Senior Planning & Strategy Analyst

UnitedHealth Group•Eden Prairie, MN

15h•$72,800 - $130,000•Remote

About The Position

Optum’s Enterprise Clinical Services Strategy & Planning team is seeking a Senior Planning & Strategy Analyst to support strategic research, analytical problem solving, initiative planning, and decision support across business and operational priorities. The role uses quantitative and qualitative evidence to investigate complex questions, identify patterns, and develop clear recommendations for leaders and cross-functional partners. The analyst works independently within an assigned area of expertise, organizes work against deadlines, and communicates complex topics clearly. The role contributes to initiatives from initial problem framing through analysis, recommendation development, implementation planning, and progress assessment. It operates at the intersection of strategy, analytics, emerging capabilities, and healthcare operations, including evaluating technologies and methods that may improve decision-making or business performance. The position is remote within the U.S. 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

Undergraduate degree or equivalent experience.
At least 3 years of experience in strategic analysis, business analysis, quantitative research, data analytics, product development, consulting, program planning, or a related field.
Experience investigating complex questions using quantitative data, qualitative evidence, research, or structured problem-solving methods.
Experience translating analytical findings into actionable recommendations, presentations, or written materials for technical and non-technical audiences.
Experience organizing independent work, managing multiple priorities, and completing deliverables against deadlines.
Proficiency with analytical or programming tools such as Python, R, MATLAB, SQL, or comparable platforms.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree in a quantitative, scientific, engineering, public policy, business, or related discipline.
Experience developing strategic plans, capability roadmaps, implementation plans, business cases, or performance measures.
Experience with machine learning, predictive analytics, simulation, modeling, experimental design, or high-dimensional data analysis.
Experience building repeatable data acquisition, processing, or analytical workflows.
Experience evaluating emerging technologies, AI-enabled capabilities, or new analytical methods for practical application.
Experience leading projects, coordinating cross-functional work, mentoring colleagues, or supporting team development.
Experience in healthcare, healthcare operations, clinical services, regulated environments, or another complex service-delivery setting.
Experience presenting findings to senior leaders or supporting decisions across multiple stakeholder groups.
Strong critical thinking, problem-solving, written communication, and verbal communication skills.
Ability to learn new business domains and methodologies quickly and work effectively with ambiguity, evolving requirements, and non-standard requests.

Responsibilities

Conduct research and structured analyses to support business strategy, operating-model, capability, investment, and improvement decisions.
Use data, facts, and stakeholder input to investigate standard and non-standard business questions and identify practical solutions.
Analyze industry, technology, operational, and organizational trends to identify emerging opportunities, risks, and strategic areas of interest.
Develop problem statements, analytical approaches, hypotheses, and decision criteria for ambiguous or evolving requests.
Synthesize quantitative and qualitative findings into recommendations, executive briefings, presentations, and decision-support materials.
Support development of strategic plans, capability roadmaps, implementation approaches, business cases, and measures of progress.
Coordinate assigned workstreams, milestones, dependencies, and stakeholder inputs to keep initiatives organized and on schedule.
Partner with business, clinical, analytics, technology, and operational teams to translate strategic priorities into executable plans.
Assess initiative performance, investigate barriers, and recommend adjustments based on evidence and stakeholder feedback.
Document assumptions, decisions, findings, risks, and next steps.
Apply statistical, analytical, modeling, or experimental methods to complex datasets when useful for strategic or operational decisions.
Explore emerging analytical and AI-enabled capabilities and assess where they may provide practical business value.
Create repeatable analytical workflows, visualizations, and reporting materials that make complex information accessible to technical and non-technical audiences.
Explain findings, methods, limitations, and recommendations to stakeholders within and outside the immediate area of expertise.
Contribute to team collaboration through knowledge sharing, peer review, and support for colleagues working across disciplines.