Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Weight Program Manager

🎯 Role Definition

The Weight Program Manager leads the end-to-end design, implementation, optimization, and scale of weight management offerings—clinical, digital, and hybrid—targeting population health, employer-sponsored benefits, and health system patients. This role translates clinical best practices (nutrition, behavioral therapy, pharmacotherapy, and bariatric care) into operational programs, measures ROI and clinical outcomes, partners with clinicians and digital vendors, and drives participant engagement and retention through data-driven strategies and user-centered design. The ideal candidate balances clinical credibility with program management rigor, analytics fluency, and stakeholder influence.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Care management program coordinator or population health coordinator
Clinical operations specialist (nutrition/bariatric/cardiometabolic clinics)
Digital health product coordinator or vendor implementation specialist

Advancement To:

Senior Program Manager, Weight & Metabolic Health
Director of Population Health Programs or Director of Weight Management Services
Head of Clinical Program Operations (Digital Therapeutics / Chronic Disease)

Lateral Moves:

Clinical Program Manager — Diabetes or Cardiometabolic Risk
Product Manager — Digital Therapeutics for Weight Loss
Health Plan Contracting Manager — Behavioral & Preventive Care

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Design, launch, and manage multi-channel weight management programs (in-person, telehealth, digital apps, coaching, and group-based behavioral interventions) that align clinical guidelines and organizational strategy to improve weight-related outcomes and reduce cardiometabolic risk.
Develop and operationalize clinical protocols and care pathways for nutrition counseling, behavioral therapy, pharmacotherapy, and pre/post-bariatric care in partnership with medical directors, dietitians, psychologists, and bariatric surgeons.
Lead cross-functional program teams—clinical staff, care coaches, product, data analytics, marketing, and vendor partners—to deliver program milestones on time, on budget, and in accordance with quality and compliance standards.
Build and track program KPIs and outcomes (weight loss %, HbA1c, blood pressure, participant engagement, retention, utilization, cost-per-enrollee, and ROI) and present regular performance reports and strategic recommendations to executive leadership and clinical committees.
Oversee participant acquisition, enrollment workflows, eligibility and referral integration with primary care and specialty clinics, and seamless EMR (e.g., Epic) and HIE integration for closed-loop care coordination.
Manage vendor relationships for digital therapeutics, remote monitoring devices, and coaching platforms; negotiate contracts, monitor SLAs, and ensure evidence-based intervention fidelity and data security (HIPAA compliance).
Implement population segmentation, risk stratification, and personalization strategies using EMR and claims data to prioritize outreach and tailor intervention intensity for different cohorts (e.g., pre-diabetes, severe obesity, post-bariatric).
Design and execute randomized pilots, controlled rollouts, and A/B tests to evaluate program components (coaching cadence, meal plan options, pharmacotherapy protocols, digital engagement features) and scale successful models.
Own program budgeting, forecasting, and resource allocation; develop business cases, ROI models, and reimbursement strategies for employer groups, payers, and health system line items.
Drive quality improvement initiatives—including PDSA cycles, root-cause analyses, and clinical pathway optimization—to continuously improve clinical outcomes, reduce drop-out, and enhance patient safety.
Develop workforce training, supervision, and competency frameworks for coaches, RDs, and behavioral health counselors; create onboarding materials, performance metrics, and case review processes.
Coordinate with marketing and member experience teams to craft evidence-based messaging, retention campaigns, and digital onboarding flows that increase enrollment and sustained engagement.
Ensure regulatory and safety oversight for clinical programs (adverse event reporting, device safety, medication contraindications) and maintain documentation for audits and accreditation.
Lead stakeholder engagement with primary care, endocrinology, cardiology, bariatric surgery, and pharmacy teams to establish referral pathways and integrated care plans.
Translate complex clinical evidence and guidelines (AACE, ACC, AACVPR) into operational playbooks, decision support tools, and clinician-facing resources that increase adherence to best practices.
Oversee data governance and outcomes measurement: define metrics, validate data pipelines, coordinate with analytics teams for dashboarding, and ensure program evaluation methodologies are rigorous and reproducible.
Drive participant-centered program design using qualitative feedback, user testing, and NPS/CSAT metrics to improve digital UX, coaching interactions, and group curricula.
Develop and manage grant applications, research partnerships, and publications to validate program effectiveness and support continuous improvement and external recognition.
Prepare and deliver executive-level briefings, stakeholder updates, and contract performance reports that clearly communicate program value, utilization trends, clinical outcomes, and opportunities for scale.
Implement chronic care management frameworks and escalation protocols for high-risk participants (e.g., medication management, comorbid psychiatric conditions) to ensure safety and continuity of care.
Maintain up-to-date knowledge of emerging pharmacotherapies (GLP-1s and others), device-based interventions, and reimbursement trends to inform program strategy and clinician education.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory analyses in partnership with analytics teams to answer strategic questions about program performance, utilization patterns, and equity of access.
Contribute to the organization’s long-term weight management strategy and roadmap by synthesizing clinical evidence, market trends, and participant feedback.
Collaborate with business development and payer teams to translate program outcomes into contracting language, outcomes guarantees, and performance-based reimbursement models.
Participate in agile ceremonies, sprint planning, and prioritization sessions with product and engineering teams to refine digital features that support clinical workflows and participant engagement.
Coordinate with legal and compliance to ensure consent, data-sharing agreements, and telehealth regulations are correctly implemented across program sites and digital platforms.
Support community outreach and employer/benefit manager education programs to increase referrals and alignment between clinical and workplace wellness initiatives.
Assist in building training modules, webinars, and internal communications that expand clinical adoption and referral behavior among primary care and specialty providers.
Facilitate user acceptance testing (UAT) for EMR integrations, telehealth workflows, and device data ingestion to ensure data integrity and clinician usability prior to go-live.
Maintain a library of clinical resources, SOPs, and measurement plans that enable rapid replication of program components across new regions or client contracts.
Provide operational support during scale-up phases, including hiring plans, vendor ramping, and local site enablement for multi-site implementations.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Program management: strong experience designing, launching, and scaling clinical programs with documented metrics for success and change-control processes.
Clinical knowledge in weight management: evidence-based nutrition therapy, behavior change interventions, pharmacotherapy awareness (e.g., GLP‑1 agents), and familiarity with bariatric care pathways.
Data & analytics literacy: ability to define KPIs, interpret EMR and claims data, work with BI/analytics teams, and use tools like Tableau, Looker, or Power BI to create executive dashboards.
EMR integration & workflows: experience with Epic/Cerner or similar systems, building referral workflows, ordersets, and closed-loop communication with primary/specialty care.
Quality improvement methods: Lean, Six Sigma, PDSA cycles, or similar frameworks to improve clinical processes and participant outcomes.
Vendor and contract management: negotiating SOWs, monitoring SLAs, and ensuring vendor adherence to clinical and technical requirements.
Regulatory & compliance knowledge: HIPAA, telehealth state regulations, and safety reporting for clinical programs and digital health tools.
Digital health tools: experience implementing digital therapeutic platforms, remote monitoring devices, telehealth, and user engagement strategies.
Statistical and study design basics: comfort with cohort analyses, program evaluation methods, and supporting pilots or research collaborations.
Budgeting & financial modeling: experience building program budgets, forecasting, and developing ROI or cost-savings models for payers/employers.
Clinical documentation & training development: creating clinical playbooks, training curricula, and competency assessments for multidisciplinary teams.

Soft Skills

Strategic thinking with an ability to translate clinical evidence into scalable operational programs and business value.
Cross-functional leadership and influence—able to lead without direct authority across clinical, technical, and commercial teams.
Strong written and verbal communication: executive briefings, clinician education, marketing alignment, and participant-facing materials.
Empathy and participant-centered mindset for designing compassionate, equitable, and culturally sensitive interventions.
Problem-solving and adaptability in fast-moving clinical and digital environments.
Coaching and mentorship skills to develop high-performing multidisciplinary teams.
Negotiation and stakeholder management to align competing priorities and secure resources.
Attention to detail with a bias for measurable outcomes and continuous improvement.
Time management and prioritization across concurrent pilots, contracts, and operational tasks.
Data-informed decision making with an ability to synthesize quantitative and qualitative inputs.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Health Administration, Public Health, Nutrition, Exercise Science, Nursing, or a related field.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree (MPH, MSN, RD+MS, MS Health Informatics, MBA) or clinical credential (RD, NP, RN) with program management certification (PMP, CPHQ) preferred.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Public Health
Nutrition / Dietetics
Exercise Science / Kinesiology
Health Administration / Healthcare Management
Behavioral Science / Psychology

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 4–8+ years of progressive experience in clinical program management, population health, chronic disease management, or digital health implementation.

Preferred:

5+ years leading weight management, cardiometabolic, or bariatric programs in health systems, payer organizations, or digital therapeutics companies.
Demonstrated track record managing budgets, vendor relationships, EMR integrations, and measurable improvements in clinical outcomes and cost of care.
Certifications such as Registered Dietitian (RD), PMP, CPHQ, or clinical licensure are advantageous.
Prior experience with employer benefits, payer contracting, or commercial program scale-up is highly desirable.