Director of Network Pharmacy Contracting

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.

In healthcare, evolution doesn't just happen. It takes innovation, imagination, and a passion for solving problems in new and better ways. And innovation is taking place at a lightning-fast pace every day at Optum.

As the fastest growing part of the UnitedHealth Group family of businesses, we're expanding our team in Ireland and creating excellent opportunities for those who want greater purpose and more impact in their work. We'll provide the investment, support, and resources to advance your career. You'll provide the talent, ambition, and drive.

As a Senior Director within our network pharmacy contracting team, you'll guide the development and support of provider networks as well as unit cost management activities through financial and network pricing modeling, analysis, and reporting. As you do, you'll discover the resources, backing and opportunities that you'd expect from a Fortune 6 leader.

Careers with Optum offer flexible work arrangements and individuals who live and work in the Republic of Ireland will have the opportunity to split their monthly work hours between our Dublin or Letterkenny office and telecommuting from a home-based office in a hybrid work model.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Establishes and maintains solid business relationships with provider pharmacies in support of clients, ensuring the network composition includes an appropriate distribution of provider specialties, competitive rates and access to limited and exclusive drugs 
• Develops the pharmacy networks yielding a geographically competitive, broad and focused access, that achieves objectives for cost performance and trend management producing an affordable and predictable product for customers and business partners 
• Demonstrate understanding of complex contract language in order to assess financial, non-financial and operational impact and legal implications of requested contract changes 
• Demonstrate understanding of competitor landscape within the market (e.g., rates; market share; products; provider networks; market intelligence; GeoAccess) 
• Present and discuss industry and market trends with internal and/or external groups (e.g., customer groups; brokers; professional associations; providers) to facilitate market strategy development and implementation 
• Have a solid understanding of provider termination processes and implications 
• Seek information from relevant sources (e.g., COB data; publications; government agencies; providers; provider trade associations) to understand market intelligence information 
• Evaluates and negotiates contracts in compliance with client contracts, reimbursement structures, and other key process control 
• Monitor and/or oversee provider financial performance to identify opportunities to improve performance and/or provider relationship 
• Provides leadership to and is accountable for the performance and results through multiple layers of management and senior level leadership 
• Pharmacy network contract negotiation and product support and development of geographically competitive, broad and focused access networks 
• Provide leadership to a high performing team to deliver their life's best work 

You will 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 providing development for other roles you may be interested in.

Required Qualifications:

• Proven extensive experience developing pricing & utilizing financial modeling in making rate decisions 
• Proven experience interacting with executive leadership 
• Proven experience leading a team of direct reports 
• Proven experience understanding financials and explaining details

Preferred Qualifications:

• Proven extensive experience in a healthcare contracting related role (Medical/Pharmacy/Pharmaceuticals, etc.) overseeing complex relationships with accountability for business results 
• Proven experience with large scale negotiations (min 2B/contract or greater) 
• Proven experience with client presentations (verbal and PowerPoint creation) 
• Proven sales experience

Please note you must currently be eligible to work and remain indefinitely without any restrictions in the country to which you are making an application. Proof will be required to support your application.  

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.


Diversity creates a healthier atmosphere: Optum is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, disability, religion, age, race, and membership of the Traveller community, or any other characteristic protected by law. Optum is a drug-free workplace. © 2026 Optum Services (Ireland) Limited. All rights reserved.

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