Associate Direct Labor Relations - Remote

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.
Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

The Associate Director, Union Relations serves as a strategic advisor to senior business leaders, the People Team, Legal, and operational stakeholders on labor relations, workforce strategy, and represented employee matters across assigned business segments. This role leads the development and execution of labor strategies that align workforce priorities with business objectives, mitigate operational risk and support long‑term organizational effectiveness.

This position is responsible for anticipating emerging labor relations needs, diagnosing complex challenges, and developing innovative, practical solutions that balance contractual obligations, business priorities, employee experience, and legal requirements. The role partners closely with leadership and the People Team to influence decisions related to represented workforce strategies, collective bargaining, labor risk, organizational change, and implementation of workforce initiatives affecting unionized populations.

The Associate Director acts as a trusted advisor on highly complex and sensitive labor matters, translating our workforce strategy into labor initiatives that support operational continuity, compliance, leader effectiveness, and sustainable workforce outcomes. This role leads large, cross‑functional initiatives and enables leaders to navigate labor and grievance issues with consistency, sound judgement, and strategic focus.

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

• Lead labor relations strategy across assigned business units, bargaining units, or represented populations, ensuring alignment with enterprise people strategy and business objectives
• Lead collective bargaining activities including negotiations, shaping strategy, proposal preparation, costing support, bargaining logistics, tracking deliverables, and maintaining negotiation records
• Guide the interpretation and application of collective bargaining agreements (CBAs), providing consultation on grievance trends, contract administration, information requests, arbitration preparation, and dispute resolution
• Serve as strategic advisor to senior business leaders, HR, operations, and Legal on complex labor relations, employee relations, and workforce matters to ensure consistent application of labor strategy, policies, and contractual obligations
• Support proactive union engagement efforts and relationship management with union representatives and business stakeholders
• Coordinate responses to union requests and ensure timely follow‑up on action items and commitments
• Lead resolution in partnership with operational leaders on complex represented workforce matters, including attendance, scheduling, staffing impacts, investigations, disciplinary matters, and policy interpretation as applicable under collective bargaining agreements
• Use workforce analytics, labor trends, business performance data and employee relations insights to inform strategy, identify risks, and recommend actions with broad business impact
• Partner with senior leaders to integrate labor, employee relations, and workforce considerations into business planning, operational decision making and change initiatives
• Represent the enterprise team in labor‑management meetings, bargaining sessions, cross‑functional leadership discussions and site visits as the subject matter expert
• Maintain accurate labor relations records, trackers, databases, and standard operating procedures
• Develop scalable tools, frameworks, leader resources, communication materials, and process improvements…