How To Become A Wellness Director: What It Is and Career Path

What is a wellness director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A wellness director is an individual responsible for designing, implementing, and managing wellness programs for organizations. They work to improve the overall health and wellbeing of employees by creating initiatives that promote healthy habits. Wellness directors collaborate with other departments to develop strategies that align with the organization's goals and values. Their duties include conducting surveys to assess the needs of employees, developing wellness plans, organizing events, and evaluating program effectiveness.

ScoreWellness DirectorUS Average

Salary

5.8

Avg. Salary $73,888

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.1

Growth rate 28%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.73%

Asian 7.49%

Black or African American 11.05%

Hispanic or Latino 14.69%

Unknown 4.27%

White 61.77%

Gender

female 77.05%

male 22.95%

Age - 47

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 47

Stress level

7.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a wellness director?

Pros

Opportunity to positively impact people's health and well-being
Ability to create and implement wellness programs
Competitive salary and benefits packages
Flexibility in work schedule
High job satisfaction and fulfillment

Cons

High stress levels due to the responsibility of managing a wellness program
Constant need to stay up-to-date with the latest wellness trends and research
Constant need to motivate employees to participate in wellness activities
Difficulty in creating a culture of wellness within an organization
Potential for resistance or pushback from employees who are not interested in wellness programs.

Key steps to become a wellness director

Explore wellness director education requirements

Most common wellness director degrees

Bachelor's

56.9 %

Associate

20.5 %

Master's

12.6 %

Start to develop specific wellness director skills

Skills	Percentages
Quality Care	15.06%
Home Health	13.87%
Direct Supervision	13.64%
CPR	7.19%
State Regulations	6.44%

Complete relevant wellness director training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New wellness directors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a wellness director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real wellness director resumes.

Research wellness director duties and responsibilities

Manage resident and facility accounts, budgets, social security applications, and Medicare and Medicaid benefits.
Provide staff training and oversight on medication administration and direct patient care.
Provide oversight to ensure appropriate infection control procedures are follow by staff.
Assist in keeping key staff in compliance with CPR certification.

Get wellness director experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a wellness director. The most common roles before becoming a wellness director include licensed practical nurse, staff nurse team lead and registered nurse.

Prepare your wellness director resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your wellness director resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a wellness director resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable wellness director resume templates

Build a professional wellness director resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your wellness director resume.