Associate Director, Coordination of Benefits (COB) System Support

Optum is a global organisation 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. 

About the role:

In healthcare, evolution doesn’t just happen. It takes innovation, imagination, and a passion for solving problems in new and better ways. And innovation is taking place at a lightning-fast pace every day at Optum. 
As the fastest growing part of the UnitedHealth Group family of businesses, we’re expanding our team in Ireland and creating excellent opportunities for those who want greater purpose and more impact in their work. We’ll provide the investment, support, and resources to advance your career. You’ll provide the talent, ambition, and drive. 

As a key member of the Payment Integrity COB team, you will be part of UnitedHealth Group’s mission of helping people live healthier lives. As an Associate Director, Coordination of Benefits (COB) System Support, you will grow and develop as you conduct and manage outcomes and support short and long-term strategic business activities and provide solutions, conduct research, and analysis of data and business processes. You will be challenged to analyze, review, trend and forecast data for operational and business planning.  

As part of the COB team, you will be empowered to impact the health care system through the analysis and interpretation of data and presenting recommendations for business solutions. Managers are responsible for first-level response and resolution of escalated issues with external and internal customers. This position is responsible for reviewing priority of work for team, identifying possible opportunities within COB processes and systems. 

Careers with Optum offer flexible work arrangements and individuals who live and work in the Republic of Ireland will have the opportunity to split their monthly work hours between our Dublin or Letterkenny and telecommuting from a home-based office in a hybrid work model. 

Primary Responsibilities:

•    Lead a technical team supporting global COB business systems and processes including development of senior professional staff
•    Product owner of key COB end-to-end systems and related processes. Ownership of annual capital planning cycle and management of related capital spend / benefits tracking
•    Define and prioritize the product backlog based on business value, customer needs, and technical feasibility
•    Identify and develop business solutions to support delivery of COB long-term strategic plan e.g., front-end reporting / data warehouses / analyses to support key business decisions
•    Develop projects / reports to identify opportunities or to improve current processes
•    Identify and resolve technical, operational, and organizational issues across the COB team
•    Complete analysis, present data / trends, and recommendations to management to support strategic business activities 
•    Project manage global cross-functional projects applying appropriate methodologies to support the implementation and development of key systems and business processes
•    Identify potential gaps in business processes through process / data analysis, identify opportunities for automation, payment policies, quality, and throughput issues to increase the opportunity for savings
•    Utilize stakeholder input to help shape and implement continuous improvement in operational quality and financial performance
•    Collaborate with business matrix partners to deliver value to our clients by ensuring key operational, financial and growth targets are achieved
•    Create written and oral communication materials that effectively summarize findings, support fact-based recommendations, and provide appropriate detail to substantiate conclusions 
•    Conduct deep dive program reviews with relevant internal and/or external stakeholders to identify opportunities for continuous improvement
•    Ensure performance is tracked accurately utilizing internal tools and processes (e.g., dashboards; scorecards; reports)

You will be rewarded and recognised 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 providing development for other roles you may be interested in.

Required Qualifications:

•    Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Health Administration, related field, or equivalent work experience
•    Experience of implementing software or business transformation projects from ideation / requirements through to successful delivery
•    Strong leadership skills with the ability to motivate and inspire technical teams to achieve their goals
•    Ability to effectively drive results in a dynamic, matrixed environment with a high degree of organizational change, growth, and ambiguity
•    Experience of managing stakeholders in a matrix organization
•    Strong experience in IT / business including analysis experience with a solid understanding of data modeling, relational databases, data forecasting, data trending
•    Extensive experience with analyzing business intelligence requirements (e.g., standard/ad hoc reporting, dashboards, scorecards, visualization, analytics) and analytics tools such as Tableau / SAS Visual Analytics / Other Platforms
•    Proven ability to articulate business strategies and formulate concise solutions to complex problems
•    Proficiency with PC based software programs and automated database management systems required such as Excel or SQL, etc
•    Relevant work experience in strategy, management consulting, product, or general management 
•    Proven track record of quickly gaining credibility, partnering with business leaders, and exhibiting executive presence
•    Ability to champion continuous change, consult with versatility, exhibit personal leadership, and model a customer orientation

Preferred Qualifications:

•    Previous experience working within a claims, financial services, or payment operations environment
•    Strong communication, problem solving, leadership and analytical skills 
•    Ability to develop strong networks and ensure collaboration and consensus building 
•    Lean process improvement or six sigma qualifications / experience
•    Ability to effectively prioritize and multi-task in high volume workload situations with the ability respond effectively in difficult situations
•    Experience in in a health care related field

Please note you must currently be eligible to work and remain indefinitely without any restrictions in the country to which you are making an application. Proof will be required to support your application.

All telecommuters will be required to adhere to the UnitedHealth Group’s Telecommuter Policy.

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 marginalised 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: Optum is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, disability, religion, age, race, and membership of the Traveller community, or any other characteristic protected by law. Optum is a drug-free workplace. © 2025 Optum Services (Ireland) Limited. All rights reserved.