Associate Director, Data Analytics. Healthcare Economics

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.

As an Associate Director, Data Analytics, Healthcare Economics at Optum Health Ireland, you'll take a leadership role in the development and implementation of advanced reporting and analytic approaches / tools to support clinical teams. This role also includes direct people leadership responsibilities, including managing, coaching, and developing a team of analysts while setting priorities, ensuring high-quality deliverables, and fostering a collaborative, high-performance culture.

Communicating at senior levels of the organisation is required.

The successful candidate will collaborate cross-functionally with various business and data analytics teams, have extensive experience in data modelling, analytics and insights analysis, and the ability to manage multiple competing business projects at one time.

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 office and telecommuting from a home-based office in a hybrid work model.

What you will do:

• Architect the solutions; collaborate with stakeholders and internal business partners to understand business requirements and translate them into analytical solutions
• Design and develop data queries and programs through SQL and/or Python to create models to build compelling stories and drive insights around key drivers of health care trends (i.e., medical cost, utilisation, etc.)
• Accountability for socialising to the leadership; provide insights and guidance into actionable analytic findings through clear presentations, that can be understood by a variety of audiences
• Identify gaps, process improvement, and automation opportunities, and lead such activities to execution
• Anticipate customer needs, proactively develop & deliver solutions to meet them, and forecast/predict the impact to the business
• Design and maintain user-friendly dashboards that interpret and visualise clinical data from diverse sources, delivering actionable and tailored analytical insights
• Proven ability to gain subject matter expertise through individual research and self-guided analyses
• Utilise a broad range of analytic approaches including predictive analytics, trend analysis, and data visualisation to best address the business priorities
• Comply with and contribute to departmental standards related to data, data governance, project planning, validation, and documentation
• Mentor junior resources to develop their analytic skills

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

What you will bring:

If you don't meet every single requirement, don't let that hold you back - we're just as excited about potential as we are about qualifications and experience, and you could be exactly who we're looking for.

• Bachelor's Degree in relevant field (data science, analytics, mathematics, economics, business, statistics, engineering, or finance) or equivalent experience
• Proven extensive experience in an analytical role requiring data interrogation, analysis and visualisation
• Proven experience with statistical models, demonstrate understanding of different statistical methods and approaches
• Proven track record of leading analytic projects
• Demonstrated solid interpersonal skills and ability to interact collaboratively with internal customers across multiple departments and business segments
• Demonstrated expert proficiency in SQL, and at least one scripting language such as R, or Python.
• Demonstrated high degree of proficiency with Data Visualisation / Dashboard tools (e.g., Power BI, Looker, Tableau) 

Other useful skills and experience include:

• Master's Degree in relevant field (data science, analytics, mathematics, economics, business, statistics, engineering, or finance)
• Proven experience or knowledge of cloud-based data analytics e.g. (AWS, Azure, Snowflake)
• Proven extensive experience presenting and communicating to senior and non-technical audiences
• Demonstrated advanced experience in Machine Learning or AI model development and deployment
• Demonstrated creative problem solving and critical thinking skills
• Proven experience in prioritising work on multiple complex assignments with ongoing deadlines

What We Offer:

• Opportunities for professional development  
• Inclusive and supportive team culture  
• Key benefits: Private health insurance, wellness programs, matching pension contribution, lunch provided by the company, training opportunities, employee donations matching and others

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.  

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: 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. © 2026 Optum Services (Ireland) Limited. All rights reserved.

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