Associate Director - Pharmacy Contract Strategy & Negotiation

Optum; Dublin; Hybrid; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Flexible work arrangements

Job summary

UnitedHealth Group in Ireland is seeking a Senior Healthcare Contracting Manager to lead complex payer and pharmacy contracting initiatives. You will build strong relationships with payers, analyze contract language, and work across finance, legal, and operations to drive favorable outcomes.

The role emphasizes financial acumen, executive communication, and strategic negotiation within a hybrid Dublin/Letterkenny work model.

Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree or equivalent healthcare industry experience.
• Experience managing healthcare contracting with accountability for results.
• Experience communicating with executive leadership and external stakeholders.
• Ability to understand financial concepts and present financial information clearly.

Responsibilities

• Establishes and maintains solid relationships with Payers in support of our Pharmacies.
• Demonstrates understanding of complex contract language to assess financial, non-financial and operational impact and legal implications of requested payer and/or pharmacy contract changes.
• Evaluates contract proposals and predicts impact on cost and payer/pharmacy performance.
• Monitors provider financial performance to identify opportunities to improve performance and/or payer relationships.
• Engages with internal and external senior leadership to resolve highly complex business problems and drive negotiation.

Skills

Healthcare contracting leadership

Executive stakeholder engagement

Financial analysis

Contract interpretation

Negotiation skills

Education

Undergraduate degree

Job description

Improve the lives of others while Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

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.

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 will do:

Relationships

• Establishes and maintains solid relationships with Payers in support of our Pharmacies

Contract Interpretation

• Demonstrate understanding of complex contract language in order to assess financial, non-financial and operational impact and legal implications of requested payer and/or pharmacy contract changes

Contract Analysis

• Evaluate contract proposals and predict impact on cost and payer/pharmacy performance

Performance Monitoring

• Monitor and/or oversee provider financial performance to identify opportunities to improve performance and/or payer relationship
• Demonstrate understanding of competitor landscape within the market (e.g., rates; market share; products; provider networks; market intelligence)

Stakeholder Engagement

• Provides leadership to and is accountable for the performance and results through multiple layers of management and senior level leadership
• Collaborate with internal teams (finance, legal, operations) to ensure alignment on objectives and execution
• Provide guidance and mentorship to more junior team members responsible for contract execution and relationship management
• Extensive engagement with both internal and external senior leadership to resolve highly complex or unusual business problems that affect major functions or disciplines
• Drives programs that impact financial results through negotiation

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 will bring:

If you don't meet every single requirement, don't let that hold you back - we're just as excited about potential as we are about qualifications and experience, and you could be exactly who we're looking for.

• Undergraduate degree or equivalent healthcare industry experience
• Proven significant experience in a management capacity within a healthcare contracting environment, including medical, pharmacy, pharmaceutical, or health insurance organizations, with accountability for business results and complex stakeholder relationships
• Proven experience interacting with executive leadership and external stakeholders
• Demonstrated ability to understand financial concepts and clearly communicate detailed financial information

Other useful skills and experience include:

• Financial or analytical qualification
• Demonstrated background in pharmacy benefit management or pharmaceutical contracting
• Proven experience leading large-scale negotiations
• Proven experience creating and delivering presentations, including verbal presentations and PowerPoint development

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.

UnitedHealth Group is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with physical and mental disabilities. If you need special assistance or accommodation for any part of the application process, please call 1-866-566-8715 to be connected to Recruitment Services. Recruitment Services hours of operation are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. CT, Monday through Friday.

UnitedHealth Group is a registered service mark of UnitedHealth Group, Inc. The UnitedHealth Group name with the dimensional logo, as well as the dimensional logo alone, are both service marks for the UnitedHealth Group, Inc.

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.