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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Wellness Planner

💰 $ - $

WellnessHuman ResourcesPublic HealthHealth PromotionEmployee Benefits

🎯 Role Definition

The Wellness Planner is responsible for designing, implementing, coordinating and evaluating evidence-based wellness programs and health promotion initiatives that improve population health, reduce healthcare costs and support organizational goals. This role partners with HR, benefits, clinical providers, technology vendors and business leaders to translate health needs into measurable programs — from biometric screenings and chronic disease management to health coaching, behavior change campaigns and vendor management. The Wellness Planner uses data-driven insights, ROI metrics and best practices in health promotion to continually optimize programming for diverse employee and community populations while ensuring regulatory compliance and strong stakeholder engagement.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Wellness Coordinator / Health Promotion Associate
  • HR Generalist or Benefits Analyst with exposure to wellness programs
  • Community Health Worker or Health Educator

Advancement To:

  • Wellness Manager / Benefits & Wellness Manager
  • Director of Employee Health or Director of Wellness Programs
  • Population Health Program Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • Health Promotion Specialist
  • Benefits Strategist
  • Employee Experience or Total Rewards Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Conduct comprehensive needs assessments (quantitative and qualitative) — including survey design, focus groups, claims and utilization review — to identify priority health risks and target populations for wellness programming.
  • Design multi-channel wellness strategies that align with organizational objectives, including year-long wellness calendars, campaign themes, incentives, eligibility rules and participation pathways.
  • Create, implement and oversee evidence-based health promotion programs such as smoking cessation, weight management, stress reduction, ergonomic initiatives, mental health support and chronic disease self-management programs.
  • Manage vendor relationships and contracts for biometric screening vendors, health coaching partners, EAPs, digital wellness platforms, fitness vendors and onsite clinic providers; lead RFPs and negotiate SLAs and pricing to optimize value.
  • Coordinate and execute onsite and virtual biometric screening events, vaccination clinics, health fairs and population health screenings, ensuring appropriate clinical protocols, medical oversight and participant privacy.
  • Develop individualized and group coaching pathways by partnering with certified health coaches; set KPIs, referral workflows and escalation protocols for clinical follow-up.
  • Build and maintain program budgets, forecast costs, track spend vs. budget, and deliver cost-saving recommendations based on utilization and outcomes analysis.
  • Design participation incentives, gamification mechanics and reward fulfillment processes that drive enrollment and sustained engagement across diverse employee populations.
  • Implement HIPAA- and privacy-compliant data flows between vendors, HRIS, EHR/clinic systems and analytics platforms; create secure reporting and de-identified datasets for evaluation.
  • Establish measurement frameworks, define core metrics (participation, biometric change, clinical risk reduction, utilization, ROI), and produce recurring dashboards and executive summaries for leadership.
  • Conduct statistical and outcomes analyses to attribute health improvements to specific interventions, estimate ROI and prepare formal program evaluation reports for stakeholders.
  • Create targeted communication plans and marketing assets (email sequences, intranet content, posters) in partnership with internal marketing/communications to maximize program awareness.
  • Provide training sessions and toolkits for managers and wellness champions to embed wellness practices into team routines and reinforce program adoption.
  • Lead cross-functional working groups with HR, benefits, legal, facilities and diversity/equity teams to ensure wellness initiatives are inclusive, accessible and aligned with benefits strategy.
  • Maintain compliance with relevant regulations (HIPAA, ADA, GINA) and organizational policies; coordinate with legal and benefits teams for sensitive cases and reasonable accommodations.
  • Manage and mentor junior wellness staff, interns and vendor project teams; set objectives, review performance and facilitate professional development.
  • Troubleshoot operational issues (enrollment barriers, technical platform problems, incentive disputes) and implement process improvements to improve participant experience.
  • Oversee integration of digital health solutions (mobile apps, telehealth coaching, wearable data, LMS) and work with IT/product teams to implement single sign-on, data exchanges and automated enrollment.
  • Cultivate partnerships with community providers, public health agencies and local fitness centers to extend program reach, secure discounted services and support community-based health initiatives.
  • Design and support targeted programs for high-risk populations (maternity, behavioral health, chronic conditions) including care coordination workflows and referral pathways to clinical providers.
  • Prepare and present concise, data-driven briefings and business cases for senior leadership to secure program funding, demonstrate impact and guide strategic decisions.
  • Lead continuous improvement efforts using participant feedback, A/B testing and program pilots to iterate on program design and increase effectiveness.
  • Support grant writing, sponsorship outreach and external funding opportunities for population health or community wellness projects where applicable.
  • Coordinate return-to-work wellness strategies, workplace ergonomics assessments, and sustainable healthy workplace initiatives that reduce absenteeism and improve productivity.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis to answer business questions about participation, risk trends and program impact.
  • Contribute to the organization's long-term wellness strategy and roadmap by surfacing evidence-based recommendations and emerging industry trends.
  • Collaborate with HRIS, benefits, finance and marketing to translate business needs into technical requirements for wellness platforms and vendor integrations.
  • Participate in cross-functional project planning, sprint planning and agile ceremonies when launching new digital tools or integrations.
  • Assist in policy development related to wellness program participation, incentives, data-sharing and privacy.
  • Provide backup coverage for wellness events, coaching intake or vendor coordination during peak times or staff absence.
  • Maintain a resource library of best-practice toolkits, clinical guidelines and community referral directories for internal teams and participants.
  • Monitor competitor and industry benchmarks to ensure the program remains competitive and aligned with market standards.
  • Support small pilot projects and research partnerships with academic or clinical partners to evaluate innovative interventions.
  • Coordinate logistics for leadership town halls and employee education sessions related to wellness and benefits.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Program design and implementation for workplace wellness, population health programs and health promotion campaigns.
  • Needs assessment and evaluation methodologies: survey design, focus groups, claims analysis, cohort tracking and outcome attribution.
  • Data analytics and reporting: strong Excel (pivot tables, advanced formulas), experience with BI tools (Tableau, Power BI) and familiarity with SQL for ad-hoc queries.
  • Experience integrating and managing vendor platforms (biometric vendors, telehealth, LMS, digital health apps) and working with HRIS (Workday, ADP) and EHR/EMR systems.
  • Knowledge of clinical measures and biometric screening protocols (BP, cholesterol, glucose, BMI) and basic interpretation of results for program design.
  • Familiarity with regulatory and privacy frameworks: HIPAA, ADA, GINA and data security best practices for protected health information.
  • Budgeting, financial modeling and ROI calculation for wellness investments (cost-benefit analysis, utilization and trend forecasting).
  • Project management skills and tools (Asana, Jira, Smartsheet) to run cross-functional initiatives and vendor implementations.
  • Experience with communication and campaign tools (Mailchimp, Marketo, internal intranet platforms) and basic content creation for employee engagement.
  • Certifications and credentials commonly valued: Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES), National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC/NBHWC), CPR/First Aid, or relevant professional training.
  • Experience with behavior change frameworks and health coaching methodologies (motivational interviewing, stages of change).
  • Familiarity with incentive design platforms, payroll integrations and compliance requirements for taxable vs. non-taxable incentives.

Soft Skills

  • Exceptional stakeholder management and influence skills — able to translate clinical/analytic findings into business language for leaders and partners.
  • Strong written and verbal communication with capability to create executive summaries, participant-facing content and training materials.
  • Empathy and cultural competence to design inclusive programs that meet the needs of diverse populations.
  • Analytical mindset with attention to detail and ability to synthesize complex data into actionable insights.
  • Problem-solving and process-improvement orientation to remove barriers to participation and scale effective interventions.
  • Project leadership and the ability to manage multiple concurrent initiatives with competing deadlines.
  • Coaching presence and facilitation skills to lead group sessions, webinars and manager trainings.
  • Resilience and adaptability in a fast-changing benefits and healthcare landscape.
  • High ethical standards and discretion in handling confidential health and HR information.
  • Collaborative team player comfortable working across HR, benefits, clinical and technology teams.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Public Health, Health Education, Kinesiology, Nursing, Human Resources, Healthcare Administration or related field.

Preferred Education:

  • Master's degree in Public Health (MPH), Healthcare Administration (MHA), Population Health, or related advanced degree.
  • Professional certifications such as CHES, NBHWC (National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach), or project management certification (PMP, Scrum) are preferred.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Public Health
  • Health Education / Health Promotion
  • Kinesiology / Exercise Science
  • Nursing
  • Healthcare Administration
  • Behavioral Science / Psychology

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–6 years of progressively responsible experience in wellness program design, employee health, benefits or community health program management.

Preferred:

  • 3+ years of direct experience implementing workplace wellness or population health programs, with proven results in engagement and measurable outcomes.
  • Experience managing vendors, program budgets and incentive programs in a corporate or large organizational setting.
  • Demonstrated experience performing data-driven program evaluation, ROI analysis and presenting findings to senior leadership.
  • Prior experience with digital health platforms, telehealth integration or managing biometric screening operations is highly desirable.
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