Advisory Services Consultant, Consultant Development Program - Multiple Locations

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.

Begin your career at UnitedHealth Group and help make health care work better for everyone. Through our Early Careers programs, you'll gain meaningful experience, tackle real business challenges, and contribute to work that impacts millions of lives.

Across UnitedHealthcare and Optum, we're united by a common purpose: improving the health and well-being of the people and communities we serve. You'll work alongside talented colleagues, develop new skills, and be supported by a culture of innovation, inclusion, and continuous learning.

No matter where your journey starts, you'll have the opportunity to grow, make an impact, and help shape the future of health care.

The full-time position located in Eden Prairie, MN, Nashville, TN or Washington, DC will be available starting in 2027

UnitedHealth Group is not able to offer visa sponsorship now or in the future for position

Relocation is not offered for the Consultant Development Program

The Consultant Development Program (CDP) is an Early Careers program that launches early-careers professionals into real consulting work, solving problems and shaping outcomes for health care clients from day one. CDP sits within Optum Advisory, giving participants the opportunity to work with a diverse range of health care clients and business challenges. As a CDP participant, you'll join a cohort spanning multiple tracks, all united by a shared focus on serving our clients and making the health system work better for everyone. You'll complete structured consulting and healthcare training, receive mentorship from experienced leaders, and gain experience across multiple client engagements while developing capabilities in strategic problem solving, data-driven decision making, client relationship management, change management, AI-enabled consulting, and healthcare industry expertise. Program completion includes alignment into an Optum Advisory practice and typically takes 1.5-2.5 years to complete. Through real client delivery, structured learning, mentorship, healthcare industry specialization, and AI-enabled experiences, CDP builds a strong foundation for a long-term career in consulting.

Primary Responsibilities:

Working directly with our internal and external clients to help determine needs and solve complex business problems by performing the following types of activities:

• Enable strategic business transformation through the application of technology, AI, process improvement and innovation to our client's most complex problems
• Apply AI tools to solve business problems within client and functional domains, including research, analysis, reporting and automation; build and optimize prompts for these activities
• Conduct research & stakeholder interviews that may include collecting, analyzing, trending and presenting data and recommendations to clients
• Navigate client facing interactions, presentations and relationship building in scenarios of project delivery, social situations, change management and at times ambiguity
• Integrate AI into workflows such as research synthesis, reporting, dashboards and operational processes, and analyze data using AI-enabled tools to generate actionable insights
• Review and validate AI-generated outputs for accuracy and appropriateness, and follow data privacy, security, and ethical AI guidelines in all AI-enabled work
• Promote project success with requirements analysis, presentation creation and project management duties; including meeting management, project planning and project budget support
• Document customer/client requirements through clear, concise and effective written and oral communication
• Perform analysis for business process re-engineering opportunities and define, develop and document before and after process flows
• Participate in assessment, project sizing, market analysis and scope evaluation of potential project deliverables
• Grow in specific areas of interest and develop subject matter expertise
• Develop and support the delivery of client-facing presentations, building executive communication and storytelling skills
• Provide support and information to clients making strategic decisions and implement enhancements to their organizations' strategy, productivity, performance, and long-term profitability

Example Projects

Optum Advisory provides consulting support to a wide range of health care clients. Some example projects might include:

• Building a go-to-market strategy and business case to bring a new product or service to market by providing an opportunity analysis derived through complex data navigation
• Designing an AI adoption roadmap to help a health system responsibly scale AI-enabled clinical and administrative tools across the organization
• Designing an organizational management structure to help improve health care delivery operations
• Conducting a technology assessment and developing an implementation plan in a payer or provider organization
• Creating and executing an acquisition strategy of a medical group or provider organization; guiding the organization through the acquisition process
• Conducting Change Management assessments and stakeholder engagements to ensure adoption of recommendations within a multi-faceted project

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:

• Master's degree earned within the past 24 months OR bachelor's degree earned within the past 24 months and 2+ years of professional experience performing research and development projects with responsibility for collecting and interpreting research and analyses of markets, trends, competitors, products and services for use in operational business planning/decisions and strategic planning/decisions
• Business Acumen and Basic Data Analysis Experience; ability to apply AI tools to support research, analysis, reporting, documentation or workflow improvement
• Demonstrated familiarity with AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Copilot) through prior academic, professional, or personal experience
• Ability to work in office on a hybrid schedule (3 days in office) in one of our 2 available locations (Eden Prairie, MN or Nashville, TN) for the duration of the program
• Ability to travel up to 80% for the Consultant Development Program, dependent on project needs and location
• Must be eligible to work in the U.S. without company sponsorship, now or in the future, for employment-based work authorization (F-1 students with practical training and candidates requiring H-1Bs, TNs, etc. will not be considered) F-1 visa holders with Optional Practical Training (OPT) who will require H-1B status, TNs, or current H-1B visa holders will not be considered. H1-B and green card sponsorship is not available for this position

Preferred Qualifications:

• 3.0 GPA
• Healthcare Experience
• Intermediate experience with MS Office - Word, Excel, PowerPoint
• Experience with research and writing, Power BI, UX/UI concepts, data engineering, and practical use of AI tools for analysis, research, reporting, documentation or automation
• Experience going beyond basic AI use; critically evaluating AI outputs, refining prompts for complex tasks, or integrating AI into a broader workflow or process
• Proven intellectual Curiosity

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 $72,800 - $130,000 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.