcare, managed care, affordability, reimbursement policy, healthcare operations, payment integrity, consulting, program management, or related environments.
• Proven experience leading cross-functional programs or portfolios.
• Demonstrated success managing work across multiple stakeholder groups in matrixed environments.
• Experience developing executive presentations, governance materials, and business recommendations.
• Ability to drive complex initiatives through ambiguity with minimal supervision.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Advanced proficiency with Excel and PowerPoint and strong business communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Own affordability concepts from intake through deployment and value realization.
• Maintain accountability for concept progression, stakeholder alignment, governance readiness, and realization of outcomes.
• Manage multiple initiatives simultaneously with competing priorities and deadlines.
• Lead governance gates from ideation to implementation and value realization.
• Ensure concepts meet governance standards, readiness criteria, and quality expectations.
• Prepare and deliver executive governance materials and business recommendations.
• Partner with Clinical, Non-Clinical, Legal, Finance, Technology, Operations, Analytics teams to align on initiatives.

Skills

Healthcare domain knowledge

Cross-functional leadership

Program management

Analytical thinking

Governance & governance materials

Communication & presentation

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience

Tools

Microsoft Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Job Description - Associate Director, Affordability Portfolio & Governance (2388382)

Associate Director, Affordability Portfolio & Governance - 2388382

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 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.

At UnitedHealthcare, we are transforming how affordability opportunities move from idea to implementation. We are seeking a highly motivated leader to drive complex affordability initiatives from concept through governance, deployment, and value realization.

This role is ideal for an individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment, embraces accountability, and is energized by solving complex business problems. You will partner across Clinical, Non-Clinical, Operations, Finance, Legal, Technology, Analytics, and Executive Leadership teams to ensure affordability opportunities are evaluated, governed, deployed, and measured effectively. The role serves as an end-to-end concept owner, helping move initiatives through the Affordability governance process while maintaining exceptional quality, stakeholder alignment, and execution discipline.

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 office and telecommuting from a home-based office in a hybrid work model.

What you'll do:

• Own affordability concepts from intake through deployment and value realization
• Maintain accountability for concept progression, stakeholder alignment, governance readiness, implementation planning, and realization of expected outcomes
• Manage multiple initiatives simultaneously while balancing competing priorities and deadlines

Governance & Execution

• Lead concepts through Affordability governance gates from ideation through to Implementation and value realization
• Ensure concepts meet governance standards, readiness criteria, and quality expectations prior to progression
• Prepare and deliver executive-ready governance materials, business recommendations, and decision support documentation

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner closely with Clinical, Non-Clinical, Legal, Finance, Technology, Network, Operations, Communications, and Analytics teams
• Identify risks, dependencies, stakeholder concerns, and implementation barriers early and proactively drive resolution
• Facilitate alignment across a highly matrixed organization

Operational Excellence

• Track portfolio health, risks, actions, dependencies, decisions, and governance outcomes
• Ensure approved concepts successfully progress to deployment and measurable value realization

  You will 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 providing development for other roles you may be interested in.

  What you'll bring:

  • Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience
  • Proven solid experience in healthcare, managed care, affordability, reimbursement policy, healthcare operations, payment integrity, consulting, program management, or related business environments
  • Proven solid experience leading cross-functional programs, portfolios, strategic initiatives, or business process transformations
  • Demonstrated success managing work across multiple stakeholder groups within highly matrixed environments
  • Proven experience developing executive-level presentations, governance materials, and business recommendations
  • Proven ability to manage complex initiatives through ambiguity and drive outcomes with limited supervision
  • Demonstrated advanced analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills
  • Demonstrated advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint, with demonstrated solid business communication skills

  Other useful skills and experience include:

  • Lean Six Sigma, Agile, PMP, or similar professional certification
  • Proven experience conducting financial opportunity assessments, business case development, and value realization tracking
  • Proven experience working across both clinical and non-clinical business functions

  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.

  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.

  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. © 2026 Optum Services (Ireland) Limited. All rights reserved.

  Diversity creates a healthier atmosphere: UnitedHealth Group is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.

  UnitedHealth Group is a drug-free workplace. Candidates are required to pass a drug test before beginning employment.