Internal Audit & Assurance Lead

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 Operational Quality & Governance Auditor is responsible for designing, delivering, and continuously improving a risk based internal audit programme for Risk Adjustment. The role provides independent assurance over the effectiveness of policies, SOPs, and key operational controls, with a solid focus on identifying systemic weaknesses and reducing repeat or avoidable findings from internal, enterprise, and external audits.

The role owns the internal audit programme strategy and execution, providing independent assurance over governance, controls, and operational effectiveness. It is accountable for audit outcomes, trend analysis, and strengthening systemic control weaknesses, ensuring sustained audit readiness across Risk Adjustment and related operational areas.

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.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Define and own the internal audit programme strategy and annual risk-based plan, aligned to business priorities, past findings, and emerging risks
• Plan and deliver internal audits in line with the agreed audit plan, applying sound professional judgement and challenge where controls do not work in practice
• Assess both control design and whether controls operate effectively against policies, governance standards, and regulatory expectations
• Document clear, evidence based audit findings, including root cause, risk impact, and control weaknesses
• Work with business owners to develop practical and effective corrective and preventive action (CAPA) plans
• Track remediation progress and verify closure of audit findings, ensuring issues are properly resolved and not just closed on paper
• Analyse audit results and trends to identify systemic risks, providing clear escalation and recommendations to senior stakeholders
• Lead Risk Adjustment readiness for enterprise and external audits, including coordination, response strategy, and proactive risk identification to minimise findings
• Own audit outcomes and performance metrics, including reduction in repeat findings and improvement in control effectiveness across the function

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.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in a related field such as Healthcare Compliance, Auditing, Risk Management, or Technology, or equivalent professional experience
• Proven extensive experience in quality, compliance, governance, risk, audit, or regulated operational functions within industries such as healthcare, life sciences, or financial services
• Proven experience operating in multinational and cross jurisdictional environments
• Proven experience working within heavily matrixed organizational environments
• Demonstrated solid understanding of policy governance, document management, SOP lifecycle management, and documentation control frameworks
• Proven experience supporting or overseeing non conformance management, root cause analysis, and corrective and preventive actions (CAPA)
• Demonstrated ability to review the work of others, apply professional judgment, and provide informed recommendations
• Proven experience auditing controls, processes, and documentation within governed document repositories or quality management systems, including evidence retrieval and assessment
• Proven experience producing clear, evidence based audit documentation, findings, and reports suitable for senior leadership and audit scrutiny

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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