Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Wellness Program Analyst

🎯 Role Definition

The Wellness Program Analyst is responsible for designing, measuring, optimizing, and reporting on employee health and wellbeing programs. This role combines population health principles, benefits analytics, vendor oversight, and engagement marketing to increase participation, improve health outcomes, reduce healthcare spend, and deliver measurable ROI. The ideal candidate is analytical, collaborative, data-driven, and experienced in managing multi-channel wellness programs across diverse employee populations.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Benefits Analyst with experience in wellness initiatives
Health Promotion Coordinator or Wellness Coordinator
HR Analyst with exposure to total rewards and employee programs

Advancement To:

Senior Wellness Program Manager / Senior Wellness Analyst
Manager, Employee Health & Wellbeing Programs
Director of Wellness, Total Rewards, or Population Health

Lateral Moves:

HR Business Partner focused on total rewards
Population Health Analyst
Employee Benefits Manager
Vendor Relationship Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Design and implement evidence-based employee wellness programs (e.g., biometric screenings, chronic disease management, stress reduction, mental health support, fitness challenges) aligned to organizational goals, culture, and benefit strategies.
Conduct rigorous program evaluation and outcomes measurement, including pre/post analyses, control group comparisons, and calculation of key performance indicators (KPIs) such as participation rates, engagement metrics, clinical outcomes, utilization changes, and cost savings.
Lead data collection, cleansing, integration, and analysis across multiple sources (claims data, HRIS, EAP, biometric screening vendors, wearable device partners) to generate actionable insights and monthly/quarterly performance dashboards.
Build predictive models and segmentation analyses to identify high-risk populations, tailor interventions, and prioritize outreach to drive improved health outcomes and reduced spend.
Develop and present clear executive-level reports and data visualizations (tables, charts, dashboards) that demonstrate program impact, ROI, trends, and strategic recommendations to stakeholders and leadership.
Manage vendor selection, contracts, implementation, and performance oversight for wellness vendors (biometric screening providers, digital health platforms, health coaching partners, incentive platforms), ensuring SLAs, data security, and ROI alignment.
Collaborate with benefits, HR, legal, and finance teams to ensure program integration with medical & pharmacy benefits, ADA and FMLA compliance, HIPAA and data privacy requirements, and appropriate incentive design.
Design behavior change campaigns and multi-channel communications (email, intranet, webinars, posters, leadership briefings) that increase enrollment, sustained engagement, and completion of program milestones.
Oversee budget planning, forecasting, and reconciliation for wellness programs, ensuring efficient use of funds and continuous improvement in cost-effectiveness.
Facilitate health risk assessments (HRAs), biometric screening programs, and care referral workflows, ensuring smooth participant experiences and timely follow-up with health coaches or disease management teams.
Develop and maintain standardized evaluation frameworks, logic models, and quality assurance processes for ongoing program monitoring and continuous improvement.
Coordinate pilot programs and A/B tests to evaluate new wellness initiatives, digital tools, or incentive structures; document learnings and scale successful pilots.
Serve as the internal subject-matter expert on workplace health promotion best practices, population health management, behavior change theory, and employee engagement strategies.
Create and maintain training materials, toolkits, and onboarding guides for HR partners, wellness champions, and managers to promote program adoption and consistent messaging.
Ensure accurate tracking of wellness incentives and rewards, working with payroll/benefits teams to administer taxable/non-taxable benefit considerations and maintain audit-ready documentation.
Monitor external benchmarks, peer programs, and best practices to recommend new services, technologies, or strategic direction for the company’s wellness agenda.
Respond to complex employee inquiries related to wellness programs, benefits integration, data privacy, and program eligibility; escalate appropriately to HR or legal teams when needed.
Track regulatory changes, accreditation standards, and industry trends (e.g., CDC, CDC Workplace Health Model, NCQA Population Health) that affect program design and compliance.
Use qualitative feedback (surveys, focus groups, stakeholder interviews) to interpret participant experience and translate insights into program refinements that increase relevance and equity.
Establish and manage metrics to measure inclusion and accessibility across wellness offerings, tailoring programming to meet needs of remote workers, diverse populations, and caregivers.
Partner with clinical teams, onsite health centers, or third-party clinicians to integrate clinical pathways and escalate high-risk cases to care management when appropriate.
Maintain meticulous documentation of program specifications, SOPs, data dictionaries, and workflows to support transparency and continuity across HR and vendor partners.
Lead cross-functional project management for large-scale wellness initiatives (launches, system integrations, open enrollment synergy) using agile principles and clear milestones.
Negotiate and evaluate vendor pricing models, performance guarantees, and outcome-based contracting to align vendor incentives with organizational health goals.

Secondary Functions

Maintain an up-to-date inventory of wellness program assets, vendor contacts, contract expiration dates, and renewal timelines.
Support ad-hoc wellness research requests, benchmarking studies, and custom analyses for executive decision-making and strategic planning.
Assist in creating case studies and internal success stories for leadership, recruitment, and employer branding purposes.
Coordinate logistics for onsite or virtual wellness events, screenings, and health fairs, including vendor coordination, scheduling, and post-event follow-up.
Support diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts by ensuring wellness programs are culturally competent and accessible to underserved employee groups.
Participate in internal committees or working groups focused on benefits integration, workplace safety, ergonomics, or mental health initiatives.
Facilitate monthly or quarterly wellness champion meetings to cascade program updates and gather grassroots feedback.
Administer participant satisfaction surveys and analyze results to identify program pain points and recommend operational improvements.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Strong experience in benefits analytics and population health analytics, including handling healthcare claims, medical and pharmacy utilization data, and converting clinical metrics into business outcomes.
Advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, Power Query, complex formulas) for data manipulation and ad-hoc analyses.
Proficiency with data visualization and BI tools such as Tableau, Power BI, or Looker to create executive dashboards and operational reports.
Familiarity with SQL for extracting and preparing data from relational databases and HRIS systems.
Experience working with HRIS, HSA/HRA systems, payroll, and benefits administration platforms (Workday, ADP, Oracle, UKG).
Knowledge of health coaching, disease management workflows, biometric screening protocols, and incentive administration platforms.
Understanding of HIPAA, ADA, GINA and other privacy/regulatory considerations affecting employee health programs.
Basic statistical analysis skills and familiarity with statistical packages (R, SAS, or Python) for measuring program impact and confidence intervals.
Project management capabilities with experience using tools like Jira, Asana, Trello, or MS Project to manage cross-functional launches.
Vendor management and contract negotiation experience, including KPI/SLA development and vendor performance reviews.
Budgeting and financial modeling skills to calculate program ROI, cost-avoidance, and breakeven analyses.
Experience designing behavior-change communications and enrollment campaigns using marketing automation or bulk-email platforms.

Soft Skills

Excellent written and verbal communication skills tailored to both technical and non-technical audiences, including executives.
Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills; able to partner with HR leaders, finance, clinical teams, and front-line managers.
Analytical curiosity and problem-solving mindset with attention to detail and quality assurance.
Empathy and cultural competence to design equitable, inclusive wellness experiences.
Strategic thinking with the ability to translate data into practical program improvements and business value.
Project prioritization and time-management skills in a fast-paced environment.
Collaboration and team orientation, comfortable working across dispersed and cross-functional teams.
Adaptability and resilience when managing shifting priorities, vendor changes, or emergent health concerns.
Presentation and storytelling skills for delivering insights that drive decisions and behavior change.
Ethical judgment and discretion when handling sensitive health and employee data.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Public Health, Health Promotion, Health Services Administration, Human Resources, Statistics, Business Analytics, or related field.

Preferred Education:

Master’s degree in Public Health (MPH), Healthcare Administration (MHA), Business Administration (MBA) with a focus on healthcare, or equivalent advanced degree.
Certifications such as Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES), Certified Wellness Practitioner (CWP), or Project Management Professional (PMP) are advantageous.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Public Health
Health Promotion / Health Education
Health Informatics / Data Analytics
Human Resources / Organizational Behavior
Business / Finance

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

2–6 years of progressive experience in wellness program management, benefits analytics, population health, or related roles.

Preferred:

3–7+ years with demonstrated experience managing enterprise wellness programs, vendor relationships, and conducting outcomes-based evaluation. Experience within large employer environments, healthcare, insurance, or consulting firms preferred.