Vice President, Product - Pharmacy

Requisition Number: 2381009
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 Vice President, Product - Pharmacy will provide executive leadership for the Pharmacy Product function within Optum Rx's evolving Strategy & Product organization. This leader will define, build, and mature the product strategy, operating model, governance structure, and portfolio discipline for pharmacy-focused products, services, and capabilities.
This is a highly strategic and build-oriented product leadership role. The organization is moving into a new product model, and this leader will play a critical role in bringing structure, clarity, and accountability to an evolving pharmacy product portfolio. The successful candidate will establish scalable ways of working, clarify product ownership, strengthen product governance, and translate business priorities into clear roadmaps and measurable outcomes.
The role requires a senior product leader with solid executive presence, product judgment, business acumen, and the ability to lead through ambiguity. This leader will work closely across Strategy, Pharmacy, Operations, Clinical, Growth, Finance, Technology, Legal, Analytics, and enterprise teams to ensure pharmacy product priorities are aligned to market needs, patient/member care, operational feasibility, and enterprise growth objectives.
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:
Pharmacy Product Strategy & Portfolio Leadership

• This leader will build and lead a high-performing Pharmacy Product team, including direct reports who are themselves people managers. They will be responsible for developing leaders, shaping team structure, and cultivating a culture of accountability, product excellence, and cross-functional collaboration as the organization scales
• Prioritize the development of net-new pharmacy products in an increasingly AI-native environment, with a clear focus on advancing the patient care journey and elevating the overall member experience
• Champion prescriber enablement as a core product priority, building capabilities that strengthen the connection between pharmacy, prescribers, and patients to improve outcomes, adherence, and speed to therapy
• Define and lead the Pharmacy Product strategy, including the vision, priorities, roadmap, and future-state product portfolio
• Establish the operating model for Pharmacy Product, including governance, decision rights, product rituals, prioritization routines, product intake, roadmap standards, and product performance expectations
• Translate enterprise and Optum Rx business priorities into actionable pharmacy product strategies that support growth, affordability, patient/member experience, and operational scalability
• Assess current and emerging pharmacy product opportunities and determine where dedicated product ownership, investment, commercialization support, or enhanced operating discipline is needed
• Partner with senior leaders to clarify Pharmacy Product scope and interfaces with adjacent product, pharmacy, clinical, operational, technology, analytics, finance, and growth teams

Pharmacy Product Scope & Capabilities

• Provide executive product leadership across a developing pharmacy product portfolio
• Develop clear product strategies and roadmaps for pharmacy products and capabilities, including current-state assessment, opportunity sizing, prioritized investments, delivery milestones, launch readiness, and product health measures
• Create product clarity for areas that may have historically been distributed across multiple teams, ensuring each product or capability has a defined business owner, outcome metrics, decision forums, and cross-functional delivery model
• Evaluate product adjacency across pharmacy, provider, rebate, analytics, network, and operational capabilities to identify overlaps, dependencies, and opportunities to improve portfolio coherence
• Build a scalable product framework that can support new pharmacy opportunities as the portfolio matures, including emerging capabilities, product extensions, and strategic partnerships

Product Ownership, Governance & Execution

• Build consistent end-to-end product management discipline across the Pharmacy Product portfolio, including discovery, business case development, roadmap planning, prioritization, launch readiness, performance tracking, and ongoing optimization
• Ensure each product has clear ownership, measurable outcomes, documented stakeholders, delivery dependencies, risk management routines, and defined escalation pathways
• Strengthen portfolio governance and prioritization routines to ensure resources are focused on the highest-value products and tradeoffs are made transparently
• Identify gaps, overlaps, dependencies, and friction points across product areas, and drive decisions that simplify execution and improve accountability
• Lead cross-functional product forums and executive updates to keep pharmacy product priorities visible, aligned, and connected to broader business strategy.

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 experience in product, strategy, general management, healthcare, pharmacy, or a related business area
• Experience leading complex product portfolios, business capabilities, or strategic initiatives in a highly matrixed environment
• Demonstrated ability to define product strategy, build operating models, and translate ambiguous business needs into executable product plans
• Solid executive presence with experience influencing senior leaders and cross-functional stakeholders
• Financial and business acumen, including experience connecting product strategy to growth, revenue, profitability, investment decisions, product performance, and measurable outcomes
• Proven ability to lead through ambiguity, change, and organizational transformation while creating clarity and accountability
• Experience building product governance, roadmap discipline, portfolio views, performance measures, and scalable product routines
• Ability to travel approximately 30%.

Preferred Qualifications:

• MBA / Masters, or other advanced degree
• Pharmacy / PBM industry experience

*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 $200,400 to $343,500 annually based on full-time employment. We comply with all minimum wage laws as applicable.
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.