Director Communications, Optum Health – Remote

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 diversity and inclusion, talented peers, comprehensive benefits and career development opportunities. Come make an impact on the communities we serve as you help us advance health equity on a global scale. Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together. 

The Director of Communications leverages communications expertise, business acumen and interpersonal skills to design and deliver communication plans, strategies and messaging for Optum Health’s (OH) mergers, acquisitions and divestiture (M&A) activities. This position will develop and implement comprehensive internal and external communications plans that support business objectives, ensure message alignment and help to minimize public scrutiny during critical transactions. In addition, this position will support key projects to advance OH business priorities through proactive communications campaigns that include value-based care, product innovation, thought leadership, and message platform/narrative development. This position is part of the OH communications team and reports to the vice president of communications for Optum Health.

You’ll enjoy the flexibility to work remotely * from anywhere within the U.S. as you take on some tough challenges. 

Primary Responsibilities:

• Develop and manage relationships and effectively interact with a range of stakeholders, including senior executives, to create and execute communications plans for corporate development activity
• Engage and partner with corporate development, the people team, UnitedHealth Group communications, legal and others to understand upcoming activity
• In partnership with the vice president of communications, create comprehensive communications plans for all M&A transactions
• Work closely with third-party organizations to ensure message consistency across all communications channels
• Collaborate closely with internal stakeholders to create effective messaging for both internal and external audiences
• Serve as a media spokesperson to respond to inquiries about M&A activity
• Engage and partner with Optum Serve, Home & Community, SCA and Whole Health Solutions to create content and/or campaigns that proactively promote our business, brand, and products
• Support collaboration with the care delivery communications team to story mine patient/member stories to supplement the proactive storytelling strategy
• Support in the execution of a business-wide proactive media strategy, utilizing a variety of traditional and innovative media tactics, including paid, earned, social and owned
• Partner with the vice president of communications for Optum Health on enterprise-wide narratives and projects, including the enterprise position on value-based care, investor conference, and earnings
• Build relationships with key stakeholders as needed and support internal peers’ relationships with their respective stakeholders
• Embody and promote UHG corporate values and ethics and demonstrate exemplary organizational skills and attention to detail

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:

• 7+ years of communications experience within a matrixed organization
• 7+ years of experience with the full suite of Microsoft Office applications including Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• 5+ years of project management experience
• 5+ years of professional writing and editing experience
• Integrated communications experience 
• External communications experience
• Demonstrated experience working and consulting with senior executives
• Experience handling mergers and acquisitions

Preferred Qualifications:

• Combination of Corporate and Agency communications experience
• Social media experience (i.e. developing blogs, social media campaigns, podcasts, etc.)

*All employees working remotely will be required to adhere to UnitedHealth Group’s Telecommuter Policy 

The salary range for this role is $124,500 to $239,400 annually based on full-time employment. Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to local labor markets, education, work experience, certifications, etc. UnitedHealth Group complies with all minimum wage laws as applicable. In addition to your salary, UnitedHealth Group offers 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 UnitedHealth Group, you’ll find a far-reaching choice of benefits and incentives. 

Application Deadline: This will be posted for a minimum of 2 business days or until a sufficient candidate pool has been collected. Job posting may come down early due to volume of applicants. 

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.    

Diversity creates a healthier atmosphere: UnitedHealth Group is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. 

UnitedHealth Group is a drug – free workplace. Candidates are required to pass a drug test before beginning employment.