Associate Director, AI Portfolio Enablement - People Team - Remote

UnitedHealth-Grou; Eden Prairie (MN); Hybrid; USD 113,000 - 193,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Job summary

UnitedHealth Group is seeking an Associate Director, AI Portfolio Enablement to shape and prioritize a portfolio of AI opportunities aligned with business strategy. This role translates unstructured AI demand into clearly defined, decision-ready initiatives with solid business cases and measurable value outcomes.

The successful candidate will lead cross-functional teams, influence senior leaders, and partner with technology and data groups to enable scalable AI solutions across the enterprise.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in product strategy, portfolio management, or solution delivery with AI exposure.
• Ability to develop business cases and CBAs and translate insights into recommendations.
• Strong in structuring ambiguous problems and driving decisions across a matrixed organization.
• Proven track record influencing senior leaders and shaping funding decisions.

Responsibilities

• Manage and refine a portfolio of AI opportunities aligned to business strategy
• Translate unstructured AI demand into defined, decision-ready initiatives
• Develop business cases, CBAs and value hypotheses across multiple dimensions
• Present portfolio recommendations to governance forums and influence funding sequencing
• Define success metrics and measurement approaches for opportunities
• Partner with delivery teams to ensure smooth transition from concept to execution
• Build executive-ready narratives and stakeholder-aligned materials

Skills

Product strategy

Portfolio management

AI/machine learning knowledge

Executive communication

Cross-functional leadership

Stakeholder management

Job description

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

UnitedHealth Group is a health care and well-being company that’s dedicated to improving the health outcomes of millions around the world. We are comprised of two distinct and complementary businesses, UnitedHealthcare and Optum, working to build a better health system for all. Here, your contributions matter as they will help transform health care for years to come. Make an impact with a team that shares your passion for helping others. Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

The Associate Director, AI Portfolio Enablement is responsible for shaping, structuring, and prioritizing a portfolio of AI opportunities to ensure alignment with business strategy and measurable value outcomes. This role serves as the front-end of an AI orchestration system, translating unstructured demand into clearly defined, decision-ready initiatives with solid business cases, stakeholder alignment, and defined success metrics. This individual brings a blend of strategic thinking, product and portfolio management experience, and solid business acumen. They are skilled at framing complex problems, developing data-driven business cases, and aligning cross-functional stakeholders to drive decisions. The ideal candidate is comfortable operating in ambiguity, influencing senior leaders, and working across business, technology, and data teams to enable scalable AI solutions.

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:

• Manage and continuously refine a portfolio of AI opportunities, ensuring work is aligned to business strategy and prioritized based on value, feasibility, and readiness
• Apply consistent intake, assessment, and normalization processes to translate unstructured AI demand into clearly defined opportunities
• Lead opportunity framing, including problem definition, solution hypothesis, stakeholder alignment, and dependency identification
• Develop business cases and cost-benefit analyses (CBA), including value hypotheses across financial, operational, workforce, and risk dimensions
• Ensure all opportunities are fully defined, aligned, and decision-ready for governance and funding review
• Present portfolio recommendations and prioritization rationale to governance forums, influencing funding and sequencing decisions
• Develop clear product narratives and executive‑ready materials to support decision‑making and stakeholder alignment
• Support the conversion of validated opportunities into scalable, repeatable solution offerings with clear product narratives and value propositions
• Partner closely with delivery teams to ensure smooth transition from opportunity definition into execution
• Define initial success metrics, baseline assumptions, and measurement approach
• Build and manage relationships with business stakeholders, technology teams, and external partners to drive alignment and adoption

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:

• 8+ years of professional experience in product strategy, portfolio management, or solution delivery, including exposure to AI or machine learning‑enabled products
• Solid experience developing business cases and cost-benefit analyses (CBA), with an ability to translate insights into actionable recommendations
• Demonstrated strength in structuring ambiguous problems and converting them into clearly defined, decision‑ready opportunities
• Proven effectiveness leading cross‑functional efforts and driving outcomes in complex, matrixed environments
• Proven executive‑level communication skills, with a track record of influencing stakeholders and shaping decisions
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize across a portfolio of competing initiatives, balancing value, complexity, and resource constraints

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience scaling product organizations or supporting modernization initiatives
• Experience contributing to AI, data, or analytics‑led transformation efforts at scale
• Background in People Team / Human Resource operations or familiarity with workforce‑related processes
• Exposure to data platforms, analytics solutions, or AI/ML-enabled technologies
• Proven comfort operating within governance‑driven or regulated environments, including structured approval or funding processes

*All employees working remotely will be required to adhere to UnitedHealth Group’s Telecommuter Policy

Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to local labor markets, education, work experience, certifications, etc. In addition to your salary, we offer benefits such as, a comprehensive benefits package, incentive and recognition programs, equity stock purchase and 401k contribution (all benefits are subject to eligibility requirements). No matter where or when you begin a career with us, you’ll find a far-reaching choice of benefits and incentives. The salary for this role will range from $112,700 - $193,200 annually based on full‑time employment. We comply with all minimum wage laws as applicable.

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.

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.

UnitedHealth Group is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer under applicable law and qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, religion, age, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by local, state, or federal laws, rules, or regulations.

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

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.