Vice President, Product - Pharmacy

UnitedHealth Group•US, Minnesota, MN

1d•$200,400 - $343,500•Remote

About The Position

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 inclusion, talented peers, comprehensive benefits and career development opportunities. Come make an impact on the communities we serve as you help us advance health optimization on a global scale. Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together. The Vice President, Product - Pharmacy will provide executive leadership for the Pharmacy Product function within Optum Rx's evolving Strategy & Product organization. This leader will define, build, and mature the product strategy, operating model, governance structure, and portfolio discipline for pharmacy-focused products, services, and capabilities. This is a highly strategic and build-oriented product leadership role. The organization is moving into a new product model, and this leader will play a critical role in bringing structure, clarity, and accountability to an evolving pharmacy product portfolio. The successful candidate will establish scalable ways of working, clarify product ownership, strengthen product governance, and translate business priorities into clear roadmaps and measurable outcomes. The role requires a senior product leader with solid executive presence, product judgment, business acumen, and the ability to lead through ambiguity. This leader will work closely across Strategy, Pharmacy, Operations, Clinical, Growth, Finance, Technology, Legal, Analytics, and enterprise teams to ensure pharmacy product priorities are aligned to market needs, patient/member care, operational feasibility, and enterprise growth objectives. 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.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in product, strategy, general management, healthcare, pharmacy, or a related business area
Experience leading complex product portfolios, business capabilities, or strategic initiatives in a highly matrixed environment
Demonstrated ability to define product strategy, build operating models, and translate ambiguous business needs into executable product plans
Solid executive presence with experience influencing senior leaders and cross-functional stakeholders
Financial and business acumen, including experience connecting product strategy to growth, revenue, profitability, investment decisions, product performance, and measurable outcomes
Proven ability to lead through ambiguity, change, and organizational transformation while creating clarity and accountability
Experience building product governance, roadmap discipline, portfolio views, performance measures, and scalable product routines
Ability to travel approximately 30%

Nice To Haves

MBA / Masters, or other advanced degree
Pharmacy / PBM industry experience

Responsibilities

Build and lead a high-performing Pharmacy Product team, including direct reports who are themselves people managers. They will be responsible for developing leaders, shaping team structure, and cultivating a culture of accountability, product excellence, and cross-functional collaboration as the organization scales
Prioritize the development of net-new pharmacy products in an increasingly AI-native environment, with a clear focus on advancing the patient care journey and elevating the overall member experience
Champion prescriber enablement as a core product priority, building capabilities that strengthen the connection between pharmacy, prescribers, and patients to improve outcomes, adherence, and speed to therapy
Define and lead the Pharmacy Product strategy, including the vision, priorities, roadmap, and future-state product portfolio
Establish the operating model for Pharmacy Product, including governance, decision rights, product rituals, prioritization routines, product intake, roadmap standards, and product performance expectations
Translate enterprise and Optum Rx business priorities into actionable pharmacy product strategies that support growth, affordability, patient/member experience, and operational scalability
Assess current and emerging pharmacy product opportunities and determine where dedicated product ownership, investment, commercialization support, or enhanced operating discipline is needed
Partner with senior leaders to clarify Pharmacy Product scope and interfaces with adjacent product, pharmacy, clinical, operational, technology, analytics, finance, and growth teams
Provide executive product leadership across a developing pharmacy product portfolio
Develop clear product strategies and roadmaps for pharmacy products and capabilities, including current-state assessment, opportunity sizing, prioritized investments, delivery milestones, launch readiness, and product health measures
Create product clarity for areas that may have historically been distributed across multiple teams, ensuring each product or capability has a defined business owner, outcome metrics, decision forums, and cross-functional delivery model
Evaluate product adjacency across pharmacy, provider, rebate, analytics, network, and operational capabilities to identify overlaps, dependencies, and opportunities to improve portfolio coherence
Build a scalable product framework that can support new pharmacy opportunities as the portfolio matures, including emerging capabilities, product extensions, and strategic partnerships
Build consistent end-to-end product management discipline across the Pharmacy Product portfolio, including discovery, business case development, roadmap planning, prioritization, launch readiness, performance tracking, and ongoing optimization
Ensure each product has clear ownership, measurable outcomes, documented stakeholders, delivery dependencies, risk management routines, and defined escalation pathways
Strengthen portfolio governance and prioritization routines to ensure resources are focused on the highest-value products and tradeoffs are made transparently
Identify gaps, overlaps, dependencies, and friction points across product areas, and drive decisions that simplify execution and improve accountability
Lead cross-functional product forums and executive updates to keep pharmacy product priorities visible, aligned, and connected to broader business strategy.