Referral Program Manager - 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 Referral Program Manager is a seniorlevel project and program management role responsible for leading the planning, execution, and performance management of enterprise referral optimization initiatives within the VBC Clinical Strategy and Performance pillar. This role owns the delivery of referral strategy initiatives designed to improve access, quality, and coordination of specialty care.

This role is designed for a project manager who can translate strategy into executable workplans, coordinate crossfunctional teams, manage dependencies, and drive measurable performance improvement across referral workflows and specialty access.

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:

• Own endtoend project and program management for referral optimization initiatives, ensuring delivery against defined scope, timelines, and outcomes
• Develop and manage detailed project plans, timelines, milestones, and deliverables for referral strategy initiatives
• Drives strategic specialty strategies related to pillar priorities
• Translate referral strategy objectives into executable workplans, performance targets, and tracking mechanisms
• Coordinate crossfunctional teams (clinical leadership, markets, analytics, operations, IT) to ensure initiatives are delivered on time and at scale
• Monitor, analyze, and report referral performance trends and outcomes to inform leadership decisions
• Identify risks, barriers, and interdependencies impacting referral performance and proactively drive mitigation plans
• Support implementation and adoption of referral tools, workflows, and enablement strategies
• Drive consistent execution across markets by standardizing project management approaches while allowing for local variation where appropriate
• Prepare executiveready project updates, dashboards, and recommendations to support leadership decisionmaking

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:

• 5+ years of experience in project or program management, referral management, clinical operations, or valuebased care strategy
• Proven experience managing multiple, interdependent workstreams across crossfunctional teams and senior stakeholders
• Demonstrated experience supporting executivelevel forums, committees, or leadership workgroups
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex, endtoend projects from initiation through planning, execution, monitoring, and closeout, including management of scope, timelines, risks, dependencies, and outcomes
• Proven solid project planning, organization, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills
• Ability to travel up to 10%

Preferred Qualifications:

• PMP, PgMP, or similar project management certification
• Experience managing referral optimization or specialty access programs in a healthcare environment
• Experience working closely with physicians, clinical leaders, and operational leadership
• Experience in providerfacing education and enablement, including development and delivery of clinician education, workflow training, or change management to support referral behavior change
• Experience in education, training, or clinical enablement, such as designing, delivering, or scaling education programs or stakeholder training to support adoption of enterprise initiatives
• Familiarity with referral workflows, access management, and care coordination processes
• Proven solid ability to translate strategy into executable plans and track delivery in ambiguous environments

*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 $91,700 to $163,700 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.