Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Weight Program Coordinator

🎯 Role Definition

The Weight Program Coordinator is responsible for designing, implementing, and managing evidence-based weight management programs across clinical and community settings. This role blends program management, patient education, quality improvement, data-driven evaluation, and stakeholder engagement to deliver measurable health outcomes related to weight loss, obesity management, and healthy lifestyle adoption. The Coordinator ensures clinical and regulatory compliance, leads multi-disciplinary teams, supports provider workflows in the electronic health record (EHR), and optimizes participant retention and satisfaction through culturally competent programming.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Health Educator or Community Health Worker transitioning into program coordination.
Clinical Nutritionist/Dietitian taking on program-level responsibilities.
Care Coordinator or Patient Navigator with experience in chronic disease management.

Advancement To:

Senior Program Manager — Population Health or Weight Management.
Director of Community Health Programs or Obesity Management Services.
Clinical Program Director for Lifestyle Medicine or Preventive Health.

Lateral Moves:

Quality Improvement Specialist focused on chronic disease outcomes.
Patient Experience or Care Integration Manager.
Grant Manager for public health initiatives.

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop, implement, and maintain a structured, evidence-based weight management program (group and individual formats) including curriculum design, session sequencing, and participant materials aligned with national clinical guidelines and organizational priorities.
Coordinate day-to-day operations of the weight program, scheduling classes and individual appointments, managing waitlists, confirming referrals, and optimizing program workflow to maximize capacity and participant retention.
Provide direct patient-facing education and behavior change support using motivational interviewing, goal setting, and self-monitoring techniques to facilitate sustainable weight, nutrition, and physical activity changes.
Manage participant enrollment, triage referrals from primary care and specialty clinics, screen candidates for program appropriateness, and maintain accurate eligibility and consent documentation in the EHR.
Ensure timely and accurate documentation of clinical encounters, group attendance, and outcome measures in the electronic health record (Epic, Cerner, or comparable systems) following HIPAA guidelines and internal policies.
Monitor program performance against key performance indicators (KPIs) — including weight change, BMI reduction, attendance, engagement, and patient satisfaction — and prepare regular outcome reports for leadership and funders.
Lead continuous quality improvement initiatives (PDSA cycles), identify process gaps (referral pathways, no-show rates, outcome measurement), implement corrective actions, and measure impact.
Collect, clean, analyze, and visualize program data using Excel, SQL, Tableau, or Power BI to inform program improvements, grant reports, and leadership decision-making.
Supervise, train, and mentor program staff, students, volunteers, and peer coaches; develop training materials, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and fidelity checklists to ensure consistent program delivery.
Coordinate interdisciplinary team meetings with physicians, dietitians, behavioral health specialists, exercise physiologists, and social workers to review complex cases, optimize clinical oversight, and ensure continuity of care.
Manage program budget, track expenditures, process invoices, and support financial planning for program expansions or new initiatives; liaise with finance for grant budgeting and fiscal reporting.
Write, manage, and report on grants and contracts supporting the weight program; ensure compliance with funding requirements, collect required metrics, and prepare deliverables and narrative reports for funders.
Design and execute community outreach and recruitment campaigns (flyers, social media, clinic-based promotion, and partner referrals) to meet enrollment targets and improve program diversity and equity.
Adapt program content to meet the needs of diverse populations, including culturally tailored materials, language translation coordination, and accessibility accommodations to reduce health disparities.
Maintain inventory of educational materials, scales, activity trackers, and program supplies; coordinate purchasing and vendor relationships to ensure uninterrupted program delivery.
Develop participant-facing resources including handouts, meal planning tools, workout guides, and digital content; ensure materials are evidence-based, readable, and aligned with health literacy best practices.
Conduct baseline and follow-up assessments (anthropometrics, dietary intake, activity levels, readiness to change) and use standardized instruments to track clinical and behavioral outcomes.
Facilitate group sessions and workshops, including goal review, problem-solving, relapse prevention, and maintenance planning, ensuring high-quality facilitation and therapeutic group dynamics.
Escalate clinical concerns and safety issues to supervising clinicians, maintain emergency response protocols for adverse events, and ensure mandatory reporting where applicable.
Partner with primary care and specialty clinics to integrate weight program referrals into care pathways, optimize EHR referral ordersets, and provide clinician feedback on patient progress.
Lead pilot programs and scalability assessments for new program components (telehealth, virtual group visits, digital tools) and evaluate feasibility, engagement, and outcome metrics.
Maintain program accreditation and adhere to clinical guidelines, institutional policies, HIPAA, and state/federal regulations related to patient care, documentation, and billing when applicable.
Represent the program at internal and external stakeholder meetings, community advisory boards, and professional conferences; synthesize stakeholder feedback and translate it into program improvements.
Conduct patient satisfaction surveys and qualitative interviews to capture participant experience and inform service enhancements.
Implement retention strategies such as reminder systems, engagement incentives, and personalized follow-up plans to minimize attrition and maximize behavior change maintenance.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests from leadership and contribute to exploratory analyses that inform strategic program decisions.
Contribute to the organization's population health data strategy by defining program-level metrics, data pipelines, and reporting templates.
Collaborate with IT and analytics teams to translate program evaluation needs into EHR builds, dashboards, and automated reporting workflows.
Participate in cross-functional project teams, sprint planning, and agile-style initiatives to launch digital tools, telehealth workflows, or integrations with remote monitoring devices.
Assist with marketing, recruitment collateral, and social media content production to increase program visibility and enrollment.
Provide back-up coverage for related program administrative tasks (billing facilitation, appointment reminders, and room scheduling) as needed.
Support professional development by leading internal trainings on best practices for group facilitation, cultural humility, and motivational interviewing.
Maintain and update program SOPs, consent forms, and training manuals to reflect evolving evidence and regulatory requirements.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Program management and operations: cohort planning, scheduling, and multi-site coordination for clinical and community programs.
Electronic Health Record (EHR) proficiency: documentation, referrals, reporting in Epic, Cerner, Athena, or similar systems.
Data literacy: collection, cleaning, descriptive analysis, KPI tracking, and dashboard creation using Excel, SQL, Tableau, or Power BI.
Clinical knowledge of obesity and weight management: BMI interpretation, comorbidity screening, medication interactions, and referral criteria.
Behavioral counseling techniques: motivational interviewing, goal setting, relapse prevention, and brief behavior change interventions.
Grant writing and funder reporting: proposal development, budget management, deliverable tracking, and compliance.
Quality improvement methodologies: PDSA cycles, root cause analysis, and implementation science principles.
Health education and curriculum development: creating evidence-based lesson plans, handouts, and digital resources.
Regulatory and privacy compliance: HIPAA, patient consent processes, and documentation standards.
Budgeting and financial oversight: expense tracking, basic accounting, vendor management, and grant budget reconciliation.
Telehealth and virtual program delivery: teleconference tools, virtual group facilitation, and remote monitoring device integration.
Multilingual program delivery (preferred): Spanish or other language skills for community-facing programs.

Soft Skills

Excellent verbal and written communication tailored to patients, clinicians, funders, and community partners.
Strong stakeholder engagement and partnership-building skills across clinical, community, and public health sectors.
Leadership and team development: coaching staff, leading meetings, and cultivating a collaborative team culture.
Empathy and cultural humility to build trust with diverse populations and address health equity.
Problem-solving and critical thinking to adapt programs in response to data and participant feedback.
Time management and organization to juggle competing operational, clinical, and reporting demands.
Facilitation and group leadership skills to manage dynamics, maintain engagement, and foster behavior change.
Attention to detail for accurate documentation, regulatory compliance, and high-quality program delivery.
Resilience and adaptability in dynamic healthcare and community environments.
Customer-service orientation with a focus on participant experience and outcomes.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Public Health, Nutrition, Kinesiology, Health Education, Social Work, Nursing, or related field.

Preferred Education:

Master’s degree (MPH, MS Nutrition, MWS, MSSW, or related) or equivalent clinical certification (RD, RN with population health experience).

Relevant Fields of Study:

Public Health
Nutrition/Dietetics
Kinesiology/Exercise Science
Social Work/Behavioral Health
Health Education/Health Promotion

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

2–5 years of progressive experience coordinating clinical or community-based weight management, chronic disease, or lifestyle programs.

Preferred:

3–5+ years managing evidence-based weight loss programs or chronic disease prevention initiatives, experience supervising staff, demonstrated proficiency with EHRs and program evaluation, and prior grant-funded program experience.