Among computer and information research scientists, AI is already used for a large share of the tasks. Measured exposure for computer and information research scientists: 34% (high).

Share of this job’s tasks that AI is already used for at work, from real usage. It is not a forecast of job loss, and a low number means no use seen yet. Source: Anthropic Economic Index.

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About the job

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 in making healthcare work better for everyone through people-led, responsible AI while Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

Senior Director, AI Enablement to help shape the next phase of our People reimagination as we move toward an AI-first HR operating model. This leader will build and lead the People-side capability responsible for identifying, designing, governing, and scaling AI-enabled experiences, intelligent workflows, and agentic solutions across the People function.

This role sits within the People Digital capability and will serve as the senior leader responsible for translating AI opportunity into practical, responsible, and measurable People outcomes. The role will work across HR COEs, shared services, payroll, People Analytics, Strategy and Operations, Culture, Tech, Legal, Privacy, Risk, and enterprise AI teams to ensure that AI is deployed in ways that improve employee and manager experience, strengthen service delivery, reduce operational friction, and maintain solid controls.

This is not a pure technology role and it is not a traditional HRIS role. It requires a leader who can connect business strategy, workflow design, AI opportunity, operating model change, and governance into a coherent People agenda.

Primary Responsibilities:

AI strategy and portfolio leadership

Define and lead the People-side AI strategy in alignment with the broader People reimagination and AI-first HR operating model

Build and manage the People AI use-case portfolio, including prioritization of copilots, agents, intelligent workflows, and AI-enabled service experiences

Identify where AI can create meaningful value for employees, managers, shared services, COEs, and the People leadership team

Establish prioritization criteria based on business impact, feasibility, risk, readiness, and alignment to enterprise strategy

Intelligent workflow and agentic experience design

Lead the design of intelligent workflows that connect employee intent, policy logic, service delivery, and platform execution across the People technology ecosystem

Define how AI-enabled experiences should operate across Eva (internal orchestration layer), MyHR (Oracle HCM), ServiceNow, and related People technologies

Oversee People-side design for conversational flows, prompt intent, escalation logic, guided experiences, and next-best-action capabilities

Ensure workflows are designed to improve self-service, manager-service, shared services efficiency, and end-to-end journey outcomes

Governance, controls, and risk management

Establish and lead the People AI governance model, including risk classification, human-in-the-lead requirements, review gates, and control standards

Partner with Legal, Privacy, Risk, Security, and enterprise AI governance teams to ensure AI-enabled HR solutions are safe, compliant, auditable, and trustworthy

Define clear boundaries for where AI can advise, automate, recommend, escalate, or stop

Ensure People AI use cases are grounded in approved policy, trusted business data, and appropriate knowledge sources

Operating model and cross-functional integration

Serve as the primary People Digital leader for AI across HR COEs, shared services, payroll, People Analytics, and Tech

Partner with Strategy and Operations to translate process intent into intelligent workflows

Partner with Employee Experience / Culture to ensure AI-enabled experiences align to persona needs and experience principles

Partner with shared services to redesign work across agent, human-agent, and human tiers

Partner with Tech on enterprise AI platforms, architecture, integration patterns, security, and reusable technical capabilities

Change, adoption, and value realization

Define what success looks like for People AI initiatives, including experience, productivity, service, risk, and value measures

Partner with adoption and change leaders to support rollout, readiness, communications, and behavior change

Build a measurable value realization model for AI investments across the People function

Monitor adoption, outcomes, feedback, and risk signals to continuously improve the portfolio

Team leadership

Build and lead a high-performing team responsible for AI product leadership, intelligent workflow design, governance, knowledge readiness, and business-side AI enablement

Establish operating rhythms, role clarity, and ways of working across People Digital and partner teams

Develop talent and capability in emerging areas such as prompt and conversation design, intelligent workflow design, AI governance, and HR knowledge architecture

Serve as a thought leader and trusted advisor to senior People and Tech leaders on the future of AI in HR

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:

8+ years of significant leadership experience in HR technology, digital product, workflow design, service transformation, AI enablement, or related fields

Experience leading complex, cross-functional transformation in a large enterprise environment

Demonstrated success building business-led digital or AI capabilities, not just supporting them from a technical or project perspective

Proven solid understanding of HR operating models, shared services, service delivery, and employee / manager journeys

Experience with AI-enabled product design, intelligent workflows, conversational experiences, copilots, agents, or enterprise automation

Experience working in highly matrixed environments across business, technology, operations, analytics, legal, and risk partners

Proven solid executive communication, influence, and change leadership skills

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience in a Fortune 500 or similarly complex enterprise environment

Experience with People technology ecosystems that include platforms such as Oracle HCM, ServiceNow, enterprise data and AI platforms, and virtual agent / orchestration tools

Familiarity with workforce data governance, semantic stewardship, and the role of trusted business logic in AI-enabled solutions

Experience designing or governing AI use cases in sensitive or regulated business environments

Experience leading service transformation or shared services enablement programs

Experience establishing AI governance frameworks, human-in-the-loop designs, or model risk controls

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 - $273,200 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 help make the health system work better for everyone. Together, we are shaping the future of healthcare by harnessing technology and innovation to make care simpler to navigate, more affordable and more connected for the people we serve. We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone feels welcomed, valued, heard and respected, empowering people to bring their authentic selves to work and strengthening our collective impact through diverse talents, backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.

UnitedHealth Group and its affiliated brands are 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 and its affiliated brands are a drug-free workplace. Candidates are required to pass a drug test before beginning employment.