Associate Director, Care Advocacy Behavioral Health Solutions

Associate Director, Care Advocacy

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 Associate Director, Care Advocacy provides strategic and operational leadership for behavioral health care advocacy, navigation, and member support programs, with direct leadership responsibility for Elite and Premier. This leader is accountable for the performance, quality, service delivery, workforce management, and operational outcomes of Care Advocacy teams serving commercial, government, and specialty behavioral health populations.

The role collaborates closely with clinical, operations, product, network, technology, compliance, quality, client management, and finance partners to advance operational excellence, regulatory compliance, member engagement, and behavioral health outcomes. The Associate Director leads managers and professional staff and translates organizational strategy into disciplined execution that supports growth, transformation, affordability, quality, and an exceptional member experience.

You'll enjoy the flexibility to work remotely from anywhere within the U.S. but will require minimal travel.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Operational Leadership
  • Provide strategic and operational leadership for Care Advocacy, Navigation, EAP, and/or Behavioral Health teams
  • Drive performance against service level, accessibility, productivity, quality, and member satisfaction objectives
  • Ensure operational readiness for new clients, products, programs, and implementations
  • Maintain accountability for day-to-day operations, escalations, and timely issue resolution
  • Champion continuous improvement initiatives that strengthen efficiency, effectiveness, and member outcomes
• People Leadership
  • Lead and develop managers, supervisors, and senior professional staff
  • Build leadership capability and maintain robust succession plans
  • Advance employee engagement, retention, and professional development
  • Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and inclusion
  • Guide workforce planning and staffing strategies to align capacity with business demand
• Behavioral Health Strategy
  • Translate enterprise and business-segment priorities into actionable operational plans
  • Partner with senior leadership to advance behavioral health transformation initiatives
  • Support strategic growth opportunities and the implementation of new service models
  • Identify and evaluate opportunities to improve member access, engagement, and clinical outcomes
  • Strengthen integration across clinical and non-clinical member support services
• Client and Stakeholder Engagement
  • Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to deliver on client commitments and business objectives
  • Represent operations in client meetings, operational reviews, audits, and performance discussions
  • Deliver executive-level reporting, insights, and recommendations
  • Cultivate strong cross-functional partnerships to accelerate decision-making and results
• Performance and Analytics
  • Leverage operational dashboards, analytics, and reporting to identify trends, risks, and improvement opportunities
  • Monitor and improve key performance indicators, including:
    • Service Level
    • Speed to Answer
    • Abandonment Rate
    • Occupancy
    • Productivity
    • Quality Scores
    • Clinical Outcomes
    • Member Satisfaction
    • Net Promoter Scores
    • Utilization and Engagement Metrics
  • Apply data-driven insights to inform decisions and advance operational performance
• Quality, Compliance, and Regulatory Oversight
  • Ensure adherence to behavioral health policies, accreditation standards, and applicable regulatory requirements
  • Maintain operational readiness for audits, accreditation activities, and compliance reviews
  • Partner with Legal, Compliance, Quality, and Clinical teams to develop and execute corrective action plans
  • Ensure compliance with applicable state and federal requirements and behavioral health program standards
• Transformation and Innovation
  • Lead the implementation of new processes, technology solutions, and operating models
  • Advance digital transformation and AI-enabled solutions that enhance member experience and operational efficiency
  • Promote adoption of innovative approaches to behavioral health navigation and care advocacy
  • Lead complex, cross-functional initiatives across Behavioral Health Solutions

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:

• Master's degree in Nursing, Social Work, Psychology, or a related field
• Clinical licensure (LCSW, LPC, LMFT, RN, Psychologist, or equivalent)
• 3+ years of leadership experience managing leaders, supervisors, or professional staff
• Behavioral health industry experience
• Experience leading healthcare, care advocacy, case management, behavioral health, navigation, EAP, customer service, or clinical operations teams
• Demonstrated experience managing operational performance metrics and workforce planning
• Proven ability to lead large-scale operational initiatives and organizational change
• Solid analytical, communication, presentation, and stakeholder management capabilities
• Ability to travel as needed

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience supporting large employer, commercial, government, or specialty behavioral health programs
• Experience with contact center operations, navigation models, care management, and clinical operations
• Experience leading transformation, automation, AI, or digital health initiatives

*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 help make the health system work better for everyone. Together, we are shaping the future of healthcare by harnessing technology and innovation to make care simpler to navigate, more affordable and more connected for the people we serve. We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone feels welcomed, valued, heard and respected, empowering people to bring their authentic selves to work and strengthening our collective impact through diverse talents, backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.

UnitedHealth Group and its affiliated brands are 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 and its affiliated brands are a drug-free workplace. Candidates are required to pass a drug test before beginning employment.