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The SVP, External Affairs (Federal) leads UnitedHealth Group's Federal External Affairs engagement, including the federal advocacy team and external consultants. This position is accountable for developing and implementing proactive advocacy and growth strategies for all U.S. federal external affairs priorities that impact UnitedHealth Group and is expected to approach these matters purposefully and strategically.
Primary Responsibilities:
Leadership & Talent Development

Leads the U.S. Federal External Affairs team.Oversees UHG's federal advocacy priorities and anticipates and manages priority legislative, regulatory, oversight, third party stakeholder engagement and reputational opportunities for the company.

• Develops and oversees advocacy strategies on UHG federal priorities over multi-year timelines.
• Manages and mentors UHG External Affairs Federal team members, including both supervision of direct reports and also serving as a resource on strategy and professional development for broader External Affairs team members.
• Represents and advocates for the Company and prepares UHG executives for engagements with federal policymakers, including senior Members of Congress, Congressional Leaders, Committee Chairs and Ranking Members, Committee and Congressional staff and senior Executive Branch officials.
• Develops and implements long-term advocacy strategy on key priorities.
• Works closely with UHG business executives to identify and advance priorities and ensure business readiness to changes in the external environment.
• Leads UHG responses to Congressional oversight inquiries working in partnership with Business leaders, legal and communications.
• Drives partnership with internal stakeholders, including communications and research, to advance UHG advocacy and growth priorities and steward UHG reputation with federal audiences.
• Oversees development of principal-level materials to advance UHG federal advocacy and growth priorities.

Specialized Expertise

Utilizes highly specialized political acumen and legislative, regulatory, policy and advocacy expertise to advance UHG priorities:

• Deep expertise in the Federal legislative and regulatory processes.
  • Advances legislative and regulatory priorities and positions the Company with Executive Branch staff, Congressional Members and Congressional staff to gather intelligence.
  • Identifies and activates coalition partners, thought leaders and influential stakeholders to advance UHG priorities.
  • Identifies and develops relationships with emerging leaders in Congress.
  • Identifies research needs and utilizes research to shape the environment and advance UHG priorities.
• Deep expertise in Congressional oversight.
  
  • Anticipates areas of Congressional oversight interest and works in partnership with business segments, legal and communications to enhance the Company's reputation with key stakeholders.
  • Works closely with legal and communications; develops strategy and coordinates comprehensive process to prepare executives to testify before Congressional hearings.
• Deep expertise in anticipating, understanding and influencing the advocacy and policy landscape on core UHG priorities, including:
  • Public health care programs, including Medicare Advantage and Medicaid.
  • Commercial health insurance coverage, including expanding commercial coverage options.
  • Health care affordability, including prescription drug pricing.
  • Health care data privacy, use and custodianship policy.
  • Corporate issues including tax, labor and monitoring ESG trends and policy

Relationships

Maintains, initiates and develops UHG relationships with policymakers and stakeholders critical to UHG advocacy and key priorities and UHG reputation:

• Manages Company relationships with key members of Congress and staff.
  • Members of Congressional Leadership, Committee Charis and Ranking Members, Political Committee Chairman, emerging Congressional and Committee Leaders and Members representing significant UHG geographies.
• Manages company relationships with key Executive branch officials.
  • White House, HHS, CMS, OMB, Labor, Treasury and Veterans Affairs.
  • Identifies and works with key allies, thought leaders and stakeholders.
  • Monitor trends with oversight agencies including DOJ, FTC, and SEC.
• Manages company relationships with influential political advocacy organizations.
• Actively partners with and is well-respected by senior advocacy peers from key industry, coalition partners and business community organizations to advance shared advocacy priorities.

Impact

Delivers results on a sustained basis on UHG advocacy and growth priorities, while advancing company reputation with key federal stakeholders and driving team development.

• Responsible for advocacy results on UHG priorities.
• Builds UHG reputation with key federal policymakers.
• Anticipates and communicates material evolutions in the external political and policy environments and ensures Company is prepared to respond proactively.
• Protects Company from disproportionate impact of corporate issues.
• Manages and mentors Federal team members to ensure professional development, high performance, continuity and succession planning.

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:

• Sustained track record of demonstrated integrity and strong professional reputation required to represent the Company with senior federal officials
• A self-motivated, detail-oriented team player with strong organizational skills and a can-do attitude
• Proven ability to effectively advocate and advance complex issues with federal policymakers and Executive Branch officials
• Proven ability to achieve outcomes on priority issues by developing and implementing sustained and comprehensive advocacy strategies inclusive of direct advocacy, research and policy development, industry partnerships, coalition engagement and political activities
• Strong existing federal government relationships required, including with Members of Congress and senior Congressional staff in leadership and committees of jurisdiction on company priorities
• Judgment, experience and professional presence needed to effectively prepare senior executives for engagements with federal officials, including testimony before Congressional committees
• 15 years of experience working in federal government affairs - in Congress, the Administration, or corporate or non-profit settings
• Deep knowledge of key political and policy issues in health care required, including health insurance coverage, Medicare Advantage, drug pricing and health care affordability
• Deep knowledge of the federal legislative and regulatory processes - and how to influence them through advocacy
• Excellent oral communications skills with professional presence needed to effectively communicate with key external audiences and senior internal partners
• Excellent written communications skills and ability to create a range of high-quality, executive-level deliverables in a timely fashion

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: UnitedHealth Group is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.
UnitedHealth Group is a drug - free workplace. Candidates are required to pass a drug test before beginning employment.