Associate Director, Growth Strategy, Market Intelligence & Enterprise Partnerships - Remote

UnitedHealth Group•Eden Prairie, MN

2d•Remote

About The Position

The Associate Director, Growth Strategy, Market Intelligence & Enterprise Partnerships is a strategic leadership role supporting the Mid-America strategic agenda and broader East Region growth. The position serves as a strategic intelligence engine and operational integrator for the growth organization, aligning business partners and leadership around critical growth initiatives. It transforms market, provider, payer, membership, competitive, and financial data into actionable growth strategies and drives execution across a matrixed organization. The role advises Market and Regional Leadership Team members and enterprise leaders on decisions involving new market entry, care delivery expansion, network optimization, payer strategy, value-based care, business development, strategic partnerships, and capital deployment. It combines strategic analysis, growth planning, enterprise partnership development, executive decision support, and growth governance to support profitable expansion and investment decisions. The position is remote from anywhere in the U.S. Employees based in the Minneapolis or Washington, D.C. area must work in the office at least four days per week. Remote employees must comply with UnitedHealth Group’s Telecommuter Policy. Candidates must pass a drug test before beginning employment.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Healthcare Administration, Finance, Economics, Analytics, Public Health, or a related field.
At least 7 years of experience in healthcare strategy, market intelligence, business development, consulting, growth analytics, healthcare operations, enterprise partnerships, or related disciplines.
Experience developing executive-level presentations, business cases, and strategic recommendations.
Advanced Excel skills, including financial modeling, scenario analysis, forecasting, and data synthesis.
Strong executive communication skills and ability to translate complex analyses into actionable business recommendations.
Demonstrated success leading complex strategic initiatives across highly matrixed organizations.
Solid understanding of healthcare providers, payers, Medicare Advantage, value-based care, and population health.
Exceptional analytical, communication, project leadership, and stakeholder management skills.
Proven ability to influence senior leaders without direct authority.
Ability to pass a drug test before beginning employment.

Nice To Haves

MBA, MHA, MPH, or an advanced degree in Finance, Economics, or a related field.
Experience supporting healthcare market expansion, acquisitions, partnerships, provider network development, or payer strategy.
Experience in healthcare consulting, provider organizations, managed care, integrated delivery systems, or healthcare analytics.
Advanced proficiency in financial modeling, market intelligence, healthcare claims analytics, Power BI, Tableau, Salesforce reporting, and executive storytelling.

Responsibilities

Lead comprehensive market assessments for existing and prospective markets.
Develop market-entry, expansion, and investment analyses supporting market and regional growth objectives.
Evaluate provider, payer, demographic, competitive, and regulatory dynamics across target markets.
Identify emerging trends, market disruptions, and strategic opportunities affecting Optum Health growth priorities.
Develop market-attractiveness assessments, prioritization frameworks, market tiering analyses, and strategic growth recommendations.
Produce executive-level competitive and market intelligence reviews.
Identify care-delivery ecosystem best practices and support business cases and deployment of specific initiatives.
Coordinate with analytics teams to develop growth reporting, analytics infrastructure, and executive performance measurement.
Coordinate data resources and partnerships across Healthcare Economics, Optum Health Analytics, Finance, Actuarial, Network, Market Teams, Contracting, and Business Development.
Develop forecasting models, scenario analyses, market opportunity assessments, and growth performance evaluations.
Support the creation of executive dashboards, KPI reporting, and strategic scorecards.
Identify, evaluate, and support strategic partnerships that accelerate growth and market expansion.
Assess cross-segment partnership opportunities across Optum and UnitedHealth Group entities for in-market deployment.
Partner with enterprise stakeholders to evaluate innovative growth opportunities and adjacent healthcare services.
Support the development and coordination of preferred provider networks and strategic market affiliations.
Support business cases and strategic recommendations for partnerships, affiliations, joint ventures, acquisitions, and growth investments.
Collaborate with M&A and Business Development teams to prioritize acquisition, affiliation, and partnership targets aligned with regional growth goals.
Manage and support the market growth and strategy operating cadence, including executive reviews, growth councils, steering committees, and strategic planning sessions.
Oversee the market growth portfolio, promoting accountability, milestone achievement, and execution against strategic priorities.
Track growth initiatives, partnership development efforts, expansion projects, and investment outcomes.
Coordinate issue resolution, risk management, decision tracking, and executive follow-up.
Establish governance processes that improve transparency, execution discipline, and organizational alignment.
Translate complex analyses into concise executive recommendations and strategic insights.
Develop presentations, executive materials, business cases, strategic briefings, and growth updates for senior leadership.
Support monthly, quarterly, and annual strategic planning, long-range growth planning, and market prioritization decisions.
Advise executive leadership on high-priority growth and market development initiatives.
Lead ad hoc growth and strategy initiatives identified by Regional Executive Leadership.