Senior Medical Director for Behavioral Health - Government Channel - 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 diversity and inclusion, talented peers, comprehensive benefits and career development opportunities. Come make an impact on the communities we serve as you help us advance health equity on a global scale. Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

The Senior Medical Director for Behavioral Health - Government Channel will report to the Chief Medical Officer for Optum Behavioral and will be responsible for providing strategic direction, and development of programs designed to optimize quality and delivery of culturally competent behavioral health care services, specifically for the Medicaid and Medicare populations.

The role itself must be a deep subject matter expert in behavioral health government programs, who can drive execution and change through collaboration and relationships. The Sr. Medical Director will work closely with the channel and product organizations, analytics and operations and other matrix partners and seek ways to enhance and quantify the value of existing services and develop new products and solutions to address emerging opportunities. This role will develop strategies to address the existing and emerging clinical needs of external and internal customers. They will continuously seek to identify potential growth opportunities and provide clinical support to OBH in presenting solutions to potential new clients. The role will require proficiency in presenting on clinical programs in front of diverse audiences.

The role will also require knowledge related to the workings of a behavioral health managed care organization, including the clinical guidelines, clinical polices, and quality improvement processes. A solid understanding of parity and regulatory requirements is also necessary.

You'll enjoy the flexibility to work remotely * from anywhere within the U.S. as you take on some tough challenges.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with product organization, operations, analytics and other matrix partners through all phases of product development, implementation, maintenance and the sales process
• Provide clinical strategy for programs designed to optimize quality delivery of culturally competent behavioral health care services
• Collaborate with product organization and functional partners to continually seek ways to enhance and quantify the value of existing services and develop new products and solutions to address emerging market opportunities
• Support the business in identifying market trends that should influence key investments (i.e., technology investments and/or M&A)
• Represent OBH as point of contact for state and national professional societies / trade associations and through speaking opportunities at local and national conferences
• Collaborate with internal and external partners to publish high impact content focused on improving quality
• Evaluate clinical and other data (e.g., quality metrics, claims data, bed-day data, usage data) to identify opportunities for improvement of clinical care and processes
• Continuously seek to identify potential growth opportunities and provide clinical support to OBH in presenting solutions to potential new clients
• Collaborate with all internal partners to socialize consumer and provider Net Promoter Scores (NPS) data and drive actions that create a better consumer and provider experience and improvement in our NPS
• In partnership with other provider experience Optum partners, help develop provider segmentation models that determine the best mode of provider interaction/engagement and ease of experience
• Enhance programs that build trust within the provider community and encourage providers to partner with OBH on clinical initiatives that drive improved consumer outcomes and reduced costs of care
• Improve the ability of our programs to deliver actionable, real-time data into the hands of our providers
• Focus on improving the service system through enhancements to network services, provider engagement and consumer experience
• Create and maintain strong relationships with key clinical leaders across Optum and UHG
• Represent OBH on clinical committees within and outside of Optum
• Participate in response development and delivery to high level questions, concerns and complaints from regulators, accreditors, legal/risk management, employers, healthcare providers, and other stakeholders
• Assist in development of technical/clinical communications that will be delivered to external audiences (e.g., new clinical policies, programs, processes)
• Discuss clinical program outcomes, data and performance with providers, employers, accreditors and regulators
• Solicit or respond to input on clinical initiatives and guidelines (e.g., providers, specialty societies, clinical experts)
• Assess and interpret complex financial and clinical data to evaluate feasibility of proposed initiatives
• Identify and implement development resources in response to business needs and regulatory changes
• Support network management and provide assistance in contributing to a high quality network.
• Support behavioral health benefits and parity reviews
• Participate in promoting evidence-based care

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:

• Doctorate of Medicine (MD or DO) degree with unrestricted medical license
• Board certified in Psychiatry
• 7+ years of behavioral clinical practice experience
• 3+ years in managed care industry with strong knowledge of managing behavioral benefit risk
• Experience in population health management
• Familiarity with commercial, government and provider markets and experience setting clinical policy for wellness, case management, disease management and specialized networks
• Demonstrated accomplishments in the areas of behavioral care delivery systems, utilization management, case management, disease management, quality management, product development and peer review
• Excellent presentation skills for both clinical and non-clinical audiences
• Past success working collaboratively in a highly-matrixed environment
• Ability to navigate ambiguity and seek appropriate resources/tools
• Self-motivated and able to work with little direct supervision and drive results with disciplined follow-though
• Strategic thinking and business acumen with the ability to align clinical related strategies and recommendations with business objectives
• Adaptable and flexible style of collaborating
• Ability to quickly gain credibility, influence and partner with staff, business leaders and the clinical community
• Belief in evidence-based medicine and familiarity with current behavioral issues and practices
• Willingness to travel 25% as determined by business need

Preferred Qualifications:

• Board certification in child and adolescent psychiatry or geriatric psychiatry
• Expertise in psychiatric conditions of children/adolescents or seniors

*All employees working remotely will be required to adhere to UnitedHealth Group's Telecommuter Policy

The salary range for this role is $278,000 to $417,500 annually based on full-time employment. Salary Range is defined as total cash compensation at target. The actual range and pay mix of base and bonus is variable based upon experience and metric achievement. Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to local labor markets, education, work experience, certifications, etc. UnitedHealth Group complies with all minimum wage laws as applicable. In addition to your salary, UnitedHealth Group offers 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 UnitedHealth Group, you'll find a far-reaching choice of benefits and incentives.

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.