Vice President, US Payroll Operations

United Health 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, United Healthcare 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 to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

United Health Group (UHG) is seeking a Vice President, US Payroll Operations to provide enterprise leadership for U.S. payroll delivery with a sharp focus on stability, operational rigor, compliance, and employee experience. This executive is ultimately accountable for end-to-end payroll outcomes for a large, complex, multi-state population and sets the operating model, governance, controls, and performance management framework required to ensure payroll is consistently accurate, compliant, and on time.

This role leads through senior operational leaders, who own day-to-day payroll cycle execution and issue resolution. The VP establishes decision rights, chairs key go/no-go governance, sponsors modernization and transformation, and ensures performance outcomes through a disciplined, data-driven operating cadence. Oracle HCM experience is strongly preferred. A proven track record in large-scale HR transformation and/or building or maturing an HR shared services model is required.

You’ll enjoy the flexibility to work remotely from anywhere within the U.S. as you take on some tough challenges.

Hybrid in MN/DC:
This position follows a hybrid schedule with four in-office days per week.

• Define and evolve the enterprise operating model for U.S. payroll operations across UHG, ensuring scalability, consistency, and control
• Establish governance routines, decision rights, and clear accountability across payroll execution, upstream inputs (e.g., time/HR transactions), and downstream financial impacts
• Design and govern the payroll service delivery model (service catalog, tiering, SLAs, escalation pathways) in partnership with the Employee Center and HR Operations
• Sponsor and prioritize a multi-year roadmap that improves stability, reduces manual effort, and strengthens controls and transparency

• Hold ultimate accountability for on-time, accurate, and compliant biweekly U.S. payroll outcomes for 200,000+ employees, ensuring delivery through the payroll operational leaders
• Chair pre-payroll risk and readiness reviews; define go/no-go criteria and serve as the senior risk acceptance decision-maker for payroll processing
• Ensure a stability-first approach that reduces defect rates, preventable off-cycles, manual workarounds, and cycle-to-cycle variability
• Establish the standard controls framework, quality gates, and operating cadence (pre-cycle readiness, cycle checkpoints, post-cycle health checks) and ensure consistent adoption
• Institutionalize incident governance: require timely root-cause analysis (RCA) and corrective and preventive actions (CAPA), and drive cross-functional accountability for repeat drivers

• Serve as the senior accountable leader for U.S. payroll tax compliance (federal/state/local), including filings, reconciliations, agency notice oversight, and year-end obligations
• Partner with internal Tax, Finance, Legal/Compliance, and external vendors to strengthen compliance posture and ensure rapid resolution of issues
• Lead audit readiness and executive oversight (internal/external audits, control testing), ensuring strong documentation and sustainable remediation plans

• Lead and/or support large-scale HR transformation initiatives impacting payroll operations, including operating model redesign, process re-engineering, and service delivery modernization
• Build, mature, or optimize an HR shared services model (or equivalent) for payroll support, including governance routines, service…