Chief Medical Officer - Optum Health, West Region

Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Optum Health West

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 Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Optum Health West will serve as the senior-most clinical leader, reporting directly to the CEO. This executive will be responsible for advancing Optum Health West's strategy of delivering high-quality, equitable and value-based care across our medical groups, IPA networks and affiliated clinical operations. The CMO will work in close partnership with the Chief Operating Officer and senior business leaders to integrate clinical excellence with operational execution-ensuring care models are data-driven, patient-centered and financially sustainable.

Clinical Strategy & Leadership

Define and execute the clinical vision for Optum Health West, aligning with enterprise-wide strategy and local market needs.

Lead the advancement of value-based care models across Medicare Advantage, Commercial and Medicaid populations.

Serve as the senior voice for medical excellence, population health and patient outcomes across operating groups and IPA networks.

Quality, Safety & Performance Improvement

Oversee development and execution of clinical quality programs, patient safety and accreditation readiness.

Build a culture of continuous improvement using data to identify outliers, reduce unwarranted variation and drive excellence.

Champion evidence-based practice and innovation in clinical models, ensuring measurable improvement in quality, cost and patient experience.

Population Health & Risk Management

Provide clinical leadership for risk adjustment, care management and performance improvement programs.

Partner with actuarial, analytics and operations leaders to ensure accuracy and integrity of risk capture, clinical documentation and coding practices.

Advance strategies to improve outcomes for complex, high-risk and vulnerable populations.

Network & Care Delivery Integration

Partner with market presidents, COOs and network leaders to align medical groups and IPA care delivery with payer and provider contracting strategy.

Support integration of hospital, specialty and ancillary partnerships into coordinated value-based networks.

Drive adoption of care models that improve performance in both employed physician groups and affiliated IPA networks.

Leadership & Talent Development

Recruit, mentor and develop physician leaders across markets and specialties.

Build solid physician engagement and alignment across employed, contracted and affiliated clinicians.

Model a collaborative, transparent leadership style that builds trust and credibility with providers and teams.

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:

MD or DO with active, unrestricted license (or eligibility) in a West Coast or Mountain West state.

15+ years of progressive leadership experience in clinical, operational and strategic roles.

Proven track record as a physician executive in a large, complex, value-based care delivery system.

Demonstrated success leading clinical quality, risk adjustment, population health and performance improvement at scale.

Deep knowledge of managed care, Medicare Advantage and value-based contracting.

Background spanning payer, provider and medical group/IPA environments.

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience in California or other complex, multi-payer markets (e.g., Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Texas, Florida).

Exceptional analytic orientation-uses data as the backbone for decision-making and operational improvement.

Solid executive presence and communication skills.

History of building and leading high-performing physician leadership teams.

Leadership Attributes:

Data-driven operator: wakes up every morning focused on metrics, outliers and opportunities to reduce variation.

Change agent: proven ability to lead through transformation, aligning diverse stakeholders.

Integrator: bridges the national strategy with local execution, ensuring physicians and operators move in lockstep.

Mission-driven: committed to delivering high-quality, affordable and equitable care across diverse populations.

Why Join Optum Health West

Optum Health West is at the forefront of transforming healthcare delivery in some of the most complex and dynamic markets in the country. The CMO role is a career-defining opportunity to:

Lead clinical strategy across one of the nation's largest physician and IPA networks.

Drive measurable improvement in quality, equity, affordability and patient experience.

Build the next generation of value-based care models with a mission-driven, growth-oriented team.

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. 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.