Senior Project Manager - State Gov Provider Management System - 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 inclusion, talented peers, comprehensive benefits and career development opportunities. Come make an impact on the communities we serve as you help us advance health optimization on a global scale. Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together.    

The Senior Project Manager will serve as the lead delivery manager for a State Government Medicaid provider management system, overseeing planning, execution, governance, stakeholder coordination, risk management, and implementation readiness across the full project lifecycle. This role requires strong Medicaid program knowledge, experience managing large-scale public-sector technology initiatives, and the ability to coordinate business, technical, vendor, and State agency stakeholders to deliver high-quality outcomes aligned with program objectives.

You'll enjoy the flexibility to work remotely * from anywhere within the U.S. as you take on some tough challenges. For all hires in the Minneapolis or Washington, D.C. area, you will be required to work in the office a minimum of four days per week.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Lead the end-to-end delivery of a Medicaid provider management system, including provider enrollment, screening, credentialing, maintenance, revalidation, termination, and provider data management capabilities
• Develop, manage, and maintain integrated project plans, schedules, milestones, dependencies, deliverables, resource plans, and implementation roadmaps
• Establish and manage project governance, including status reporting, executive briefings, steering committee materials, decision logs, issue escalation, and action item tracking
• Coordinate across State Medicaid leadership, program operations, policy teams, fiscal agents, managed care stakeholders, vendors, system integrators, and technical delivery teams
• Oversee requirements definition, business process design, solution configuration, testing, data conversion, training, operational readiness, and implementation activities
• Manage project scope, schedule, budget, quality, risks, issues, assumptions, and change requests to ensure delivery remains aligned with State priorities and contractual commitments
• Facilitate cross-functional workgroups and decision-making sessions to resolve business, technical, policy, and operational issues
• Ensure project activities support applicable Medicaid regulations, State policy requirements, CMS guidance, MITA alignment, HIPAA requirements, and security/privacy standards
• Partner with technical teams to support interface planning, data integration, reporting, system testing, defect resolution, and production readiness
• Drive stakeholder communication and change management to support adoption by State staff, providers, call centers, provider relations teams, and operational users
• Monitor vendor performance, deliverable quality, contractual obligations, service levels, and corrective actions as needed
• Support procurement, contract management, deliverable review, acceptance criteria validation, and documentation of formal approvals
• Lead readiness assessments, go-live planning, cutover coordination, contingency planning, and post-implementation stabilization activities
• Mentor project team members, promote accountability, and foster a collaborative delivery culture focused on transparency, quality, and continuous improvement

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:

• (PMP) Project Management Professional certification
• 10+ years of project management experience leading complex technology, healthcare, or public-sector initiatives
• 10 + years of experience with  project management disciplines, including scope management, schedule management, risk and issue management, budget tracking, quality management, communications, governance, and change control
• 10+ years of experience managing system implementation activities across requirements, design, development/configuration, testing, training, deployment, and operational transition
• 5+ years of experience supporting Medicaid, Health and Human Services, MMIS, Medicaid Enterprise Systems, provider enrollment, provider management, or related healthcare administration systems. Including working knowledge of Medicaid program operations, provider lifecycle processes, federal and State compliance considerations, and healthcare data privacy/security requirements
• 5+ years of experience leading large, multi-stakeholder projects for State government or other public-sector clients
• 5+ years of experience coordinating vendors, system integrators, business stakeholders, technical teams, and executive leadership
• Experience driving initiatives independently, influencing stakeholders, and leading through ambiguity
• Proficiency with MS Project and MS Office Suite
• Proven aptitude with project management tools, collaboration platforms, reporting dashboards
• Proven ability to translate business needs, requirements, State policies, initiatives and operational priorities into actionable project plans and delivery activities
• Proven solid written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to prepare executive-level status reports, decision materials, risk summaries, and stakeholder communications
• Demonstrates transparent program leadership by openly communicating progress, decisions, and challenges; proactively identifies and mitigates risks before they impact delivery; takes initiative to drive solutions and continuous improvement; and fosters a culture of strong team accountability, ensuring commitments are owned, tracked, and consistently met
• Demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities, resolve conflicts, escalate issues appropriately, and drive decisions in a complex delivery environment
• Proven track record of identifying and managing risks proactively, with demonstrated success in delivering initiatives on time and within scope
• Proven solid background in fostering team accountability, performance management, and ownership across diverse teams

Preferred Qualifications:

• Certifications such as PMI-ACP, Certified ScrumMaster, SAFe, ITIL, Prosci, or related delivery, change management, or service management credentials
• Experience leading provider management, provider enrollment, or provider data modernization initiatives within a Medicaid Enterprise System environment
• Direct experience with CMS certification, Medicaid Information Technology Architecture, State Medicaid agency governance, or federal funding processes
• Experience with modular Medicaid solutions, system integration, data conversion, master provider data, provider portals, workflow automation, and rules-based processing
• Experience with provider screening, enrollment, credentialing, revalidation, sanctions/exclusions, taxonomy, National Provider Identifier, and ownership/disclosure workflows
• Experience managing Agile, waterfall, or hybrid delivery approaches in a regulated government technology environment
• Experience using tools such as Microsoft Project, ServiceNow, SharePoint, or similar project delivery and reporting platforms
• Familiarity with Medicaid managed care, claims operations, financial management, program integrity, care management, or eligibility system interfaces

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

Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to local labor markets, education, work experience, certifications, etc. In addition to your salary, we offer 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 us, you'll find a far-reaching choice of benefits and incentives. The salary for this role will range from $112,700 - $193,200 annually based on full-time employment. We comply with all minimum wage laws as applicable.

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.

UnitedHealth Group is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer under applicable law and qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, religion, age, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by local, state, or federal laws, rules, or regulations.

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