Senior Director, Enterprise Workforce Strategy

UnitedHealth Group is a health care and well-being company that's dedicated to improving the health outcomes of millions around the world. We are comprised of two distinct and complementary businesses, UnitedHealthcare and Optum, working to build a better health system for all. Here, your contributions matter as they will help transform health care for years to come. Make an impact with a team that shares your passion for helping others. Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

The Senior Director, Enterprise Workforce Strategy is an enterprise-level strategic leader responsible for shaping the organization's workforce strategy through the leadership of Strategic Workforce Planning and Skills Strategy. Reporting to the VP of Workforce Strategy & Transformation, this role ensures the organization has the insight, frameworks, and direction needed to align workforce supply, demand, skills, and capability with evolving business strategy.

This leader operates at a macro, enterprise level, integrating business priorities, labor market dynamics, technology trends (including AI), and workforce data to inform long-term workforce decisions. The role provides decision-quality workforce intelligence that enables leaders and People partners to plan, prioritize, and execute - without owning operational or project-level delivery.

As the enterprise advances toward a skills-based organization, this role serves as the strategic owner of skills strategy and architecture, ensuring skills data, frameworks, and governance are positioned as foundational enablers of workforce planning, talent decisions, and workforce transitions.

This is a highly collaborative leadership role that connects workforce strategy, skills strategy, and planning into a cohesive enterprise capability - strengthening the organization's ability to anticipate change and proactively shape the workforce of the future.

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:

• Enterprise Workforce Strategy & Foresight
  • Lead the advancement of an integrated enterprise workforce strategy aligned to business priorities, growth plans, and external labor and technology trends
  • Provide enterprise-level workforce intelligence and foresight, in partnership with the workforce transformation team, translating signals such as AI adoption, automation, and labor market shifts into strategic workforce implications
  • Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, informing decisions related to workforce composition, capability mix, sourcing strategies, and long-term workforce risk
  • Establish clear strategic narratives and frameworks that articulate how the workforce must evolve over time
• Strategic Workforce Planning (Enterprise-Level)
  • Lead the enterprise Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP) capability, connecting business strategy to future workforce supply, demand, and transition needs
  • Enable scenario-based planning to support executive decision-making related to capacity, cost, location, automation, and workforce investments
  • Ensure workforce plans are forward-looking, data-informed, and aligned to enterprise priorities rather than operational headcount management
  • Oversee and develop a strategic workforce planning team focused on enterprise analysis, insight, and enablement
  • Enterprise Skills Strategy & Skills-Based Organization Enablement
  • Own the enterprise skills strategy, including skills architecture, taxonomy, and governance, as a foundational workforce capability
  • Lead the evolution toward a skills-based organization, ensuring skills data and frameworks are embedded across workforce planning, talent processes, and workforce transition strategies
  • Partner closely with People Team COEs (Talent, Learning, Rewards, People Technology) to ensure skills frameworks are consistently applied and scalable
  • Translate emerging business and technology needs into forward-looking skill priorities and capability insights
• Enterprise Integration & Enablement
  • Act as an enterprise integrator, aligning workforce strategy, skills strategy, and planning across the People Team and with business leaders
  • Partner with People Business Partners to enable business-led execution using enterprise workforce insights, tools, and frameworks
  • Contribute workforce strategy perspectives to enterprise governance forums, planning cycles, and strategic initiatives
  • Enable consistent understanding of workforce priorities, trade-offs, and implications across the organization
• Leadership & Operating Model
  • Lead and develop teams accountable for Strategic Workforce Planning and Skills Strategy
  • Establish clear roles, boundaries, and operating rhythms between strategy, enablement, and execution
  • Build solid partnerships across key stakeholders and the broader People Team to ensure workforce strategy is embedded in enterprise decision-making

Why This Role Matters

This role anchors the organization's ability to anticipate, plan for, and shape workforce change in an environment defined by rapid business evolution and technological advancement. By integrating strategic workforce planning, and skills strategy, the Senior Director ensures the enterprise is positioned to make informed, proactive decisions about talent, capability, and workforce investments - today and in the future.

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:

• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in strategic workforce planning, skill strategy, or related field
• Experience in Strategic Workforce Planning
• Experience in helping organization mature their skill strategy
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex trends & insights into actionable enterprise strategies and measurable outcomes

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in large matrix orgs and/or consulting with large fortune 500 firms
• Familiarity with workforce planning, skills, and/or talent intelligence technologies

*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 $159,300 to $273,200 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 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.