Director Sales Experience Strategy - AI Innovation - Remote

Job ID: 99445369152Posted: 2026-08-19Location: Minnetonka, Minnesota, United StatesSalary: $134,600 - $230,800/yearJob Area: ProductCompany: UnitedHealth GroupAt UnitedHealthcare, we're simplifying the health care experience, creating healthier communities and removing barriers to quality care. The work you do here impacts the lives of millions of people for the better. Come build the health care system of tomorrow, making it more responsive, affordable and optimized. Ready to make a difference? Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing togetherAs AI and modern digital capabilities reshape how consumers shop, agents sell, and employees work, UnitedHealthcare is accelerating new ways to validate ideas, modernize the sales experience, and unlock productivity across Sales & Distribution.The Director, Sales Experience Strategy & AI Innovation will establish and lead a Sales Innovation Studio focused on improving Agent, Broker, Telesales, Digital Acquisition, and Sales Operations experiences. This leader will partner across Sales, Product, Technology, Design, Research, Analytics, Compliance, and Enterprise AI to identify opportunities, rapidly prototype solutions, validate concepts, and enable responsible adoption of AI-powered capabilities.The role serves as a bridge between business strategy and technology innovation, helping teams move from ideas to evidence, experimentation to execution, and isolated proofs of concept to reusable capabilities that deliver measurable business outcomes.Strategic MandateSales Experience Strategy: Set a forward-looking strategy that simplifies experiences for agents, brokers, telesales representatives, sales leaders, consumers, and operational partnersAI Enablement & Workforce Transformation: Build practical AI fluency and embed AI-assisted ways of working into high-value sales and operating workflowsInnovation Studio Leadership: Create a repeatable pathway from opportunity framing through prototype, validation, recommendation, and transitionEmerging Technology & Partnerships: Evaluate technologies and partnerships that can improve growth, experience, productivity, quality, or speedOrganizational Capability Building: Develop reusable playbooks, communities, assets, and governance that build lasting capability rather than dependencyThis role is based in the Minnetonka, MN office.Primary Responsibilities:Sales Innovation & Transformation LeadershipEstablish and lead the Sales Innovation Studio, including its operating model, intake and prioritization approach, engagement model, service offerings, team development, governance, funding approach, and measures of successPartner with senior Sales & Distribution leaders to identify opportunities that improve agent productivity, consumer experience, sales effectiveness, operational efficiency, quality, and complianceBuild and manage an innovation portfolio aligned to Sales & Distribution priorities, with transparent decisions on what should be explored, advanced, transitioned, paused, or stoppedServe as a strategic advisor on AI, emerging technologies, experience innovation, and future ways of workingCommunicate impact through executive-ready demonstrations, business cases, metrics, portfolio reviews, recommendations, and storytellingRapid Prototyping, Research & Concept ValidationLead engagements that frame high-value business problems, surface critical assumptions, rapidly prototype ideas, and reduce uncertainty before significant investmentFacilitate human-centered design, co-creation, Jobs-to-Be-Done, and lean experimentation activities with business teams and end usersLeverage AI-assisted development, low-code capabilities, and modern prototyping methods to shorten idea-to-insight timelinesUse agent, broker, consumer, employee, and stakeholder research to evaluate desirability, feasibility, usability, business value, and operational readinessDevelop executive-ready prototypes, innovation briefs, evidence summaries, and investment recommendationsPartner with Product, Technology, and business owners to prepare validated concepts for formal delivery and long-term ownership when appropriateAI Strategy, Enablement & AdoptionLead practical AI enablement across Sales & Distribution through workshops, coaching, office hours, innovation challenges, hackathons, and hands-on learning experiencesEstablish and grow a Sales AI Champion network that scales knowledge, responsible practices, and adoption across business teamsDevelop reusable playbooks, prompting frameworks, learning resources, use-case patterns, and operating guidanceCoach leaders and teams on opportunities to apply AI to productivity, decision support, research, content, workflow simplification, knowledge access, coaching, and customer engagementPartner with Enterprise AI and technology teams to align sales-focused experimentation with enterprise platforms, standards, and governanceAgent, Broker & Digital Sales Experience InnovationIdentify opportunities to simplify how agents and brokers learn, sell, support consumers, manage their business, and interact with UHCPartner with product and technology teams to modernize digital shopping, agent portals, CRM and selling workflows, knowledge systems, communications, onboarding, training, and sales support experiencesExplore AI-enabled coaching, guidance, knowledge retrieval, next-best-action recommendations, workflow automation, personalization, and proactive communicationsPromote connected experiences across digital, telesales, field, broker, and support channels while recognizing the distinct needs of each channelAdvocate for solutions that reduce administrative burden and allow sales professionals to spend more time on high-value consumer and partner conversationsBusiness Tools & Reusable CapabilitiesEnable business teams to create lightweight internal productivity tools through build, co-build, coaching, or reusable solution patternsEstablish guardrails that distinguish prototypes and lightweight business tools from enterprise products requiring formal engineering and product ownershipCreate and maintain a reusable library of components, templates, automations, accelerators, and internal tools that reduce duplicationEnable long-term business ownership through documentation, training, knowledge transfer, support models, and designated business championsMonitor adoption, usefulness, risk, and lifecycle decisions for Studio-enabled toolsCross-Functional Partnership, Governance & RiskPartner across Product, Engineering, Design, Research, Analytics, Sales Operations, Enterprise AI, Legal, Compliance, Privacy, Security, Accessibility, Finance, and ProcurementBuild relationships with external technology providers, research partners, startups, and strategic partners when they can accelerate learning or business valueEnsure Studio activities align with Responsible AI principles and applicable regulatory, privacy, security, legal, compliance, records, and accessibility requirementsEmbed human oversight, transparent decisioning, validation, and escalation pathways into AI-enabled concepts where appropriateCreate clear transition criteria so validated concepts move to the right product, technology, or business owner for scaling and sustained operationMeasures of SuccessOutcome Area - Illustrative MeasuresBusiness value - Validated opportunities that influence prioritization, investment, productivity, experience, sales effectiveness, quality, or cost outcomesSpeed to evidence - Reduced time from idea intake to prototype, user feedback, recommendation, or dispositionAdoption & capability - Growth in practical AI use, participation in enablement programs, active champions, and repeatable team practicesPortfolio quality - Clear prioritization, fewer duplicative efforts, solider business cases, and transparent transition or stop decisionsExperience impact - Improved usability, confidence, knowledge access, workflow simplicity, and satisfaction for agents, brokers, employees, or consumersResponsible scale - Demonstrated alignment with enterprise governance, human oversight, security, privacy, compliance, and accessibility expectationsReuse & sustainability - Reusable assets adopted across teams and clear long-term ownership for tools and capabilitiesYou'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:Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience8+ years of experience in product management, innovation, digital transformation, strategy, consulting, organizational enablement, sales technology, or related leadership rolesExperience leading rapid prototyping, concept validation, discovery, facilitation, research, or innovation initiativesDemonstrated experience leading cross-functional teams, portfolios, or organizational capabilities within a large, complex, matrixed organizationSolid working knowledge of modern AI capabilities, AI-assisted ways of working, and responsible adoption practicesProven ability to influence senior leaders, frame strategic decisions, and drive alignment without direct authorityProven exceptional executive communication, facilitation, presentation, business-case development, and storytelling skillsDemonstrated ability to coach leaders and teams while building scalable organizational capabilityDemonstrated ability to balance speed, creativity, business value, user needs, operational realities, and riskPreferred Qualifications:Experience in healthcare, Medicare, insurance, financial services, or another highly regulated industryExperience supporting sales, distribution, digital acquisition, contact center, broker, field, or sales operations organizationsExperience establishing or leading an innovation studio, enablement function, internal consultancy, lab, center of excellence, or emerging technology capabilityExperience applying AI to sales enablement, agent experience, knowledge management, coaching, workflow automation, analytics, digital shopping, or customer engagementExperience with human-centered design, Jobs-to-Be-Done, lean experimentation, research, and modern product developmentExperience building lightweight internal tools using AI-assisted, low-code, or no-code platformsExperience designing and facilitating workshops, hackathons, coaching programs, innovation sprints, or communities of practiceExperience evaluating vendors and developing internal or external partnerships that accelerate learning and outcomesFamiliarity with Microsoft Copilot, Azure AI, agent-based architectures, rapid prototyping ecosystems, and enterprise governance patternsLeadership ProfileStrategic innovator who connects market, business, user, and technology signalsProduct thinker who turns ambiguity into testable opportunities and clear decisionsOrganizational builder who creates repeatable capabilities, talent, and operating disciplineChange leader who makes AI practical, approachable, responsible, and outcome orientedTrusted partner who builds credibility across business, technology, design, operations, and risk functionsExecutive storyteller who can translate complex ideas into compelling choices and action*All employees working remotely will be required to adhere to UnitedHealth Group's Telecommuter PolicyPay 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 $134,600 - $230,800 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.