Vice President, Behavioral Health Clinical Operations and Product Development

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.

Position Summary

The Vice President of Product - Utilization Management (UM) and Case Management (CM) will lead the strategic direction, modernization, and performance of enterprise-wide clinical product and operations platforms supporting our behavioral health benefits business

This role is designed for a senior executive with deep experience in large-scale, highly regulated managed care environments - particularly those operating at national scale with complex payer, provider, and regulatory dynamics. This is a cross functional leadership role that partners enterprise wide improving access, optimize service utilization, and enhance outcomes for members with complex behavioral health needs.

The VP will assume full ownership of UM and Case Management product strategy, including platform evolution, workflow optimization, automation enablement, regulatory alignment, and measurable operational performance improvement. This executive will work directly with the CEO, CMO and senior leadership to transform behavioral health UM and CM capabilities into competitive differentiator and enterprise growth driver.

If you are located within the 30-minute commutable range to Minneapolis or Washington, D.C, you will be required to work in the office a minimum of four days per week.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Enterprise Product Strategy
  • Define and execute a multi-year product vision for Utilization Management and Case Management across behavioral health lines of business
  • Align product strategy with enterprise growth objectives, value-based care initiatives, and client/payer requirements
  • Translate strategic goals into disciplined product roadmaps with measurable ROI
  • Establish KPIs tied to authorization turnaround time, denial reduction, clinical appropriateness, care coordination efficiency, and member/provider satisfaction
  • Advance whole-person product design that integrates behavioral and physical health services
• Platform Modernization & Scalability
  • Lead modernization of complex, high-volume UM, and CM workflows in a regulated behavioral health environment
  • Drive digitization and automation of prior authorization, concurrent review, discharge planning, and care coordination processes
  • Expand virtual care pathways for mild-moderate condition management
  • Integrate analytics and decision-support tools to enhance clinical consistency and operational efficiency
  • Ensure scalability across multi-state regulatory environments and diverse payer contracts
• Regulatory & Accreditation Excellence
  • Ensure product alignment and capabilities support NCQA, URAC, CMS, and state-level compliance standards
  • Partner with Clinical and Compliance leadership to maintain audit readiness and documentation integrity
  • Develop governance processes for policy-to-workflow translation within systems
• Cross-Functional Executive Leadership
  • Partner closely with Technology to ensure disciplined delivery within a matrixed organization
  • Collaborate with Operations leadership to drive adoption, change management, and measurable productivity gains
  • Support Business Development and client-facing teams by positioning UM and CM capabilities as market differentiators
  • Partner with Network Management to expand value-based purchasing arrangements for Behavioral Health providers
  • Present strategy, investment priorities, and performance outcomes to executive leadership and Board stakeholders
• Organizational Leadership
  • Build and lead a high-performing BH Product Management team
  • Drive transformation by aligning structure, talent, and operating model to enterprise strategy
  • Mentor product leaders capable of operating in complex, cross-functional environments
  • Foster a culture of accountability, clinical integrity, and innovation

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:

• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in health plan clinical operations, medical management, or Behavioral Health Management
• Deep experience with enterprise-scale behavioral health Utilization Management and/or Case Management platforms
• Experience operating within large, matrixed healthcare organizations
• Solid understanding of behavioral health authorization processes and regulatory frameworks
• Demonstrated success modernizing complex, high-volume clinical operations systems
• Proven executive presence with the ability to influence across clinical, operational, and technical leadership
• Proven record of building and leading high-performing product teams

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in national behavioral health managed care environments
• Experience integrating analytics, workflow automation, or AI-enabled decision support into UM/CM systems
• Experience driving transformation initiatives within scaled, multi-state healthcare organizations
• Exposure to value-based care models and performance-based contracts

Scope & Impact

This role owns a core enterprise capability directly impacting:

• Clinical quality and medical necessity integrity
• Regulatory compliance and accreditation performance
• Authorization cycle times and operational efficiency
• Member and provider experience
• Enterprise scalability and growth

The Vice President will operate at the intersection of clinical excellence and operational performance, shaping how behavioral health care decisions are supported and delivered at scale

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 $200,400 to $343,500 annually based on full-time employment. We comply with all minimum wage laws as applicable.

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.