Associate Director - Quality Oversight & Performance Assurance

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.

Ready to lead quality oversight and performance assurance in a role where your work can help make healthcare work better for everyone? At Optum, part of UnitedHealth Group, we're using innovation, data, technology and deep healthcare expertise to solve complex challenges and improve outcomes at scale.

As one of the fastest-growing parts of UnitedHealth Group, Optum continues to expand in Ireland, creating opportunities for people who want purpose, impact and the chance to grow their careers. We'll provide the investment, support and resources; you'll bring the leadership, curiosity and drive to make a difference.

Join a team helping to shape the future of healthcare through advanced tools, AI, data science and innovative ways of working. If you're passionate about quality, audit integrity, measurable performance improvement and solid stakeholder partnership, this could be the next step in your career.

In this leadership role, you'll help build consistent, scalable quality frameworks that support operational excellence, strengthen assurance processes and translate insight into action across key programmes.

As Associate Director - Quality Oversight & Performance Assurance, you'll lead quality oversight, audit assurance and performance management across assigned programmes. You'll be accountable for maintaining high quality standards, strengthening audit integrity and driving measurable performance improvement through robust frameworks, data-led insights and cross-functional collaboration.

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

What you'll do:

Lead quality oversight and performance management

• Provide oversight of quality activities across programs, including audit delivery, quality reviews, and performance validation
• Establish and monitor quality performance frameworks, including audit volumes, accuracy targets, and SLAs
• Ensure consistent application of quality standards and methodologies across programs

Strengthen audit assurance and quality standards

• Oversee the design and effectiveness of audit frameworks and sampling strategies
• Drive audit quality through calibration, standardization, and ongoing reviewer alignment
• Ensure compliance with internal policies, client expectations, and regulatory requirements

Drive root cause analysis and remediation

• Lead structured root cause analysis (RCA) to identify systemic issues
• Partner with operations and training teams to implement corrective and preventive actions (CAPA)
• Monitor remediation effectiveness and ensure timely closure of issues

Champion continuous improvement

• Drive data-led continuous improvement initiatives to enhance quality performance
• Translate quality and performance insights into actionable process improvements and measurable outcomes
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, scalability, and standardization across quality processes

Turn reporting into actionable insight

• Develop and deliver quality dashboards, scorecards, and executive reporting
• Provide clear insights into quality trends, risks, and performance gaps
• Support leadership decision-making through data-driven analysis

Build solid stakeholder partnerships

• Partner with operations, training, and client stakeholders to align on quality objectives
• Ensure effective communication and closed-loop feedback between quality oversight functions and operations
• Represent quality in governance forums, including client reviews and steering committees

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'll 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.

• Proven extensive experience in quality assurance, audit, performance oversight, or operational excellence
• Proven experience leading quality oversight functions and managing audit delivery at scale
• Demonstrated solid knowledge of audit frameworks, quality methodologies, and defect management practices
• Demonstrated ability to drive continuous improvement and deliver measurable outcomes
• Demonstrated advanced analytical and problem-solving skills, with solid proficiency in Microsoft Excel for data analysis and reporting
• Demonstrated proficiency in Microsoft PowerPoint, with the ability to develop clear executive-level presentations and reporting
• Proven experience within healthcare operations or related domains
• Demonstrated solid communication and stakeholder management skills
• Demonstrated high attention to detail and commitment to quality

Preferred Experience:

• Professional certifications such as Six Sigma, Lean, PMP, or PRINCE2
• Proven experience in healthcare coding quality or healthcare risk adjustment environments

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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