Director, Analytics and Health Policy Research

UnitedHealth Group•Eden Prairie, MN

4d•Remote

About The Position

UnitedHealth Group’s Center for Health Care Research seeks an experienced researcher and project manager to advance research supporting a next-generation health system and actionable policy and market solutions. The Center’s work informs senior leadership about health care market dynamics and strategic opportunities and supports engagement with the public, media, and policymakers. The successful candidate will bring strong analytical and strategic skills, project-management experience, clear communication with technical and non-technical audiences, broad knowledge of health care data, policy, and markets, and sound judgment. The role manages high-profile research partnerships with leading universities and researchers, supports academic partner-led research, and analyzes large administrative, claims, and clinical datasets. It collaborates with data scientists, economists, analysts, business executives, clinical leaders, subject matter experts, and external partners. Responsibilities span research development and analysis, partnership and data governance, dissemination of findings, and strategic advice on the policy, business, and reputational impact of UHG-sponsored research. The position may be performed remotely from anywhere in the United States. Employees hired in the Minneapolis or Washington, D.C. area must work in the office at least four days per week. Remote employees must follow UnitedHealth Group’s Telecommuter Policy.

Requirements

At least 7 years of professional research experience in one or more health care organizations, consulting firms, universities, research institutions, think tanks, government agencies, or similar organizations.
At least 7 years of experience using statistical software packages such as R, PySpark, or STATA for descriptive and multivariable analyses.
At least 5 years of experience using SQL and Python to analyze large datasets.
At least 5 years of experience with administrative health care claims data.
At least 2 years of experience working in Databricks and other cloud-based data analytic platforms.
Experience managing all aspects of a research project, including research design and methods, and working with administrative databases such as claims, EMR, and registry data, as well as publicly available data.
Mastery of Word and Excel and comfort with PowerPoint.
Proficiency using AI platforms for research, code development and verification, and operationalizing common tasks.
PhD or master’s degree in economics, finance, epidemiology, biostatistics, mathematics, public policy, health informatics, data sciences, or another quantitative field.
Broad knowledge of health policy and deep, nuanced understanding of and experience using administrative and clinical datasets for research.
Ability to analyze claims data and interpret and assess empirical-study results.
Ability to communicate effectively with business leaders and policy experts, translating policy-relevant analysis into business-relevant analysis and vice versa.
Ability to write effectively and think strategically and creatively in a dynamic environment.
Solid oral and written communication skills and comfort presenting research findings to business leaders and internal and external stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Microsoft Azure.
Experience with Visual Basic for Applications.
Experience with applications such as Tableau.
Knowledge of data privacy and HIPAA standards.

Responsibilities

Manage UHG partnerships with prominent university researchers, collaborating across research studies from conceptualization and analytic review through publication, and overseeing operational and strategic partnership direction, data access, proposal reviews, and research agreements.
Serve as a key UHG representative in shaping long-term research agendas with external partners.
Support academic partners through knowledge of Enterprise data assets, leading feasibility studies, data exploration, ad hoc analysis, and verification, and identifying ways to maximize research investment value and impact.
Partner with senior business executives, clinical leaders, and subject matter experts to identify and validate high-value research that uses UHG data, analytic assets, technology, scale, and health care models to advance policy and inform enterprise strategy.
Build internal relationships and collaborate with senior business leaders to inform, execute, and elevate external research collaborations, integrate expertise across UHG, and align partnerships with enterprise priorities and reputational considerations.
Provide governance oversight of research scope and objectives, identify and resolve risks and issues, report progress to stakeholders, and ensure requirements and approvals comply with applicable policies and priorities.
Design, program, and execute data analyses; mentor and develop data analysts; and provide technical leadership to strengthen research capabilities and analytical rigor.
Anticipate future data and research needs and partner with data governance leaders to develop and execute an academic research data strategy.
Work with data partners to steward data assets, coordinate regular data refreshes and ancillary data sources, triage data, software, and technical inquiries, and help prioritize data acquisition, accessibility, and research enablement.
Partner with Government Affairs, Public Affairs, and Communications leaders to disseminate published research and increase its visibility and impact among policymakers, industry stakeholders, and other audiences.
Contribute to Center projects, enterprise-wide initiatives, thought leadership, and the delivery of CHCR strategic objectives.
Advise senior leaders as an enterprise resource on external research partnerships, opportunities, governance, and strategies for maximizing policy, business, and reputational impact.
Represent UHG in engagements with academic institutions, research organizations, and other external stakeholders.