Associate Director, Care Advocacy Behavioral Health Solutions

About the role

Optum, part of UnitedHealth Group, is hiring an Associate Director, Care Advocacy Behavioral Health Solutions in Greensboro, North Carolina. The role provides strategic and operational leadership for behavioral health care advocacy, navigation and member support programs, with direct responsibility for Elite and Premier. It works closely with clinical, operations, product, network, technology, compliance, quality, client management and finance partners, and leads managers and professional staff. The position can be worked remotely from anywhere in the U.S. with minimal travel.

Key responsibilities

• Operational leadership: lead Care Advocacy, Navigation, EAP and/or Behavioral Health teams, drive performance on service level, speed to answer, abandonment rate, occupancy, productivity, quality scores, clinical outcomes, member satisfaction and Net Promoter Scores, and ensure operational readiness for new clients and programs
• People leadership: lead and develop managers and senior staff, build succession plans, guide workforce planning and foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation and inclusion
• Behavioral health strategy: turn enterprise priorities into operational plans, partner with senior leadership on transformation initiatives and improve member access and engagement
• Client and stakeholder engagement: represent operations in client meetings, audits and performance reviews, deliver executive-level reporting and insights
• Quality, compliance and regulatory oversight: ensure adherence to behavioral health policies, accreditation standards and state and federal requirements, and run corrective action plans with Legal, Compliance, Quality and Clinical teams
• Transformation and innovation: implement new processes, technology and operating models, and advance digital transformation and AI-enabled solutions

Required profile

• 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 and experience leading healthcare, care advocacy, case management, navigation, EAP, customer service or clinical operations teams
• Demonstrated experience managing operational metrics and workforce planning, and leading large-scale operational initiatives and organizational change
• Ability to travel as needed; remote workers must follow the Telecommuter Policy

Preferred qualifications

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

What we offer

• Salary range of $112,700 - $193,200 annually for full-time employment
• Comprehensive benefits package, incentive and recognition programs, equity stock purchase and 401k contribution (subject to eligibility)
• Career development opportunities