CEBU, PHILIPPINES— Optum Philippines, a healthcare global capability center (GCC) under UnitedHealth Group, a Fortune 500 company, inaugurated its expanded workplace at Filinvest Cyberzone Cebu Tower 4 last August.
In our line of work, where care is often given for our clients, we tend to neglect caring for the people behind the work themselves, so it is our responsibility to make this care known and felt by our employees. — Justin John Jordan Associate Director for Talent Acquisition, Optum Cebu
The new site highlights the company’s commitment to investing in local talent through expanded operations and employee wellness facilities. Spread across five floors — with three fully operational and two opening soon — the facility positions Optum for continued growth while placing workforce well-being at the core of its strategy. This expansion opens specialized career opportunities across clinical care, revenue cycle management, technology, AI/ML, and shared services.
Building a workplace around care
Optum Philippines prioritizes creating a genuine sense of belonging, a philosophy reflected in every corner of its new Cebu facility. Purpose-built to support how teams work, rest, and connect, the space puts employee care at the center of the daily workplace experience.
To drive teamwork, collaborative huddle areas are integrated near production floors for quick brainstorming sessions. Those looking for a change of scenery can squeeze in some movement on desk bikes overlooking panoramic views of the Cebu landscape.
At the center of the facility is the 19th-floor cafeteria. Designed as a versatile hub, it serves as a dining area, an event venue, and a welcoming space for new employee orientations. To support teams working late and night shifts, the cafeteria opens later in the day and stays operational until the morning, ensuring hot meals and a welcoming environment are always available.
These facilities reflect Optum Philippines’ view that wellness needs to be part of the everyday work environment. Justin John Jordan, Associate Director for Talent Acquisition of Optum Philippines in Cebu shares “In our line of work, where care is often given for our clients, we tend to neglect caring for the people behind the work themselves, so it is our responsibility to make this care known and felt by our employees.”
Beyond facilities, Optum Philippines has launched a variety of initiatives that promote employees’ work-life balance. In 2025, they had fun runs across the Philippines with Optum’s Opt To Move initiative spanning the offices in Manila, Cebu and Davao. Most recently, they held the Optum GC3 Cup, a one-day pickleball tournament designed to foster active lifestyles and friendly competition across five global capability centers (GCCs).
This multifaceted approach centered on caring for the workforce recognizes that employees have different backgrounds and needs and Optum Philippines seeks to address them by creating an environment where they can feel comfortable, safe and supported.
Growing with Cebu’s workforce
The expansion highlights Optum Philippines’ strategic investment in Cebu’s rich talent pool, capitalizing on the highly urbanized city’s rapid growth and potential.
Currently, there is an active recruitment hub located in a retail space and near the entrance point of Cebu IT Park, a strategy designed to make opportunities more visible and accessible to applicants. The approach considers local commuting patterns, recognizing that a significant portion of Cebu’s workforce relies on public transit to get to work, including their employees.
Optum Philippines is also investing in nurturing future tech leaders through its Technology Development Program (TDP), an internship initiative that provides targeted training for students and aspiring IT professionals. Beyond early career development, they also encourage continuous upskilling in AI and emerging technologies, using a persona-based learning framework tailored to each employee’s unique career path.
For Cebu, the combination of expansion and upskilling points to a workforce story that reflects the city’s role in supporting specialized healthcare and technology capabilities for a global organization.
Taken together, the developments of Optum Philippines in Cebu show a workplace changing on two fronts: expanding its capacity for specialized healthcare and technology work while intentionally investing in the people expected to sustain that growth.
For a city that continues to serve as a major center for business-process, technology and healthcare-related employment, Optum Philippines’ expansion adds another layer to Cebu’s talent economy as measured in the range of capabilities being developed locally.
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