The Director, IT Service Management (ITSM) & ITIL Governance is responsible for defining, leading, and continuously advancing enterprise-wide IT service management capabilities across Optum Technology. This role serves as the strategic owner of the ITIL framework, ensuring consistent governance, operational excellence, automation, and measurable service outcomes across a complex, matrixed environment.
This leader will drive standardization across Incident, Major Incident, Request, Change, Problem, Knowledge, and Configuration Management while leveraging ServiceNow, AI-enabled operations, and data-driven insights to improve service reliability, customer experience, and operational efficiency. The ideal candidate combines deep ITIL expertise, executive influence, and large-scale service management leadership to transform IT operations and establish a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
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:- Enterprise ITSM Strategy & Governance
- Define and execute the enterprise ITSM strategy, roadmap, and governance framework supporting 10+ business units, technology domains, and delivery organizations
- Establish and maintain end-to-end ownership of ITIL processes, ensuring standardized execution, compliance, and accountability across all service teams
- Design governance models, process standards, and operating procedures that improve consistency, reduce operational risk, and enable scalable service delivery
- Lead enterprise Major Incident Management (MIM) practices, directing executive communications, war-room operations, root cause analysis, and service restoration activities
- Develop and maintain ITSM maturity roadmaps with measurable improvement milestones and adoption targets
- Operational Excellence & Service Performance
- Drive enterprise service performance by establishing and governing SLA, OLA, KPI, and customer experience frameworks supporting thousands of business-critical services and end users
- Lead initiatives to reduce incidents and request backlogs, improve service responsiveness, and increase operational efficiency across multiple delivery organizations
- Partner with Service Level Owners, Technical Owners, and Business Owners to ensure service readiness, operational supportability, and CMDB accuracy
- Deliver weekly, monthly, and quarterly operational reviews highlight trends, risks, and opportunities for service improvement
- Improve key operational metrics including MTTR, First Contact Resolution, Change Success Rate, Incident Recurrence, and Customer Satisfaction scores
- ServiceNow & Intelligent Automation
- Own enterprise ServiceNow ITSM strategy, governance, and optimization initiatives supporting incident, request, change, problem, knowledge, and CMDB functions
- Lead implementation of automation, AI-driven workflows, predictive analytics, virtual agents, and AIOps capabilities that reduce manual effort and improve resolution times
- Oversee integration of ServiceNow with monitoring, observability, and infrastructure platforms to enable proactive event management and automated incident creation
- Develop executive dashboards and operational reporting solutions that provide actionable visibility into service health and business outcomes
- Executive Leadership & Stakeholder Management
- Serve as the senior ITSM leader and escalation point for systemic service issues affecting business operations, customers, and technology services
- Influence executive stakeholders, technology leaders, and client-facing teams by translating operational metrics into strategic recommendations and business decisions
- Facilitate executive governance forums, service reviews, and strategic planning sessions with senior leadership
- Build solid partnerships across engineering, infrastructure, operations, cybersecurity, portfolio management, workforce management, and business delivery teams
- Continuous Improvement & Talent Development
- Lead enterprise Continuous Service Improvement (CSI) programs with quantifiable targets for process maturity, automation adoption, and operational performance
- Champion AI-first service operations, leveraging analytics, predictive insights, and automation to improve service quality and reduce operational risk
- Develop training programs, onboarding frameworks, and certification strategies that strengthen ITSM capabilities across the organization
- Mentor and coach ITSM leaders, process owners, and service management professionals to build a high-performing service management organization
- Vendor & Cross-Functional Leadership
- Manage strategic vendor partnerships, implementation engagements, and service delivery relationships with accountability for scope, quality, and outcomes
- Partner with technology and business leaders to align ITSM strategy with broader enterprise initiatives including IT Asset Management, Software Asset Management, CMDB/Discovery, Digital Operations, and Strategic Portfolio Management
- Lead enterprise-wide transformation initiatives that improve operational resilience, governance, service quality, and customer experience
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:- Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, Business Administration, or related field
- 10+ years of experience in IT Service Management (ITSM), IT Operations, Service Delivery, or Technology Operations, including responsibility for enterprise service management processes and operational governance
- 5+ years of people leadership experience managing enterprise-scale ITSM, ITIL, Service Management, or Operations teams supporting multiple business units, technology platforms, and geographically dispersed organizations
- 5+ years of direct ownership and governance of core ITIL practices, including Incident, Major Incident, Request, Change, Problem, Knowledge, and Configuration Management
- 5+ years of hands-on experience with ServiceNow ITSM, including workflow configuration, service catalog management, CMDB administration, reporting, dashboard development, integrations, and platform optimization
- 5+ years of experience designing and governing SLA, OLA, KPI, and service measurement frameworks, with demonstrated success improving operational performance, service reliability, and customer satisfaction
- 5+ years of experience presenting operational performance, service metrics, and technology strategy recommendations to executive leadership, including VP, SVP, CIO, or equivalent stakeholders
- Experience managing service operations supporting 5,000+ users, 100+ business-critical applications, or multi-million-dollar technology service portfolios
- Demonstrated success leading large-scale technology transformation, operational excellence, automation, or service modernization initiatives impacting enterprise operations and delivering measurable business outcomes
- Proven ability to influence and drive outcomes across large, matrixed organizations without direct authority, partnering effectively with engineering, infrastructure, delivery, security, and business leadership teams
Preferred Qualifications:- Master's degree or MBA
- ITIL v4 Managing Professional, ITIL Expert, or equivalent advanced ITSM certification
- ServiceNow CSA, CIS-ITSM, CIS-CMDB, or related ServiceNow certifications
- Six Sigma, Lean, Agile, DevOps, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), or Operational Excellence certifications
- Experience supporting healthcare, highly regulated, or large enterprise technology environments
- Experience deploying AI, machine learning, automation, or AIOps solutions within service management environments
*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 $134,600 - $230,800 annually based on full-time employment. We comply with all minimum wage laws as applicable.
Application Deadline: This will be posted for a minimum of 2 business days or until a sufficient candidate pool has been collected. Job posting may come down early due to volume of applicants.
