What does a wellness director do?

Typically working at gyms and health centers, a wellness coordinator utilizes their health and fitness expertise by designing and developing health programs involving workout and diet plans. Among their responsibilities include performing research and analysis to identify the clients' needs, gathering and analyzing information to determine the strengths and weaknesses of current programs, and implementing solutions against problem areas. They must also liaise with internal and external parties, coordinate staff, and develop strategies to optimize program operations, ensuring efficiency and client satisfaction.
Wellness director responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real wellness director resumes:
- 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.
- Implement disease management programs for hypertension, diabetes and back injuries.
- Process payroll, hire, dismiss, and education to staff.
- Focus on residents being treat with compassion, respect, excellence and integrity.
- Optimize service delivery and customer loyalty, reducing costs through process improvement and ROI.
- Develop platform specific metrics to assess ROI and track client engagement for wellness initiatives and programs.
- Implement preventative programming such as diabetes prevention, physical literacy education, weight loss and prevention, and mindfulness/stress reduction.
- Assist with ADL's, oversee housekeeping, finances, meals, records, and transport to Dr's appointments.
- Implement an alternative rehabilitation program utilizing electronic games, laser and holistic therapies.
- Develop personalized fitness and rehabilitation programs following individual counseling of employees regarding health risks and positive lifestyle habits.
- Gain knowledge, training, and experience relate to MDS Medicare and Medicaid assessments.
- Complete MDS assessments using LTC software, conduct and coordinate case conferences, serve as leader of several committees.
Wellness director skills and personality traits
We calculated that 15% of Wellness Directors are proficient in Quality Care, Home Health, and Direct Supervision. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Leadership skills, and Technical skills.
We break down the percentage of Wellness Directors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Quality Care, 15%
Evaluated residents and monitored overall care to maintain quality care.
- Home Health, 14%
Coordinated with Third Party Contracts for PT/Home Health /Hospice/Pharmacy/Supplies.
- Direct Supervision, 14%
Direct Supervision of one License Practical Nurse and approximately Twenty-seven Certified Nursing Assistants/Medical Technicians.
- CPR, 7%
Certified as a trainer in CPR and First Aid for American Heart Association.
- State Regulations, 6%
Review and correction of medication records and administration to assure safety of residents and compliance with state regulations.
- Oversight, 6%
Managed staff of 25 to 30 staff members including schedules, training and oversight of their performance.
"quality care," "home health," and "direct supervision" are among the most common skills that wellness directors use at work. You can find even more wellness director responsibilities below, including:
Detail oriented. One of the key soft skills for a wellness director to have is detail oriented. You can see how this relates to what wellness directors do because "medical and health services managers must pay attention to detail." Additionally, a wellness director resume shows how wellness directors use detail oriented: "design and implement detailed strategic planning and budgeting for all health and wellness programming. "
Leadership skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling wellness director duties is leadership skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "medical and health services managers hire, train, and direct staff." According to a wellness director resume, here's how wellness directors can utilize leadership skills in their job responsibilities: "provided leadership, training, and oversight to wellness staff. "
Technical skills. This is an important skill for wellness directors to perform their duties. For an example of how wellness director responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "medical and health services managers must stay up to date with advances in healthcare technology, such as the coding and electronic health record (ehr) systems their facility adopts." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a wellness director: "provided technical assistance and testimony for development and passage of legislation enabling implementation of medicaid managed care. ".
Analytical skills. A big part of what wellness directors do relies on "analytical skills." You can see how essential it is to wellness director responsibilities because "medical and health services managers review and evaluate healthcare metrics for ways to improve efficiency and meet goals." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical wellness director tasks: "developed a targeted needs assessment and analyzed the results to implement targeted wellness program and prepared to measure program success. "
Communication skills. Another common skill required for wellness director responsibilities is "communication skills." This skill comes up in the duties of wellness directors all the time, as "medical and health services managers must convey information to their staff, other healthcare workers, and, sometimes, patients and insurance agents." An excerpt from a real wellness director resume shows how this skill is central to what a wellness director does: "supported the writing and editing of communications and educational materials for the hr, crisis management and business continuity planning teams. "
The three companies that hire the most wellness directors are:
- Brookdale Senior Living46 wellness directors jobs
- Adams and Associates10 wellness directors jobs
- Sonida Senior Living8 wellness directors jobs
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Wellness director vs. Nurse manager
The primary role of nurse managers is to supervise the nursing staff in a clinical or hospital setting. They are the ones who are in charge of patient care, setting work schedules, and making budgetary and management decisions. They are also responsible for making personnel decisions, coordinating meetings, and creating safe environments that promote patient engagement and aid the healthcare team's work. Their role is vital in promoting a culture in which team members contribute to professional growth and patient outcomes.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between wellness directors and nurse manager. For instance, wellness director responsibilities require skills such as "quality care," "direct supervision," "state regulations," and "memory care." Whereas a nurse manager is skilled in "patients," "customer service," "performance improvement," and "surgery." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Nurse managers earn the highest salaries when working in the health care industry, with an average yearly salary of $90,775. On the other hand, wellness directors are paid more in the health care industry with an average salary of $59,882.On average, nurse managers reach similar levels of education than wellness directors. Nurse managers are 1.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.6% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Wellness director vs. Director of professional services
A director of professional services is responsible for evaluating and improving the professional services offered by the firm. Directors of professional services assess the operational processes and systems to ensure high-quality outputs and deliverables. They review contracts for project requirements and specifications and design strategic techniques to achieve goals and objectives within the budget limitations and agreed timetables. A director of professional services must have excellent communication and leadership skills, especially in directing the project team for project solutions.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that wellness director responsibilities requires skills like "home health," "direct supervision," "cpr," and "state regulations." But a director of professional services might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "healthcare," "client facing," "software development," and "business development."
Directors of professional services may earn a higher salary than wellness directors, but directors of professional services earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $143,973. On the other hand, wellness directors receive higher pay in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $59,882.directors of professional services earn similar levels of education than wellness directors in general. They're 4.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Wellness director vs. Director of clinical operations
A director of clinical operations is responsible for monitoring the overall operations of a clinic facility, ensuring the efficiency of staff performance in providing the best quality care services for the patients. Directors of clinical operations enforce safety guidelines and security procedures during operations for everyone's strict compliance to prevent hazards and unforeseen circumstances within the premises. They also assist in clinical trials, as well as reviewing medical procedures, recommending strategic plans to improve medical approaches. A director of clinical operations handles the clinic budget, allocates adequate resources for every department's needs, and tracks medical inventory reports.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a wellness director is likely to be skilled in "quality care," "direct supervision," "cpr," and "oversight," while a typical director of clinical operations is skilled in "clinical operations," "patients," "healthcare," and "gcp."
Directors of clinical operations earn the best pay in the pharmaceutical industry, where they command an average salary of $139,321. Wellness directors earn the highest pay from the health care industry, with an average salary of $59,882.Most directors of clinical operations achieve a higher degree level compared to wellness directors. For example, they're 9.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 3.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Wellness director vs. Director, network operations
As a network operations director, you will be responsible for overseeing the availability and overall performance of a company's network. You will perform varied tasks that include analyzing the network and recommending changes or upgrades, ensuring compliance to best practices, promoting continuous information operations, and overseeing other technical resources. A network operations director is expected to provide expertise in networking and operating system and project management. You are responsible for managing all vendor-related support contracts for software, hardware, and connectivity.
Types of wellness director
Updated January 8, 2025











