Director, PBM Drug Trend Intelligence

Director Of Trend Intelligence

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 Director of Trend Intelligence will lead thought leadership responsible for reporting out on macro drug cost trends within all lines of business focusing on key strategic pillars including oncology, weight loss, inflammatory and cardiovascular conditions as well as insights in areas such as biosimilar adoption, formulary compliance, new pipeline entrants and clinical solution innovation. This role will work cross functionally in close partnership with our clinical, account management, and trade teams and be an important external and internal resource for this area. This leader will help to identify innovative product solutions to the marketplace that improve member care, increase provider engagement, and lower client costs while driving business performance of Optum Rx. The position will provide strategic support to key Optum Rx clients to serve as subject matter expert on client specific trend insights working to identify possible solution sot help mitigate drug trend driving affordability and high-quality pharmacy care.

This role will have broad, enterprise-wide impact across Optum Rx, shaping how drug trend intelligence informs clinical strategy, product innovation, pricing, formulary design, and client engagement. The Director of Trend Intelligence will act as a central connector between clinical, trade, product, analytics, and account teams, ensuring consistent, data-driven insights are embedded across Optum Rx decision-making, go-to-market strategies, and long-term affordability initiatives.

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:

• Translate macro and therapeutic drug trend insights into actionable strategies across Optum Rx, influencing formulary, clinical programs, pipeline prioritization, and product roadmaps
• Partner with clinical, trade, product, and analytics leaders to ensure trend intelligence is consistently integrated into enterprise initiatives and operating decisions across all lines of business
• Serve as an internal center of excellence for drug trend insights, standardizing methodologies, narratives, and materials used across Optum Rx for client delivery, sales, and executive engagement
• Inform enterprise affordability strategies by identifying cross-portfolio opportunities to mitigate drug trend, improve clinical outcomes, and enhance member and provider experiences
• Drive alignment between external client-facing insights and internal Optum Rx priorities to ensure consistency, credibility, and scalability of trend intelligence
• Support Optum Rx leadership with enterprise-level insights and executive-ready perspectives on emerging trends, risks, and opportunities impacting pharmacy cost and care delivery
• Deliver thought leadership to understand current drug trends, considering key therapeutics, marketplace and regulatory factors, as well as client-specific benefit design
• Serve as a strategic partner to clients, account teams, and clinical consultants in optimizing benefit design and clinical strategies
• Ideate and define new products and champion their development, including innovative capabilities within existing products
• Help train Clinical Consultants and Account Management Staff on key trend insights. Participate in sales presentations, including PBM best and finals
• Provide integration opportunities and thought leadership to clinical partners within Optum Health and Optum Insight
• Present internally and externally to promote trend insights
• Follow guidelines established by Optum Clinical Policy teams

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:

• Bachelor's Degree or Advanced clinical degree (PhD, PharmD, and/or MPH)
• 5+ years of experience in analytics; analyzing clinical literature, analyzing large data sets to identify key trends
• 3+ years within pharmaceutical space selling healthcare services capabilities to companies, providers, and/or members
• Experience communicating insights, clinical overviews & drug trends to strategic clients and stakeholders
• Experience evaluating clinical studies/research
• Ability to travel up to 25%

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience directly working with clients in the health plan, PBMs, life sciences and/or specialty pharmacy industry
• Experience extracting data for analysis from reports and/or dashboards using Excel, PowerBI and/or SQL
• Experience in public health, pharmacology, bio statistics, and/or pharmacy
• Experience in Health Economics Outcomes Research (HEOR)
• Consultant experience

This role is critical to advancing Optum Rx's ability to proactively respond to evolving drug trends while aligning clinical excellence, affordability, and business performance at scale.

*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). The salary for this role will range from $134,600 to $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.